WBAV Fined Over Alleged Contest Discrepancy

WBAV

CBS RADIO Urban AC WBAV-FM (V101.9)/CHARLOTTE has been cited by the FCC for what appears to be a contest violation. The station allegedly failed to align pertinent dates broadcast over the air with those posted on-line.  The promotion was called “CAROLINA CUTIES.” It asked listeners to submit photos of their babies. Members of the station’s audience would vote on which they felt was the cutest and a grand price was presented to the winner.

Over the air the contest was scheduled to run until SEPTEMBER 5th, 2011 and the winner would be announced SEPTEMBER 6th. However, online it stated that the winner would be announced SEPTEMBER 4th, implying  that voting was cut off before SEPTEMBER 5th.

A contestant complained that the contest was not run as advertised and that the confusion created by the conflicting dates materially damaged the complainant’s baby’s chances of winning. The Company said it was an inadvertent staff error and that votes were accepted through SEPTEMBER 5th and that the error had no impact on the results of the contest. The FCC said a discrepancy is a discrepancy and fined the station $10,000.  The Company is expected to file an appeal.

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