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FCC: 15K dinger against KELS-LP for running commercials upheld

Michi

Michi

Moderator
Staff member
The FCC has issued a $15K Forfeiture Order against Plymouth Gathering, licensee of KELS-LP, Greely, CO for playing commercials. The Forfeiture Order can be found here:
EB Imposes $15K Penalty Against Plymouth Gathering

The details of this forfeiture, including scripts of the advertising messages that were considered in proposing this fine can be found in the original 2020 Notice of Apparent Liability, which can be found here:
www.fcc.gov

EB Proposes $15k Fine Against Plymouth for LPFM Underwriting Violation

EB proposes a penalty of $15,000 against Plymouth Gathering, Inc., for apparently violating Underwriting Laws on its LPFM station KELS-LP, Greeley, Colorado
www.fcc.gov www.fcc.gov
 
Interesting reading. Similar to other findings on this - menu listing, qualitative statements, calls to action - but this one actually mentions length specifically. It notes that 30 seconds is a magic number. It also notes that the Commission gives broadcasters some leeway in interpretation, but this was pretty blatant.

It would be nice to have a library of these findings to establish a more accurate guideline for what is allowed and what is not, based on actual FCC interpretations.
 
Just an interesting aside.....This station, I believe, calls itself "Pirate Radio".....!!!
To clarify....that term is used by the station AS A PROMOTIONAL TOOL.....and does NOT reflect the station's LEGAL status.....
They ARE a LEGALLY LICENSED FCC LPFM STATION....running an eclectic mix of oldies, "homespun" and gospel music.....
 
Oldie919 said:
Just an interesting aside.....This station, I believe, calls itself "Pirate Radio".....!!!
To clarify....that term is used by the station AS A PROMOTIONAL TOOL.....and does NOT reflect the station's LEGAL status.....
They ARE a LEGALLY LICENSED FCC LPFM STATION....running an eclectic mix of oldies, "homespun" and gospel music.....
Click to expand...
No different than when Scott Shannon was at the helm of KQLZ in Los Angeles with his brand of "Pirate Radio". Welcome to the jungle.
 
ok walters said:
It would be nice to have a library of these findings to establish a more accurate guideline for what is allowed and what is not, based on actual FCC interpretations.
Click to expand...
There is a page on FCC.gov with a listing of forfeiture orders for violations of this rule:
www.fcc.gov

Enhanced Underwriting for Non-Commercial Broadcast Stations

Section 399B of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47 U.S.C. § 399b) and Sections 73.503 and 73.621 of the Commission's rules, (47 C.F.R. §§ 73.503 and 73.621) govern enhanced underwriting issues related to non-commercial broadcast stations. For information regarding these provisions...
www.fcc.gov www.fcc.gov
It's a good place to really dive in.

The guide Michi has provided is almost certainly more concise, as it is written without pages upon pages of footnotes o_O
 
ok walters said:
Interesting reading. Similar to other findings on this - menu listing, qualitative statements, calls to action - but this one actually mentions length specifically. It notes that 30 seconds is a magic number. It also notes that the Commission gives broadcasters some leeway in interpretation, but this was pretty blatant.

It would be nice to have a library of these findings to establish a more accurate guideline for what is allowed and what is not, based on actual FCC interpretations.
Click to expand...
It is no secret what is allowed, and PBS is the master of making an underwriting announcement as close to a commercial as legally possible.

The list of things you are allowed to do is short, and the list of things you can't do is about the same length.

If you ever get a chance to listen to WHAV-LP out of Haverhill MA online, Tim Coco does a great job of doing underwriting acknowledgements, conveying a lot of info about the donor without crossing the line into what the FCC considers commercial.

For example,saying " Call Fred at 555-1212" is a absolute no no, it is considered a call to action, but if you say " Fred's phone number is 555-1212" that is not encouraging (call to action) to call.

There are many radio lawyers who publish blogs on this sort of stuff, for free.

And then there are the associations that also give guidance like this


PS none of this is new, when I was the CE of a non com 45 years ago we had to stop plugging local concert venues that gave us tix to give away on the air..... we did find a creative way to legally do it, but someone got dinged for saying the wrong thing so word got out to the non coms to tighten things up a bit.
 
MRBIboredop said:
PS none of this is new, when I was the CE of a non com 45 years ago
Click to expand...
It's not new, but the rules were significantly changed (loosened) under the Reagan FCC, so slightly less than the 45 years you mention.

As I understood it, in the 1970s NCE underwriting announcements were strictly limited to identifying donors. Something like this: "Support for Jazz 91 WSSW comes from Moe's Tavern, serving Duff Beer in Springfield and Wilson Pontiac-Oldsmobile-Cadillac on National Highway in Shelbyville."

The "enhanced undewriting" rules of the 80s allowed announcements of up to 30 seconds with leeway added for further description (but not promotion) of the donor.
 
In the UK, there are slightly different (and much looser) rules around this type of station. Instead of "no advertising, at all, ever" and lots of rules around what you can and can't say about your financial supporters on the air, there's a limit on how much commercial advertising you can take. For the first £15,000, you can do as you wish. After that, only 50% of your income can be from advertising - but you can claim "volunteer working hours" as "income", which boosts how much more you can take from commercials. Effectively, there is very little restriction on these stations operating as small commercial radio stations and many are packed with commercials, especially in the smaller towns.

The way they've kept these stations from just becoming part of the commercial radio industry is to put strict limits on ownership and restrictions on programming - the stations have to be non-profits, no LPFM can have common ownership with any other station, LPFM or commercial. They can't share or syndicate programming except in very limited circumstances, everything has to be locally originated. Stations regularly get dinged by the regulator for not enough programming when they drop the ball.

The gulf between the iHearts of this world and the tiny radio station selling to the small-town mechanic and restaurant is such that this kind of distinction makes more sense than a simple black-and-white "commercial" and "non-commercial". Audacy aren't selling to Fred's PC Repair, so it's not hurting their business. It also tends to improve the programming on the LPFMs, because they a) have the resources to produce better programming and b) have to produce programming that gains an audience they can sell, rather than self-indulgent crap that even their mom isn't tuned in to.
 
The current situation with translators rebroadcasting HD2’s is what a commercial LPFM service could have been. I think they should be locally owned with a limit of 2 co owned stations. And revenue limits too. Don’t let iHeart or Audacy own them.
 
PTBoardOp94 said:
As I understood it, in the 1970s NCE underwriting announcements were strictly limited to identifying donors. Something like this: "Support for Jazz 91 WSSW comes from Moe's Tavern, serving Duff Beer in Springfield and Wilson Pontiac-Oldsmobile-Cadillac on National Highway in Shelbyville."
Click to expand...

In 1970, those who underwrote programs could only be identified at the beginning and end of the program. Those who funded the operation of the station’s operation could only be identified three times per day. In 1970, only the name of the person or organization could be identified. and the rules specifically prohibited announcing any product or service which it may have a connection. Later in the year, the rules would be changed again to permit programs lasting longer than one hour to include underwriter acknowledgement once per hour and for station operations, one (and only one) underwriter could be mentioned per hour.

Until the early 1980s, NCE stations could not even promote not-for-profit organizations or offer any goods or services over the air. In 1981, the FCC would remove restrictions that prohibited promotion of events where the station did not receive any consideration, eliminate the restrictions on timing and frequency of the announcements and eliminate the restriction of “name only” acknowledgement announcements and to permit informational messages (such as location, product lines and services) but not any promotion.

PTBoardOp94 said:
The "enhanced undewriting" rules of the 80s allowed announcements of up to 30 seconds with leeway added for further description (but not promotion) of the donor.
Click to expand...
The FCC has no set time limit on acknowledgements, but in past actions against stations, they have stated that longer messages are problematic.
 
PTBoardOp94 said:
There is a page on FCC.gov with a listing of forfeiture orders for violations of this rule:
www.fcc.gov

Enhanced Underwriting for Non-Commercial Broadcast Stations

Section 399B of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47 U.S.C. § 399b) and Sections 73.503 and 73.621 of the Commission's rules, (47 C.F.R. §§ 73.503 and 73.621) govern enhanced underwriting issues related to non-commercial broadcast stations. For information regarding these provisions...
www.fcc.gov www.fcc.gov
It's a good place to really dive in.

The guide Michi has provided is almost certainly more concise, as it is written without pages upon pages of footnotes o_O
Click to expand...
The list is nice, but nothing in the last 12 years is listed. Newest listing is 2011 - I know there are a bunch more since then, and the more we can see the better I would think. Interesting reading for sure despite the age of the cases.
 
ok walters said:
The list is nice, but nothing in the last 12 years is listed. Newest listing is 2011 - I know there are a bunch more since then, and the more we can see the better I would think. Interesting reading for sure despite the age of the cases.
Click to expand...
Not much has changed in policy. The FCC is not always quick to update their "information" pages. I do have a couple of recent examples and will probably add more examples in the future in the Compliance Guide. Keep a watch on:

Underwriting Compliance Guide: 7. Consequences for underwriting violations | REC Networks

recnet.com recnet.com
 
I have seen in several FCC admonishments and fines where the FCC suggested stations risk violating rules the longer the spot goes and have mentioned 20 seconds or less versus 30 and 60 seconds
 
If one follows the business card model, the announcements will be fairly brief.
  • Name of underwriter
  • Short non-promotional description of line of businesses (3 or less)
  • Location information
  • Contact information
Programming on WREC-LP is supported by our friends at Red Lobster, a restaurant serving seafood and steaks. They are located at 123 Main Street. Their phone number is 410-555-1212. More information at redlobster.com.
 
Here is an interesting project for someone with a love of bureaucratic language and a detail-oriented mind:

Create a number of infraction categories such as:
  • Ownership: unreported foreign, unapproved transfers of control, owner convicted of a crime, etc.
  • Fake contests, un-awarded prizes, etc.
  • Profanity or obscenity
  • Record keeping and filing shortcomings including program logs, late filings, etc.
  • Technical violations of all kinds, from not "going directional" at night to harmonics to lack of tower lighting.
  • (Past) Inadequate News, PA and Other content
  • Miscellaneous program issues like wrong city of license IDs, failure to ID, etc.
  • Stations cross filed against at renewal time based on purported lack of service (WOJO in the early 80's is a good example).
  • Other reasons I could not instantly think of.
It would be, to repeat the word, "interesting", to see where the FCC has acted and to what extent (revocation, short-term renewal, monetary fine, warning, etc.) different infractions have been penalized over time.

Should we start a thread about "FCC fines and revocations over time"? There have to be as many interesting stories here as there are posts in "The Word Game" (well, maybe almost as many....).
 
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