Television Content Rating Systems - Colombia

Colombia

Since 1997 Colombian television channels must show at the beginning of every program in the so-called family and adult fringes a notice telling the audience, via audio and video, the minimum age required to watch the program, if it contains sexual or violent content, and if parental company is needed. In order to fulfill this requirement, the channels create and broadcast a bumper. The channels must also broadcast an "institutional message" every day at 21:00, inviting children 12 years-old or less to "not to stay exposed to contents which have no essentially child nature." A message (most networks show a scrolling text) must be broadcast at 22:10 Mondays to Fridays (22:30 Saturdays and Sundays) explaining the viewers that the adult fringe has started.

The fringes (franjas), as defined by the National Television Commission, are as follows:

• Para todas las audiencias (Content suitable for all audiences): everyday, 07:00–21:30
• Infantil (Children): Monday to Friday 16:00–17:00; Saturdays and Sundays 08:00–10:00
• Familiar (Family): Monday to Friday 07:00–16:00 and 17:00–22:10; Saturdays and Sundays 07:00–08:00; 10:00–22:30
• Adultos (adult audiences): the time slots not covered by the Infantil and Familiar fringes.

Pornography (defined as the "degraded portrayal of sex") is forbidden in broadcast over the air television in Colombia, even in the "adult" fringes.