FCC Proposes $504,000 Penalty for Fox on EAS Tones
The FCC proposed a $504,000 penalty against Fox for transmitting false emergency alert system codes during an NFL promotion in November 2021, said a notice of apparent liability in Wednesday’s Daily Digest. A three-second clip of EAS tones was aired…
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on the FOX NFL Sunday pregame show as part of “a short comedic advertisement for an upcoming game,” the NAL said. The broadcast aired on 18 Fox-owned stations and 190 network affiliates, and the audio went out over Fox’s radio and satellite radio programming, the NAL said. “This manner of appropriation of the EAS Tones is exactly the type of simulation that the Commission’s rules seek to address and prohibit in order to avoid diluting the EAS Tones’ real meaning over time,” the NAL said. “This self-promotion for the purposes of additional economic gain at the expense of the integrity of the EAS constitutes egregious misconduct warranting an additional upward adjustment.” Fox didn’t comment. An FCC spokesperson confirmed the NAL was the enforcement item that had been set for Thursday’s open meeting agenda. The FCC published a deletion notice for that item and an adjudicatory item on noncommercial educational window selectees (see 2301240037) Tuesday.