WASHINGTON - Concerned about an increase in violence on television, the Federal Communications Commission is urging legislators to consider regulations that would restrict violent programs to late night, when most children would not be watching.

The commission, in a long-awaited report, concluded on Wednesday that the program ratings system and technology intended to help parents block offensive programs - such as the V-chip - had failed to protect children from being regularly exposed to violence.

As a result, the commission recommended that Congress move to limit violence on entertainment programs by giving the FCC the authority to define such content and restrict it to late-night television.

It also suggested that Congress adopt legislation that would give consumers the option to buy cable channels "a la carte" - individually or in smaller bundles, so that they would be able to reject channels they do not want.

"Clearly, steps should be taken to protect children from excessively violent programming," said Kevin J. Martin, the chairman of the FCC and a longtime proponent of a la carte programming. "Some might say such action is long overdue. Parents need more tools to protect children from excessively violent programming."

The commission report, which was requested by Congress nearly three years ago, was sharply criticized by civil-liberties advocates and by the cable-television industry for proposing steps that both said would be too intrusive.

"These FCC recommendations are political pandering," said Caroline Fredrickson, the director of the Washington legislative office of the American Civil Liberties Union.

"The government should not replace parents as decision-makers in America's living rooms," she said. "There are some things that the government does well. But deciding what is aired and when on television is not one of them.

A spokesman at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, Brian Dietz, said consumers "are the best judge of which content is appropriate for their household."

"Simple-sounding solutions, such as a la carte regulation of cable TV packages, are misguided and would endanger cable's high-quality family-friendly programming, leaving parents and children with fewer viewing options," Dietz said.

A spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters, Dennis Wharton, said that broadcast television was "far more tame than programming found on pay TV in terms of both sex and violence."

Wharton noted that the association, along with all the networks and major cable groups, is in the middle of a $300 million marketing effort to help educate parents about the V-chip and other technology to block programs. "Should this not be given a chance to work?" Wharton said.

The report and accompanying recommendations set the stage for a political battle between the commission and three powerful interest groups - the broadcasters, the cable TV industry and satellite television.

The outcome of the cases, which could wind up in the U.S. Supreme Court, could determine whether the government would have the authority to impose limits on violent programs.

But the report also cited studies, including one by the U.S. Surgeon General, that have found that exposure to violent content has been associated with an increase in aggressive or violent behavior in children, at least in the short term.

It said that V-chip and other blocking technology failed because, according to recent studies, nearly 9 out of 10 parents do not use them. And the ratings system was of limited use, the study found, because fewer than half of parents surveyed had used it.

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