The Parents Television Council recently released its annual ranking of the 20 most popular prime time broadcast television shows among children ages 2-17, based on Nielsen Media Research rankings.

The PTC rated the shows from best to worst for family viewing based on a comprehensive analysis of program content and found an increase since last year in the presence of family friendly programs, but noted that such programs are exclusively reality and game shows.

Of the 20 shows most-watched by children, only seven were scripted series, and six of those appeared on the worst list. Fox’s Family Guy was named the worst program for young audiences.

“The PTC analyzed the 20 broadcast television shows children watch most and found the cleanest content on reality and game shows. For the second year in a row, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition has been named the most family-friendly series watched by children during prime time on broadcast television. The fact that children are drawn to programs like ABC’s 'Extreme Makeover' and game shows like 'Deal or No Deal' and 'Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?' proves that there is market demand for family-friendly television programming. Sadly that demand is still underserved,” said PTC President Tim Winter.

"By contrast, the shows on the worst list continually reach new lows when it comes to harsh language, excessive violence and explicit sex. Programs like the sci-fi drama Heroes, that includes a comic book aspect, and animated shows like American Dad and 'Family Guy' may sound innocent enough, but they are serving up some of the most inappropriate content on broadcast television that kids are consuming.

"On NBC’s series 'Heroes,' viewers are introduced to a character who commits unspeakable acts of violence and sexual deviance while under the control of her ‘heroic’ alter ego. Meanwhile, 'Family Guy' and 'American Dad' put irreverence on parade on a weekly basis while relentlessly breaking taboos with sexual content and cartoon violence. Parents must be more aware of what is out there, both in terms of what is good and what is bad for their children.

"The broadcast networks see the same Nielsen statistics that we do. They know full well how many children are in the viewing audience, and they not only do nothing to curb the high levels of inappropriate content, but they actually encourage children to watch by saturating earlier dayparts with endless promos. Television advertisers must also step up to the plate and take greater care when they make their sponsorship decisions,” Winter concluded.

Additional "not suitable" shows include House, Grey's Anatomy, and CSI.