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                                Before the
                     Federal Communications Commission
                          Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of)
Liability of    )
     )
SCRIPPS HOWARD BROADCASTING COMPANY    )
Licensee of Television Station   )
KNXV-TV, Phoenix, Arizona              )
     )
for a Forfeiture)

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

   Adopted:  November 18, 1997                Released:  November 19, 1997

      By the Chief, Mass Media Bureau:

      1.  The Commission, by the Chief, Mass Media Bureau, acting pursuant to authority
delegated by Section 0.283 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. 0.283, has before it for
consideration (i) a Notice of Apparent Liability ("NAL") in the amount of ten thousand dollars
($10,000) issued against Scripps Howard Broadcasting Company ("Scripps Howard"), licensee
of station KNXV-TV, Phoenix, Arizona; and (ii) Scripps Howard's Response to that Notice of
Apparent Liability filed on June 24, 1994.  The forfeiture was assessed for apparent willful and
repeated violation of Section 73.670 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. 73.670, which
limits the amount of commercial matter that may be aired during children's programming.

      2.  In the Children's Television Act of 1990, Congress directed the Commission to adopt
rules, inter alia, limiting the number of minutes of commercial matter that television stations
may air during children's programming, and to consider in its review of television license
renewals the extent to which the licensee has complied with such commercial limits.  Pursuant
to this statutory mandate, the Commission adopted Section 73.670 of the Rules, which limits the
amount of commercial matter which may be aired during children's programming to 10.5
minutes per hour on weekends and 12 minutes per hour on weekdays.  The Commission also
reaffirmed and clarified its long-standing policy against "program-length commercials".  The
Commission defined a "program-length commercial" as "a program associated with a product,
in which commercials for that product are aired", and stated that the entire duration of any
program-length commercial would be counted as commercial matter for the purpose of the
children's television commercial limits.  Children's Television Programming, 6 FCC Rcd 2111,
2118, recon. granted in part, 6 FCC Rcd 5093, 5098 (1991).  The commercial limits became
effective on January 1, 1992.  Children's Television Programming, 6 FCC Rcd 5529, 5530 (1991).

      3.  On June 1, 1993, Scripps Howard filed an application for renewal of license for
KNXV-TV, Phoenix, Arizona, File No. BRCT-930601KR.  The response to Question 9(b) of
that application stated that KNXV-TV had complied with the limits on commercial matter in
children's programming.  However, Exhibit 3 to that renewal application stated that, during one
broadcast of the children's program "Ducktales", a commercial announcement for a breakfast
cereal included an offer of free character figures, including one character from the "Ducktales"
program.  Exhibit 3 further stated that commercial announcements for "Hook" toys were
broadcast during the program "Peter Pan and the Pirates" on four occasions.  In KNXV-TV
NAL, supra, the Chief of the Mass Media Bureau determined that the five incidents described
in Exhibit 3 to KNXV-TV's renewal application constituted program-length commercials. 
Accordingly, pursuant to delegated authority, the Chief of the Mass Media Bureau determined
that a forfeiture in the amount of $10,000 was appropriate for those five program-length
commercials.  KNXV-TV NAL, supra 9 FCC Rcd at 2547.

      4.  In its response to KNXV-TV NAL, supra, Scripps Howard asserts with regard to the
broadcast of the commercial announcement for "Hook" toys during the "Peter Pan and the
Pirates" program that the products advertised were related to the motion picture "Hook", and
not to the "Peter Pan and the Pirates" television program.  With regard to the "Ducktales"
incident, Scripps Howard states that the breakfast cereal commercial announcement was a "barter
spot" built into the program when it was received by the station; and that KNXV-TV had relied
on the program producer for compliance with the Commission's children's television commercial
limits.

                                DISCUSSION

      5.  In the Children's Television Act of 1990, Congress directed the Commission to
establish specified rules and policies regulating commercial practices for children's television
programming explicitly because of the demonstrated fact that "young children have a difficult
time distinguishing commercials from programming."  Thus, in Children's Television
Programming, supra 6 FCC Rcd at 2118, the Commission stated that its program-length
commercial policy "directly addresses a fundamental regulatory concern, that children who have
difficulty enough distinguishing program content from unrelated commercial matter, not be all
the more confused by a show that interweaves program content and commercial matter." 
Accordingly it is clear that, in interpreting and applying the Commission's policies regarding
program-length commercials, we are concerned about and dealing with the cognitive abilities of
young children, not adults.

      6.  In this context, Scripps Howard's arguments concerning the commercial
announcements for "Hook" toys broadcast during the children's television program "Peter Pan
and the Pirates" are without merit.  Scripps Howard argues that the "Hook" toy commercial
announcements are related to the motion picture "Hook", which, it asserts, "is no more related
to 'Peter Pan and the Pirates' than it is to the Mary Martin version of Peter Pan."  However,
all of these versions of "Peter Pan" are, in fact, based upon the classic children's story "Peter
Pan" by James M. Barrie, and, most significantly for our purposes, they all have common
characters, e.g., Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Wendy, Captain Hook, etc.  In the context of the
cognitive abilities of young children, it is clear that there is the potential for confusion between
a commercial announcement for toy figures of the Peter Pan or Captain Hook characters from
the movie "Hook" and the Peter Pan or Captain Hook characters in the children's television
cartoon series "Peter Pan and the Pirates".  Where there is such clear potential for confusion in
the minds of young children, the Commission's program-length commercial policy is applicable.

      7.  With regard to the "Ducktales" broadcast which contained a commercial
announcement featuring an offer of free character figures, the assertion that this program-length
commercial violation occurred as a result of material included in the program by the program's
producer does not absolve KNXV-TV of responsibility for the violation.  The Commission has
consistently held that a licensee's reliance on a program's source or producer for compliance
with our children's television rules and policies will not excuse or mitigate violations which do
occur.

      8.  Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED THAT the Response to Notice of Apparent Liability
filed by Scripps Howard Broadcasting Company requesting reconsideration of the forfeiture
assessed in KNXV-TV NAL, supra, IS DENIED.  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED THAT,
pursuant to Section 503(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 503(b),
Scripps Howard Broadcasting Company, licensee of Television Station KNXV-TV, Phoenix,
Arizona, FORFEIT to the United States the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for willful
and repeated violations of Section 73.670 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. 73.670. 
Payment of the forfeiture may be made by mailing to the Commission a check or similar
instrument payable to the Federal Communications Commission.  With regard to this forfeiture
proceeding, Scripps Howard Broadcasting Company may take any of the actions set forth in
Section 1.80 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. 1.80, as summarized in the attachment
to this Memorandum Opinion and Order.
  
                                                       FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION


                                                       Roy J. Stewart
                                                       Chief, Mass Media Bureau


cc:  Donald Zeifang, Esq.
Attachment
kknxvrd3.rel





$// SCRIPPS HOWARD BCSTNG CO., KNXV-TV (PHOENIX, AZ) DA 97-2419 //$


$/ 300.503(b) FORFEITURES (NAL) /$
$/ 73.670 COMMERCIAL LIMITS ON CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS /$