Supreme Court case, FCC v. Pacifica, established “safe harbor hours” for broadcasters to air programming that is considered indecent for children. The requirement, enforced by the Federal Communications Commission, is based on the indication that children 17 years of age and under are not a likely audience throughout these hours. This was one of the prior efforts targeted towards enhancing the goals for children’s television before the Children’s Television Act.
With the Children’s Act of 1990, requirements exceeded the standard of safe harbor hours by establishing that broadcasters air “core programs” at least three hours a week. Core programs are designed to serve the needs of children to be both educated and informed. In order for a program to meet the requirements as core programming, children's programming must be scheduled to air at least once per week and must also air on a regular basis during safe harbor