The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC; French: Conseil canadien des normes de la radiotélévision; CCNR) is an industry funded self-regulating organization created by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters to administer standards established by its own members, Canada's private broadcasters.
Ratings[]
Canada's television content rating system uses 7 different tiers, used to symbolize whether or not it is acceptable for young persons and children to view the program.
- Exempt: Programming that is exempt from ratings (such as news and sports programming) will not display an on-screen rating at all.
- C: Similar to the soft G rating. Programming is intended for younger children under the age of 8 years. No offensive language or sexual content of any level allowed. Might contain occasional comedic, unrealistic depictions of violence. Equivalent to TV-Y in the US.
- C8: Similar to the hard G and soft PG rating. Intended for children ages 8+. Infrequent/mild violence and fantasy horror is allowed. No profanity is allowed, but occasional "socially offensive and discriminatory" language is allowed if in the context of the story. No sexual content of any level allowed. Equivalent to TV-Y7(-FV) in the US.
- G: Similar to the G rating. Intended for general audiences. Programming suitable for the entire family with minimal and infrequent violence. No profanity is allowed, but offensive slang is permitted. No sexual content. Unlike C rated programs, G-rated programs are not necessarily aimed at children. Equivalent to TV-G in the US.
- PG: Similar to the PG rating. Intended for general audiences, but may not be suitable for children under the age of 8. Moderate violence and infrequent/mild profanity is allowed. May contain brief nudity and sexual references if important to the context of the story. Some content may not be suitable for children under the age of 8 and parental supervision is recommended for children aged 8–13. Equivalent to TV-PG in the US.
- 14+: Similar to the 14A rating. Programming intended for viewers ages 14 and older. May contain intense violence and strong/frequent profanity. Might contain nudity and depictions of sexual activity as long as they are within the context of a story. Parents are strongly cautioned to exercise discretion in permitting viewing by pre-teens and early teens without parent/guardian supervision. Equivalent to TV-14 in the US.
- 18+: Similar to the 18A and R ratings. Programming intended for viewers ages 18 and older. May contain explicit violence, graphic language, and explicit portrayals of sexual activity. Programming with this rating cannot air before the watershed (9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.). Equivalent to TV-MA and 18+ in the US.
This rating system is used for Canadian English-language and third-language broadcasters. Canadian French-language broadcasters refer to the Régie du cinéma age rating system.
Enforcement[]
- The CBSC (Canadian Broadcast Standards Council) enforces these content ratings on television networks, and is able to take action if a complaint is made claiming an incorrect rating for a television broadcast. Some examples of this include two episodes of the program MTV Live which were rated "PG" and revolved around sexual topics and were both aired during the daytime, in which the CBSC forced MTV to change the rating to "14+" for future broadcasts and air it after 9:00 p.m.