WPC> 2BJZ Courier3|j:Wx6X@`7X@HP LaserJet 5Si LPT2:l)RM 700HPLAS5SI.PRSx  @\z$^X@2C6XFK Z3|jTimes New RomanTimes New Roman BoldTimes New Roman ItalicTimes New Roman Bold Italic"i~'^:DPddDDDdp4D48dddddddddd88pppX|pDL|pp||D8D\dDXdXdXDdd88d8ddddDL8ddddX`(`lD4l\DDD4DDDDDDdDd8XXXXXX|X|X|X|XD8D8D8D8ddddddddddXdbdddpdXXXXXlX~|X|X|X|XdddldldD8DdDDDdplld|8|P|D|D|8dvddddDDDpLpLpLpl|T|8|\ddddddl|X|X|Xd|DdpL|Dd~4ddC$CWxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxNHxxH\dDXddddd8@d<@d<DDXXdDDxddxHxxHvppDXd<"dxtldpxxdHP LaserJet 5Si LPT2:l)RM 700HPLAS5SI.PRSXj\  P6G;\z$^XP2:u Kh X-#X\  P6G;ɒP#X01Í ÍX01Í Í#Xj\  P6G;ynXP#*"i~'^09CSS999S]+9+/SSSSSSSSSS//]]]Ixnnxg]xx9?xgxx]xn]gxxxxg9/9MS9ISISI9SS//S/SSSS9?/SSxSSIP!PZ9+ZM999+999999S9S/xIxIxIxIxIlnIgIgIgIgI9/9/9/9/xSxSxSxSxSxSxSxSxSxSxIxSxRxSxSxS]SxIxIxInInInZnIxigIgIgIgIxSxSxSxZxSxZxS9/9S999Su]ZZxSg/gCg9g9g/xSbxSxSxSxSxn9n9n9]?]?]?]ZgFg/gMxSxSxSxSxSxSxxZgIgIgIxSg9xS]?g9xSi+SS88WuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxN /t _I ` 2( vlpkR k a8DocumentgDocument Style StyleXX` `  ` a4DocumentgDocument Style Style . a6DocumentgDocument Style Style GX  a5DocumentgDocument Style Style }X(# 2 Z v tu  a2DocumentgDocument Style Style<o   ?  A.  a7DocumentgDocument Style StyleyXX` ` (#` BibliogrphyBibliography:X (# a1Right ParRight-Aligned Paragraph Numbers :`S@ I.  X(# 2`  X  a2Right ParRight-Aligned Paragraph Numbers C @` A. ` ` (#` a3DocumentgDocument Style Style B b  ?  1.  a3Right ParRight-Aligned Paragraph Numbers L! ` ` @P 1. ` `  (# a4Right ParRight-Aligned Paragraph Numbers Uj` `  @ a. ` (# 2Qa5Right ParRight-Aligned Paragraph Numbers_o` `  @h(1)  hh#(#h a6Right ParRight-Aligned Paragraph Numbersh` `  hh#@$(a) hh#((# a7Right ParRight-Aligned Paragraph NumberspfJ` `  hh#(@*i) (h-(# a8Right ParRight-Aligned Paragraph NumbersyW"3!` `  hh#(-@p/a) -pp2(#p 2KTech InitInitialize Technical Style. k I. A. 1. a.(1)(a) i) a) 1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 Technicala1DocumentgDocument Style Style\s0  zN8F I. ׃  a5TechnicalTechnical Document Style)WD (1) . a6TechnicalTechnical Document Style)D (a) . 2Ya2TechnicalTechnical Document Style<6  ?  A.   a3TechnicalTechnical Document Style9Wg  2  1.   a4TechnicalTechnical Document Style8bv{ 2  a.   a1TechnicalTechnical Document StyleF!<  ?  I.   26y32a7TechnicalTechnical Document Style(@D i) . a8TechnicalTechnical Document Style(D a) . Doc InitInitialize Document Stylez   0*0*0*  I. A. 1. a.(1)(a) i) a) I. 1. A. a.(1)(a) i) a)DocumentgPleadingHeader for Numbered Pleading PaperE!n    X X` hp x (#%'0*,.8135@8:8HH"&H>XHH8HB8>HH^HH>"".2",2,2,"222N2222"&22H22,006"6."""""""""2"2H,H,H,H,H,XAB,>,>,>,>,""""H2H2H2H2H2H2H2H2H2H2H,H2H1H2H2H282H,H,H,B,B,B6B,H?>,>,>,>,H2H2H2H6H2H6H2""2"""2F866H2>>(>">">H2;H2H2H2H2XHB"B"B"8&8&8&86>*>>.H2H2H2H2H2H2^HH6>,>,>,H2>"H28&>"H2?22!!WFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxN$<<$.2",2222`2 LL2 LL2L"",,2d""7jC:,ynXj\  P6G;XPy.X80,ɒX\  P6G;P >,8>\  P6G;P ~,Fp~\  P6G;pPa$G,',مG\  P6G;P7nC:,\  P6G;8P#PUBLIC NOTICE  X-#Xj\  P6G;ynXP#FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 1919 M STREET, N.W.  X-WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554`(# DA 98950 ă  yx\ dddy  aE#G\  P6G;مP#News media information 202/4180500 FaxOnDemand 202/4182830 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov ftp.fcc.gov  XT-#Xj\  P6G;ynXP#`(# Released: May 20, 1998 ă  X -b MASS MEDIA BUREAU ADVISES COMMERCIAL TELEVISION LICENSEES REGARDING CHILDREN'S TELEVISION COMMERCIAL LIMITS  X -T P  X - x>In the Children's Television Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101437, 104 Stat. 9961000, codified at  X- x=47 U.S.C. Sections 303a, 303b and 394, Congress directed the Commission to adopt rules, inter  X- xLalia, limiting the amount of commercial matter that television stations may air during children's  xprogramming, and to consider in its review of television license renewals the extent to which the  xlicensee has complied with such commercial limits. Accordingly, the Commission adopted  xMSection 73.670 of the Rules, 47 C.F.R. 73.670, which limits the amount of commercial matter  xwhich may be aired during children's programming to 10.5 minutes on weekends and 12 minutes  x on weekdays. The Commission also reaffirmed and clarified its longstanding policy that a  xprogram associated with a product, in which commercials for that product are aired, would cause  xthe entire program to be counted as commercial time (a "programlength commercial").  X- x[Children's Television Programming, 6 FCC Rcd 2111, 2118, recon. granted in part, 6 FCC Rcd  X-5093, 5098 (1991). These commercial limitations became effective on January 1, 1992.   X-   X-  Implementation of Audit Program   xA review of the current renewal cycle to date reveals that 26 percent of commercial television  xbroadcast station licensees could not certify to full compliance with the children's television  xcommercial limitations. This level of noncompliance is unacceptable and must be remedied to  xachieve the objectives sought by Congress in enacting the Children's Television Act of 1990.  x-Accordingly, the Commission concludes that implementation of an ongoing audit program would  x[be conducive to ensuring a better level of compliance with the children's television commercial  xlimitations. Effective the date of this Public Notice, all commercial television licensees will be  xsubject to an auditing process, which will include unannounced, offair monitoring of commercial  xtelevision stations and counts of commercial matter contained in programming originally produced  x/and broadcast for an audience of children 12 years old and under. As part of this auditing  x[program, moreover, licensees found in violation of the commercial limits can expect substantial forfeitures.  Xe&- Reasons for Noncompliance   xTo further ensure compliance, we are providing information to alert television licensees to the  xmost frequent causes for overcommercialization cited by broadcasters in their renewal  x\applications. We are hopeful that this information will assist all licensees in avoiding these  xpitfalls and thus improve the commercialization compliance rate. The reasons most frequently  xcited by broadcasters for such noncompliance include: (1) human error; (2) inadvertence; X*,,,)3\ '#k Ұ\ -X  x(3) scheduling changes or errors; (4) mechanical errors; (5) the broadcast of special news and  xweather reports; (6) the inability of the station to prescreen satellitedelivered programming;  x (7) the inclusion of commercials in programming provided by the source or producer of the  xprogramming; (8) misunderstanding of the Commission's rules and policies by lowerlevel station employees; and (9) commercial "make goods."  Xv- Commercial Matter, Proration and ProductLength Commercials   xSome of these reasons for noncompliance involve a misunderstanding of what constitutes  x>commercial matter, as well as our policies concerning proration of the commercial limits and  X1- xzproductlength commercials.  We remind television licensees, first, that commercial matter is  x{defined as airtime sold for the purposes of selling a product. More specifically, we deem  x-broadcast and cablecast material to be commercial matter if the station or cable operator received  xkconsideration directly or indirectly for airing the material, and the material was used to sell a  X - xproduct or service. See, e.g., SuperStation, Inc., 8 FCC Rcd 490 (1993). Commercial matter is  xLnot restricted to material of any particular length, and includes advertising for services, as well  X -as promotions by stations that contain certain sponsorrelated references.  X{- xSecond, in counting commercial minutes, television licensees are not restricted on how  xcommercials within the Commission's limits are configured within an hour's block of children's  xprogramming. Licensees should, however, prorate application of the commercial limits to  X6- xprogram segments of   five minutes or longer duration, i.e., an "island" of children's programming,  X!- xwhich is otherwise not part of an hourlong block of children's programming.  See, e.g., Channel  X - x39 Licensee, Inc. (WDZL(TV)), 12 FCC Rcd 14012 (1997); Quincy Jones Broadcasting Inc.  X- xy(WNOLTV), DA 971535 ( Sept. 27, 1997); PostNewsweek Stations, Florida, Inc. (WJXT(TV)), 12 FCC Rcd 4178 (1997).  xThird, a program will be considered a programlength commercial if a product associated with  xthe program appears in commercial spots within the program, or if such commercial spots are not  X- xseparated from the start or close of the program by intervening and unrelated   program material.}Zu1 yO- xhԍ Television licensees requiring more detailed information on the definition of commercial matter, the proration  xof the commercial limits, productlength commercials and other matters concerning the commercial limits should  {O-refer to Children's Television Programming, supra. }   Xq- x<See, e.g., PostNewsweek Stations, id.; Sullivan Broadcasting License Corporation (WTATTV),  X\- xy12 FCC Rcd 2390 (1997); Paramount Stations Group of Washington, Inc. (WDCA(TV)), 12 FCC  xkRcd 14890 (1997). The determination as to whether a particular program is a programlength  x[commercial is not dependent on the duration of the appearance of the programrelated product  xin the commercial announcement. Where a commercial announcement includes a product related  xto the program in which the commercial is broadcast, then the program is a programlength  xcommercial regardless of the duration of the appearance of the programrelated product in the  X - xcommercial. UTV of San Francisco, Inc. (KBHKTV), 10 FCC Rcd 10986, 10988 (1995); see  X!- xalso Act III Broadcasting License Corp. (WUTV(TV)), 10 FCC Rcd 4957 (1995), aff'd, DA 97 x2534 (released Dec. 4, 1997) (commercial for a fast food restaurant promoting a trip to Disney  xWorld as a contest prize contained a brief image of Goofy and aired during the program "Goof Troop"). "e%,**'$"Ԍ x<We note, moreover, that Congress was particularly concerned about programlength commercials  xbecause young children often have difficulty distinguishing between commercials and programs.  xkS. Rep. No. 227, 101st Cong., 1st Sess. 24 (1989). In light of this Congressional concern, the  xCommission made it clear that programlength commercials, by their very nature, are extremely  xyserious violations of the children's television commercial limits, stating that the programlength  xcommercial policy "directly addresses a fundamental regulatory concern, that children who have  xdifficulty enough distinguishing program content from unrelated commercial matter, not be all  x{the more confused by a show that interweaves program content and commercial matter."  XH- xChildren's Television Programming, supra, 6 FCC Rcd at 2118. To this end, the Commission  xhas repeatedly held that, "where a commercial announcement is primarily for a product otherwise  xunrelated to a program . . . but that announcement also includes references to or offers of  xproducts which are related to the program, the broadcast of that commercial announcement during  xthe program to which the included products relate will render that program a programlength  X - xOcommercial." KCOP Television, Inc. (KCOPTV), DA 97324 (released Feb. 12, 1997)  x(commercial for Honey Nut Cheerios featuring the Sega Genesis game "Sonic the Hedgehog,"  X - x-and Sega Genesis products in general, aired during the "Sonic the Hedgehog" program); see also  X- xScripps Howard (KNVXTV), 9 FCC Rcd 2547 (1994), aff'd, DA 972419 (released Nov. 19,  xz1997) (a commercial for Kelloggs Frosted Flakes containing an offer for a free character from  xthe show "Ducktales" aired during the "Ducktales" program, and a commercial for toys based on  XS- xthe movie "Hook" aired during the program "Peter Pan and the Pirates"); North Carolina  X>- xlBroadcasting Partners (WCCB(TV)), FCC 97327 (released Sept. 22, 1997) (broadcast of  x.commercials for a "Kids Fair," featuring appearances by an "XMen" character and a "Mighty  xMorphin Power Rangers" (MMPR) comic book illustrator, contained video clips from the programs "XMen" and "MMPR," aired during, or adjacent to, those programs).  xyWe advise television licensees that, generally, the reasons frequently cited for noncompliance  xkwith the Commission's rules limiting the amount of commercial matter in children's programs  xkfail to excuse or mitigate such noncompliance. Compliance with the children's programming  xcommercial limitations is required, and we expect that commercial television licensees, now  xlalerted to these common errors, will carefully review their current practices and promptly  xjimplement additional measures, if necessary, to ensure such compliance on a continuing basis.  X,-   Imposition of Forfeitures   X- xy Those licensees who fail to comply with the commercial limits will continue to be subject to the  xCommission's full panoply of sanctions, including the imposition of forfeitures, shortterm  xrenewals and reporting requirements. In this regard, Section 503 of the Communications Act  X - xaffords the Commission a great deal of discretion in determining forfeiture amounts. Triple X  X!- xBroadcasting Co., Inc., 46 RR2d 788, 789 (B/C Bur. 1979), citing Brennan Broadcasting Co.,  X"- x25 FCC 2d 400 (1970); Southern California Broadcasting Co. (KIEV(AM)), 6 FCC Rcd 4387,  x4388 (1991). Such discretionary authority holds particular relevance given the different factors  Xz$- xinvolved in compliance with the children's television commercial limits (e.g., number, type and  xduration of overages, period of time over which the violations occurred, extent of compliance  x{program, etc.) which make it impossible to devise a precise formula to calculate forfeiture  xamounts. We note, however, that the Commission has routinely assessed higher forfeitures for  X (- x>programlength commercials than for a greater number of conventional overages. See, e.g.,  X )- x[Independent Television Co. (WDRBTV), DA 972158 (released Oct. 8, 1997) ($17,500 forfeiture" ),**'"  X- xassessed for 68 overages, including two programlength commercials), as compared to  Channel  X- x>39 Licensee, Inc., supra, 12 FCC Rcd 14012 ($27,500 forfeiture for 56 overages, including 22  xLprogramlength commercials). The Commission has also considered the sanctions imposed in  x=previous cases, comparing the circumstances involved, to determine the appropriate forfeiture amount in a given case.  xTo date, forfeitures ranging from $7,500 to $125,000 have been assessed against at least 85  xtelevision licensees for their violations of the commercial limits. Of those 85 cases, several  XL- xinvolved the additional imposition of shortterm renewals and/or reporting conditions. See, e.g.,  X7- xClear Channel Television, Inc. (KTTU(TV)), 10 FCC Rcd 3773 (1995) ($125,000 forfeiture, short  X" - xterm renewal and reporting conditions imposed for 581 violations); Stainless Broadcasting Co.  X - x(WICZTV), 10 FCC Rcd 9961 (1995) ($110,000 forfeiture and reporting conditions imposed for  X - x376 violations); Northstar Television of Erie, Inc. (WSEETV), 10 FCC Rcd 3779 (1995)  x($100,000 forfeiture, short term renewal and reporting conditions for 204 violations, including  X - x33 programlength commercials); Paramount Stations of Houston, Inc. (KTXH(TV)), 9 FCC Rcd  xL140 (1993) ($80,000 forfeiture and reporting conditions imposed for 132 violations, including 73  X- xprogramlength commercials). Many fines have been of a substantial nature. See, e.g., Jasas  X- x\Corp. (WBDCTV), 12 FCC Rcd 7815 (1997) ($115,000 forfeiture for 450 violations, including  Xv- xtwo programlength commercials); UTV of San Francisco, supra, 10 FCC Rcd 10986 ($40,000  Xa- xforfeiture for 218 violations, including two programlength commercials); Press Broadcasting  XL- x.Co., Inc. (WKCF(TV)), 12 FCC Rcd 15491 (1997) ($30,000 forfeiture for 200 violations); Koplar  X7- x]Communications Licensee (KPLRTV), 8 FCC Rcd 7884 (1993) ($30,000 forfeiture for 197  X"- xviolations); LeSea Broadcasting Corp. (WHMBTV), 13 FCC Rcd 2751 (1998) ($27,500 forfeiture  X - xkfor 109 violations). Cf. JeffersonPilot Communications Co. (WBTV(TV)), 12 FCC Rcd 2526  X- x(1997) ($20,000 forfeiture for 79 overages); Rollins Telecasting, Inc. (WPTZ(TV)), 10 FCC Rcd  X- x8795 (1995) ($17,500 forfeiture for 77 overages); Mississippi Broadcasting Partners (WABGTV), 12 FCC Rcd 9863 (1997) ($15,000 forfeiture for 59 overages).  x\The Mass Media Bureau will continue its close scrutiny of individual commercial television  xlicense renewals, and may take, as necessary, additional enforcement measures for noncompliance  xjwith the Commission's rule limiting the amount of commercial matter in children's programming, such as the imposition of more substantial forfeitures in appropriate cases.  xFor additional information, please contact Laura Gallo (2024181600) of the Video Services Division, Mass Media Bureau. $K