reality television at one point in the decade, for ex-
ample, by using a style of ad that involved individuals
sitting in groups around the coffee table discussing a
product that worked for them—and incorporating
the however-stilted dialogue for the negative impli-
cations and possible side effects, especially for pre-
scription and over-the-counter drugs.
Advertising was extended to a more subtle strat-
egy of product placement—a technique used as far
back as the late 1940’s, made increasingly popular in
the 1980’s, and made more obvious in the 1990’s.
With shows such asSeinfeld, for instance, the tech-
nique involved not only background shots of prod-
ucts and characters’ usage of products (such as
Heinz Ketchup and Diet Coke) but actual dialogue
and interactivity with dozens of products such as
Snapple, Bosco, Calvin Klein, BMW, Toyota, Junior
Mints, and Pez as well.
Television and Internet Technology Product place-
ment was one answer to the audience’s ability to by-
pass ads, as new technologies were born that made
television viewing more efficient while keeping tele-
vision programming accessible (and competitive)
without being displaced by the increasingly popular
Internet. The launching of the digital video record-
ing system TiVo for public use in 1998, for example,
allowed users to record programming for later view-
ing. Viewers could consult their TiVo recording list,
select a program to watch, and fast-forward through
the ads. As a result, advertisers immediately turned
to product placement strategy, began implementing
other tactics such as an on-screen banner or “logo
bug” (seen at the bottom of the television screen),
and made efforts toward other compensating tech-
niques—including placing the company’s Web site
address on the banner or bug and collaborating with
Internet technology online.
Internet television was born in 1994 when ABC
became the first to broadcast online itsWorld News
Now. ABC used CU-SeeMe videoconferencing soft-
ware, but it was under the auspices of Judith Estrin
and Bill Carrico of Precept Software (now run by
Cisco Systems) in 1995 that Internet protocol (IP)
television made it possible for users to access the
next television programs online. In the 1990’s, a da-
tabase, or library, of programming allowed users to
choose streaming Internet television or to make se-
lections from specified lists at select TV over IP Web
sites. Legitimate sites ran syndicated and rerun
shows, rather than first-run or original-run pro-
gramming, and industry and network owners ran
their own first-run programs—following the new In-
ternet television trends.Television Rating Systems With the freedom af-
forded by technological advancements, network
growth, and increasingly liberal content and trends—
in addition to the inundation of products, services,
information, and increasingly violent and sexual
program content—the television industry of the
1990’s made great efforts to monitor viewing habits
and protect certain viewers, namely, children. Most
significant were the Children’s Television Act of
1990 and, in the middle of the decade, the initiation
of the TV Parental Guidelines rating system. The
Children’s Television Act of 1990 was enacted by
Congress primarily to enhance educational and in-
formational quality in television programming for
children. As determined by the Federal Communi-
cations Commission (FCC), such programming was
necessary to further the positive cognitive develop-
ment of children and to meet their social and emo-
tional needs. It was made emphatically clear by the
FCC, however, that the definition of quality pro-
gramming did not make a distinction between gen-
eral entertainment programming that happened to
meet these needs and programming that was inten-
tionally designed to educate and inform.
With the wide-ranging availability of edgier net-
works such as Comedy Central (launched in 1989)
and FX (launched in 1994) and with the accessibility
of programs that were considered by some parents
to be better suited to older audiences, the debate
over “quality” television was answered. In 1996, a
television ratings system was introduced that the
television industry and the FCC put into effect in- Three tiers of ratings were involved. The first
two labeling tiers included V for violence (mild,
moderate, or intense); F V for fantasy violence (such
as cartoon violence); S for sexual (orientation or sit-
uation); L for language (course, foul, profane, or
objectionable); and D for dialogue (suggestive dis-
cussions, themes). Over these tiers presided the
categorical rating labels: TV-Y (suitable for all ages);
TV-Y 7 (suitable for youth over seven years of age);
TV-Y 7-FV (most likely suitable for youth over seven
years of age, containing fantasy violence); TV-PG
(suitable for older children); T V-14 (suitable for
children fourteen years of age and older); and TV-
840 Television The Nineties in America