Bulletin Categories: Enforcement Actions

Three Radio Broadcasters Face Fines for Unauthorized Transfers of Control October 29, 2025

Near the end of the summer, the FCC came to agreements with three radio station licensees to settle unauthorized transfers of control—one Consent Decree (the “PR Consent Decree”) imposes a...

Broadcaster Enters into Consent Decree, Agrees to Pay $222,500, After Accidentally Airing “Pornographic Video” October 29, 2025

Over the summer, the FCC inked a Consent Decree with a west-coast broadcaster and its parent company (the “Licensee”) addressing the broadcast of obscene or indecent material on one of...

Large Television Ownership Group Agrees to $500,000 Penalty to Resolve Pending Station License Renewal Applications July 9, 2025

A large broadcast ownership group (the “Broadcaster”) has agreed to pay $500,000 and implement multiple FCC rule compliance plans as part of a Consent Decree that resolves several FCC enforcement...

Audio Division Revisits Two-Year-Old CP Grant While Denying Two FM Stations’ Applications to Modify Community of License; Proposes Modifying One Station’s Current CP to Effectively Rescind Prior Grant November 8, 2024

By recent Memorandum Opinion and Order and Order to Show Cause (the “Order” and “Show Cause Order,” respectively), the Media Bureau’s Audio Division (the “Division”) denied two unbuilt FM stations’...

LPFM Station Agrees to $9,000 Penalty for Ownership and Associated Reporting Violations, Failure to Comply with Local Public Notice Requirements, and Failure to Maintain Accuracy of Information in Pending Application November 8, 2024

By recent Order, the FCC entered into a Consent Decree with a California low-power FM station licensee (the “Licensee”) resolving an ongoing FCC investigation into third-party allegations that the Licensee had...

FCC Proposes $16,000 Fine for AM and FM Radio Station Licensee’s Apparent Unauthorized Transfer of Control November 8, 2024

By recent Memorandum Opinion and Order and Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (the “Order”), the FCC proposed a $16,000 fine for an Oregon AM and FM radio station licensee’s (the...

FCC Proposes $146,976 Penalty Against ESPN for Transmitting EAS Tones in Absence of Actual Emergency or Authorized Test November 8, 2024

A recent FCC Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (the “Notice”) once again places ESPN, Inc. (“ESPN”) in the Commission’s crosshairs for apparently violating the FCC’s rules prohibiting the transmission...

Stations Continue to Receive License Renewal Penalties for Failure to Timely Upload OPIF Documentation September 20, 2024

Although a meaningful amount of time has now passed since the last radio and television station license renewal deadlines (which fell in 2022 and 2023, respectively), penalties continue to roll...

Georgia and Texas FM Stations Face Potential $3,000 Fines for Late-Filed Renewal Applications September 20, 2024

In two recently released Notices of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (the “NALs”), the FCC proposed $3,000 fines against the licensees of Georgia and Texas radio stations (the “Licensees”), respectively, for...

Pennsylvania LPFM Station Receives Notice of Violation from FCC for Allegedly Broadcasting from an Unauthorized Location September 20, 2024

A Pennsylvania low power FM station (the “Station”) recently found itself in receipt of an FCC Notice of Violation (the “NOV”) for allegedly broadcasting from an unauthorized location. According to...