FCC Rejects Deerfield Media Good Faith Appeal
The full FCC rejected an appeal by Deerfield Media and other broadcasters of a $512,228 per station forfeiture order over violation of the good faith negotiation rules, said an order on reconsideration Monday (see 2107280068). The stations involved are affiliated…
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with Sinclair Broadcast through service agreements, but Sinclair isn't a party in the proceeding. The broadcasters argued the forfeiture order violated their right to due process because they lacked fair notice that they were violating the rules and of the magnitude of the penalty. “Dismissal of the Petition is warranted under section 1.106 of the Commission’s rules because Defendants failed to raise their constitutional due process arguments earlier in this proceeding though they could have done so,” the order said. The broadcasters also didn’t make any public interest arguments for why their forfeiture should be reconsidered, the order said. “We are not persuaded that Defendants lacked notice of the potential magnitude of sanctions for violation of the good faith standard and rule.” The order also rejected arguments by individual broadcasters that their forfeiture amount should be reduced for inability to pay.