Bulletin Categories: Enforcement Actions

$500 Fine for Extended Silence and Related Inaccurate Certifications March 28, 2023

In a recent Order and Consent Decree (the “Order”), the Commission imposed a $500 civil penalty, compliance plan, and reporting requirements on the licensee (the “Licensee”) of a California low...

Station Enters into Consent Decree for Missed Filings, Avoids Fine March 28, 2023

The FCC has entered in to a Consent Decree (the “Consent Decree”) with a Virginia radio station (the “Station”), which resolves a 2020 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (the...

$6,500 Fine and Short-Term License Renewal for Untimely License Application and Unauthorized Operation March 28, 2023

As noted above, the Commission will not excuse rule violations due to a licensee’s inadvertence. In a recent Memorandum Opinion and Order and Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (the...

Station Fined for Late-Filed Application for a License to Cover, Unauthorized Operation March 28, 2023

In a recent Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (the “NAL”), the FCC has proposed a three thousand five hundred dollar ($3,500) fine against a Florida low power television station...

Sixteen Stations Fined for Untimely License Renewal Applications March 28, 2023

Broadcasters must remain vigilant and knowledgeable as to their filing deadlines. This year, the Commission has released a number of Memorandum Opinions and Orders and Notices of Apparent Liability for...

FCC Upholds Cancellation of AM Station’s License March 28, 2023

In a recent Letter Order (the “Order”), the FCC upheld its cancellation of a Kentucky AM station’s (the “Station”) license. The Order serves as an important reminder of a broadcaster’s...

Commission Imposes $504,000 Fine for EAS Rule Violations January 31, 2023

In a recent Notice of Apparent Liability, the FCC has proposed to impose a fine of $504,000 against the Fox Network (the “Network”) after the Commission determined that it violated...

$11,000 Fine for Unauthorized Silence, Late Renewal December 22, 2022

Another relatively common enforcement “trap” for stations is when technical or other issues require a station to go silent and the station fails to provide the FCC with requisite notice...

$20,000 Fine for Operating at Variance from Licensed Parameters December 22, 2022

One of the most common traps into which a station can fall is operating its facilities—either knowingly or unexpectedly—at variance from the parameters specified on the station’s broadcast station license. ...

Over $500,000 Fine for Violating Local Television Ownership Rules’ Prohibition on Common Ownership of Two Top-Four Same-Market Television Stations December 22, 2022

Over the dissent of Commissioner Nathan Simington, the FCC issued a significant Forfeiture Order (the “Order”) levying a $518,283 penalty—the maximum allowed by law—against a large media company (the “Company”)...