Non-commercial oldies station airs a commercial

[vchimpanzee]

It wasn't a case of "this hour's programming is made possible by". It sounded like an actual commercial. Though the "advertiser" was either government or non-profit.

WRBK Richburg, SC is the station.

 

[uncamark]

It wasn't a case of "this hour's programming is made possible by". It sounded like an actual commercial. Though the "advertiser" was either government or non-profit.

WRBK Richburg, SC is the station.

I understand that it's OK for not-for-profits to use the forbidden call to action/comparisons/pricing information on non-coms--a lot of public radio stations still don't allow it, if only to keep from hearing listener complaints, especially on music stations where the audience seems to get livid about *any* underwriting (or pledge drives, for that matter). WBEZ in Chicago even makes community bulletin board-style PSAs conform to underwriting standards.

 

[PTBoardOp94]

And some non-commercial stations try to produce things that sound to the ear like commercials (hyped up voice guys, background music) but conform to the rules on content.

 

[bturner]

It sounds like to me the station did not air a commercial. A not for profit entity or government CAN advertise or do a so called call to action. That is fully legal. If you think about it, if you have a station you had a large bunch of money invested in are you going to risk a huge fine and the status you enjoy with the FCC for the money you could get for running a few commercials? To say they ran a commercial is a pretty reckless claim. I'd phrase it that they aired a spot for a government or non-profit that sounded as if it could be placed on a commercial station. A licensee would likely think nothing of your comment, but I've known a few that would come after you, both guns blazing because they are so oversensitive about their reputation. Strange but true.

 

[uncamark]

In Chicago, where there are a lot of not-for-profit theater companies and WBEZ is the main radio route to reach their audiences (besides perhaps commercial classical WFMT), WBEZ still makes their spots conform to underwriting announcement standards, complete with the "support for this program is provided by..." I think there was a ruling that quotes from critics were OK, but when a theater company tried to do a discount ticket offer, instead of "mention WBEZ and get one free ticket when you buy a ticket," the copy read, "a special offer is being made to WBEZ members--details at..."

 

[vchimpanzee]

It sounds like to me the station did not air a commercial. A not for profit entity or government CAN advertise or do a so called call to action. That is fully legal. If you think about it, if you have a station you had a large bunch of money invested in are you going to risk a huge fine and the status you enjoy with the FCC for the money you could get for running a few commercials? To say they ran a commercial is a pretty reckless claim. I'd phrase it that they aired a spot for a government or non-profit that sounded as if it could be placed on a commercial station. A licensee would likely think nothing of your comment, but I've known a few that would come after you, both guns blazing because they are so oversensitive about their reputation. Strange but true.

Right. I should have said "Non-commercial oldies station airs what sounds like a commercial".