Parent Zone

WHY KTV?
If you have to ask the question then you’re probably not a parent! Most of us with kids know that television nowadays is a wasteland, especially when it comes to children’s television.

By the time most children graduate from high school, they will have spent more time in front of a television set than in a classroom, according to a study by the “Children Now” organization. But what they’re getting fed into their spirit is anything but good. Studies show that the incidence of violence during an average children’s program is greater than that of many adult "prime time" shows. By the time most children leave elementary school, they’ll have witnessed 100,000 violent acts on television. And 8,000 of those will be murders.

"The mission of the Parents Television Council is to protect children and families from sex, violence and profanity in entertainment. With the growing tide of graphic and coarse programming, there is an urgent need for a trusted source of quality television for children. Our friends at Sky Angel are providing such a solution with its new KTV-Kids and Teens Television channel. We applaud Sky Angel for addressing this vital family need."

Tim Winter
President
Parents Television Council

SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK 'N ROLL
Programs for teens are worse -- plus, TV executives add sex to the mix: A typical teenager sees 14,000 sexual encounters on TV each year. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, two-thirds of all secular TV shows contained sexual content in the 2001-2002 TV season, and in the top 20 TV shows among teen viewers, 83% included sexual content. And it’s influencing them. A poll of kids ages 10 to 16 shows that they believe TV encourages them to take part in sexual activity before marriage.

Violence is rising on television as well; the average child will see 100,000 acts of violence on TV before the sixth grade. And forget about watching television with your children during the so-called “family hour” on network television. A recent poll shows profanity between the hours of 8pm and 9pm Eastern is up 58%.

YOUR MONTHLY CABLE TITHE
However, parents who have cable in their homes need to know the ugly truth: They’re helping to produce the programming on those channels, even if they never watch them. Most television networks, all except the Christian ones, get paid by cable operators for their programming. A popular channel like ESPN, for example, can get up to $2.00 per cable subscriber, while a new emerging network like the Hallmark Channel may get 10 cents a subscriber. The more popular the network (popularity is gauged by how many people request the channel on a cable system), the more they get paid by the cable operators. The exceptions are Christian television networks, which generally have to pay cable operators to get on a system.

The cable system charges the customer a monthly fee (subscription payment) for the privilege of having access to these channels, then the cable operator gives a designated portion of the $30-$80 a month subscription fee to each channel in the subscriber’s programming package. And that subscription payment is critical: Most cable channels are supported at least half by monthly subscription fees. For example, according to industry reports, MTV is supported 50 percent by cable subscriptions -- 50 percent. That means a viewer’s monthly cable bill is significantly impacting the production of programming on secular cable channels. Christians might as well send channels like MTV a monthly tithe; it works the same way.

	THE SOLUTION: KTV! KTV is a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week channel for both kids and teens, but only with Christ-centered and family-friendly programming. From 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET, there are programs for children and pre-teens, including animation, live action, dramas, cooking programs, game shows and science programs. From 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. ET, the "Teen Zone" begins, with programs targeting an above-12 audience and featuring Christian music videos, talk shows, youth ministry services, sitcoms, action, dramas, and live concerts and special events. The power of television on our children is undisputed. So, now that there is a channel that can uplift and inspire our youth with the life-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ, we could, together, change the face of an entire generation of children, which in turn will change our nation and our world.
	HOW DO I GET KTV?
Read how your kids can be safe when they are online! Click here to view the KTV Privacy Policy.