Access to Information
Just as we support journalistic integrity and freedom of expression, we support — and, indeed, our businesses are built on — access to information.
Changing technologies continue to provide new opportunities to connect audiences and lay the groundwork for a more inclusive global society. When asked about CNN's mission, founder Ted Turner said it was "to provide information to people when it wasn't available before."
At the same time that Time Warner is committed to making our content accessible to a wider audience, we also want to provide customers with the tools they need to make informed viewing decisions and we seek to make sure that our films, television programs, games, and other content offerings reach their intended audiences.
Reaching Intended Audiences
Many of our films, television programs, and documentaries can be enjoyed by people of all ages. In some cases, however, our content is suitable primarily for adults. To help ensure that our content reaches appropriate audiences, we voluntarily participate in a number of industry-wide rating systems. Ratings enable consumers, parents, and organizations that carry our con-tent to make informed decisions.
The best-known rating system includes the G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17 ratings developed by the Motion Picture Association of America and used by all of our film production businesses. Warner Bros. takes an additional step and uses its own internal guidelines to further regulate how its adult-oriented films are advertised.
For example, Warner Bros. Pictures does not market R-rated films in print or on television when 35% of the expected target audience is under the age of 17. Furthermore, the studio does not engage in toy-driven promotions for any R-rated films and does not attach trailers for R-rated films to G- or PG-rated films.
Our networks use a similar rating system, which we worked with industry experts to develop. The TV rating system divides shows into eight different categories based on viewer maturity. Television networks use these TV — ratings as guidance to help determine appropriate scheduling time for programming and to determine whether parental advisories should be included before programs begin airing.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment submit their video games for ratings by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB). This rating system, developed by the entertainment software industry, uses symbols to indicate appropriate age ranges for players and provides standardized content descriptors for game elements, such as violence, that may cause concern for players or parents.
People With Disabilities
Warner Bros. makes its releases available with open and closed captions for the deaf and hard-of-hearing audience. Warner Bros. DVDs have captioning or subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, and some titles have a description narration track for the blind. Warner Bros. also provides video description, captioning, and subtitles on the enhanced content (extra features) of the DVDs of all new theatrical releases. In 2006, 19 Warner Bros. releases were captioned, including Superman Returns, Happy Feet and The Departed; eight were released with video description. In 2007, all 22 releases were captioned and nine were also released with video description. At Turner, TNT carries an average of 26 descriptive video service hours per week and TCM carries video description on approximately 35 theatrical features per month or approximately 70 descriptive video service hours.