LOS ANGELES (April 17, 2014) – The Parents Television Council welcomed the news that Fox Broadcasting has
decided to cancel its “Animation Domination High-Def” (ADHD) programming block, and praised the efforts of parents and families across the
country for raising their voices.
According to
Broadcasting & Cable
, “Some [Fox affiliates] had tired of fielding calls from upset viewers.”
“Parents and families across the country rose up and called on their local Fox affiliates not to air ‘ADHD’ because of the violent and
sexually explicit content, which routinely used familiar and beloved children’s characters as tropes. We congratulate our members on their activism
which has led Fox Broadcasting to make this wise decision,” said PTC President Tim Winter.
Last July, the PTC issued an urgent call to parents and to advertisers to be warned of the very concerning content that was to be aired on
‘ADHD.’ Media reports have suggested that Fox made this programming change because their affiliates were receiving complaints from the public
about ‘ADHD’ content, as well as a reported lack of revenue generated by the program.
“Though heartened by today’s announcement, we still have much work to do. The Fox-owned ‘ADHD’ website, as well as its YouTube
channel, are saturated with explicit animated videos, many of which exploit popular, child-friendly cartoon characters. And it appears that Fox will
continue to use its broadcast license, and the publicly owned airwaves, through June to promote the ‘ADHD’ online video programming. Just this
week, we issued a call for Fox to remove the explicit video, ‘Easter Bunny’s Coming’ from YouTube,” Winter continued.
The video short, which is produced and copyrighted by Fox Broadcasting Network, contains graphic cartoon images of fornicating rabbits, multiple unbleeped
“f-words,” harsh references to male sexual anatomy and vulgar slang for ejaculation.
“We are pleased that Fox has canceled the broadcast component of ‘ADHD.’ This decision, albeit just a big first step, is a clear victory
for parents and families. We will continue to hold Fox Broadcasting, and its advertisers, publicly accountable for any continued breach of the public
trust,” Winter concluded.