FCC Fines Stations $28K for Various Violations

WWIS (TV) Philadelphia; WLIO-TV Lima, Ohio; KPDX (TV) Vancouver, Wash., All Fined by Federal Communications Commission

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/2/2007 12:10:00 PM

The Federal Communications Commission Friday proposed fining three stations a total of $28,000 for violating its kids’-TV and other reporting requirements and for exceeding the ad limits in kids’ shows.

Fined $10,000 apiece were WWIS (TV) Philadelphia and WLIO-TV Lima, Ohio. WWIS was fined for failing to publicize the existence and whereabouts of its children's-TV-programming reports for the entirety of its seven-year license term. WLIO was dunned for one year's worth of missing program logs and issues/programs lists -- stations are required to list the issues/programs of public importance they air.

Hit with an $8,000 fine was KPDX (TV) Vancouver, Wash., attacked, as have been so many other stations, by Buzz Lightyear. Actually, it was an ad for Buzz Lightyear fruit snacks during a Buzz Lightyear TV show that turned the entire show into a program-length commercial.

The FCC limits commercials to 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and 12 minutes on weekdays.