FCC Proposes $233,000 Fine Against Cumulus Media For Consent Decree Violations

$233,000 Fine

The FCC has proposed a $233,000 fine against four CUMULUS MEDIA subsidiaries for apparent violations of the FCC's sponsorship identification rules and for failing to timely self-report certain such violations pursuant to its prior consent decree.

The Commission noted that in 2011, a CUMULUS subsidiary, "failed to adequately identify the sponsor of announcements broadcast on its NEW HAMPSHIRE radio station." As a result, in 2016 CUMULUS entered into a Consent Decree with the Enforcement Bureau in which, among other things, CUMULUS agreed to pay a civil penalty, enter into a compliance plan, and report any noncompliance with the sponsorship identification rules within 15 calendar days after discovery of such noncompliance.

In today’s action, the FCC ruled that in 2017 and 2018, seven of CUMULUS’ radio stations apparently failed, in 26 instances, to air appropriate sponsorship identifications as required by FCC rules. In addition, CUMULUS waited nearly eight months before reporting certain of these violations to the Bureau, in violation of its commitments in the 2016 Consent Decree.

The proposed fine is being levied against CUMULUS subsidiaries RADIO LICENSE HOLDING CBC, LLC (RADIO LICENSE), CUMULUS LICENSING LLC, RADIO LICENSE HOLDINGS LLC, and CUMULUS RADIO LLC and covers violations at Hot AC WDVD and Country WDRQ (NASH FM 93.1)/DETROIT, Sports WTKA-A (THE TICKET 1050) and Country WWWW (102.9 W4 COUNTRY)/ANN ARBOR, Country WFBE (NASH FM 95.1) and Sports WTRX-A (SPORTS XTRA 1330)/FLINT, and News-Talk WMAC-A/MACON.

Commissioner GEOFFREY STARKS' dissent takes the FCC to task for not being harsh enough, asserting, "When you promise the Commission better policies and practices, and then repeat the same violation that you were obligated to correct, we must vindicate the public interest and demand full accountability." He added that the fine for the consent decree violation "does not follow well-established Commission precedent and is not, in my mind, commensurate with the misconduct and violations at issue.  From my time in the Enforcement Bureau, I know that these actions are significant and will not go unnoticed by savvy lawyers, who will undoubtedly refer to this case in future investigations.  I fear that the Commission’s action here will make it more difficult for us to impose significant penalties for consent decree violations in the future and will signalto industry that we do not take noncompliance seriously.  This will undermine the deterrent effect of our enforcement actions and make it more difficult for the Enforcement Bureau to prosecute its important mission."

« see more Net News