WASHINGTON—The FCC has issued $3,374,000 in fines to 21 broadcast television licensees finding that they “willfully and repeatedly” violated rules limiting commercials during children's programming.

The violations occurred between Nov. 10 and Dec, 16, 2018 when a commercial for “Hot Wheels Super Garage” was inadvertently aired 11 times during eight 30-minute-long episodes of “Team Hot Wheels.” This was in violation of the Children’s Television Act of 1990 which, among other things, states that a program associated with a product, in which commercials for that product are aired, would be treated as a program-length commercial.

The commission said the violations came to light when stations admitted to breaking the rules when filing their license renewal applications in 2020.  

“Multiple Broadcasters responded “No” to the question in their applications entitled Children’s Programming Commercial Limitations, indicating that during the previous license term, the respective stations failed to fully comply with the commercial limits on children’s television programming,” the commission said.

Sinclair Broadcast Group bear the brunt of the fines, incurring $2,652,000 for each of its 82 stations. SBG was the provider of the Hot Wheels programming along with the related “Super Ultimate Garage” commercials.  Several Nexstar stations and a range of smaller station groups were also fined. 

The FCC said Sinclair’s violations were particularly egregious, “considering the number, nature, and circumstances of the commercial limit overages, as well as Sinclair’s history of prior offenses and ability to pay.”

“In the last 17 years Sinclair has been fined or admonished 11 times for program-length commercial violations, establishing an extensive history of prior offenses,” the commission said. “The circumstances and extent of the apparent violations here are particularly troubling because an experienced television licensee apparently committed them. 

“Over the course of slightly more than a month, not a single employee noticed that at least one—and sometimes more—Hot Wheels commercials were airing during a Hot Wheels program,” the commission added. “This is a textbook violation of Commission rules that have been in place for more than 30 years. 

“Sinclair, as a broadcast television company with roots stretching back five decades, was or should have been long aware of its compliance responsibilities in this context,” the FCC added. “Moreover, in light of its compliance record, the company should already have had a robust system in place to vet these advertisements. We consider Sinclair’s geographically extensive reach to a potentially large national audience of viewers as problematic as well.”

FCC Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel commented:

“It is not always easy to be a mom right now. I know, because I am one. The screens around us are multiplying, and it is hard to keep tabs on what our kids are consuming. But in the Children’s Television Act, Congress sought to ensure that broadcasting would remain a special place for kids’ content. The law put clear limits on advertising on children’s programming. Those limits were ignored here, where broadcasters mixed toy commercials with content and violated our rules. This Notice of Apparent Liability is the result. I thank my colleagues for supporting this enforcement action because every parent wants to know their kids are safe and with so many ways to watch, honoring the principles in the Children’s Television Act is essential.” 

WASHINGTON—On Thursday, Jan. 23, from 1:30 to 2:30 pm ET, the FCC’s Media Bureau will host a webinar reviewing the functionality of, and changes to, the Commission’s revised Children’s Television Programming Report. The Report has been amended to implement changes adopted by the Commission regarding the children’s programming rules and broadcasters’ related reporting and filing obligations.

To join the webinar online:

1. Click here or copy the link in the footnote below and paste it into your browser.

2. Click on “Join.”

3. Enter your name and email address.

During the event, those watching the live video stream will be able to email form-related questions that staff will address at the conclusion of the webinar. After the event, a recording of the webinar will be available for streaming. A link to the recording will be available at:

https://www.fcc.gov/general/childrens-educational-television-rules-and-orders.

For additional information, contact Evan Morris, legal advisor, Media Bureau, 202-418-1656 or by e-mail at Evan.Morris@fcc.gov; or Kathy Berthot, Policy Division, Media.

WASHINGTON—Dec. 17 will be the last time that TV broadcasters will be required to file quarterly Children’s Television Programming Reports as the FCC plans to transition to annual reports as part of its efforts to modernize KidVid rules.

The FCC launched a Report & Order this past summer that is designed to update children television (KidVid) rules so broadcasters can have greater flexibility. One of these changes was to only require broadcasters to submit an annual programming report within 30 days of the end of the calendar year. This change is still pending Office of Management & Budget approval, but the FCC expects it to be approved by Jan. 1, 2020.

The public notice issued by the FCC’s Media Bureau recently informs that broadcasters will no longer be able to file new or amend previously filed quarterly Children’ Reports after Dec. 17 of this year. Also, as they await OMB’s decision, the commission is waiving the requirement that quarterly reports be filed by Jan. 10, 2020.

In the event that a broadcaster must amend or failed to submit a quarterly Children’s Report after Dec. 17, it will need to provide the necessary information in the form of an explanatory document and be uploaded to a station’s online public inspection file, placed in the Children’s Report section under the folder entitled Additional Documents.

With the upcoming license renewal cycle for television stations upcoming in June 2020, the public notice also advises licensees to include an exhibit as part of their license renewal application noting if any such explanatory document has been uploaded.

The complete public notice is available on the FCC’s ECFS database.

WASHINGTON—Following the FCC’s recent update to children’s television programming rules, the commission has released a Small Entity Compliance Guide aimed at smaller TV stations and other organizations to help them comply with the revised rules.

The new KidVid rules, which officially went into effect on Sept. 16., cover how and when TV stations can air educational/informational programming. These changes include extending the time frame when children’s programming can air from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. to 6 a.m.-10 p.m.; allowing for programming to be aired on multicast OTA channels and count toward required hours; and more.

While these new rules are now in effect, reporting requirements for them must still get approval from the Office of Management and Budget.

That is an example of an element that is covered in this Compliance Guide, which also address implementation dates, internet links and other recordkeeping requirements.

However, the FCC reminds those using the Compliance Guide that it is not a catch-all for all situations, and while it can be used as a form of protection against potential violations, “this Guide is not intended to replace or supersede these rules.”

The full Small Entity Compliance Guide is available here.

WASHINGTON—Following the commission’s vote to give broadcasters greater flexibility to meet KidVid requirements, the FCC also issued a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that deals with educational and information programming, and has now announced its comment deadlines.

The FNPRM states that the FCC is “seeking additional comment on the creation of a framework under which television broadcast stations could satisfy their children’s programming obligations, by relying, in part, on special efforts to produce or support children’s educational and informational programming on other stations in their markets.”

In the previous NPRM, broadcasters seemed to be in favor of such a regulation. The NAB told the FCC in comments it filed that TV stations that share a market should have the option to put their kid programming on channels suitable for a younger audience, and for an owner of two stations in a market to air most or all of its E/I programming on one of them.

Comments on the FNPRM will be Sept. 16. Reply comments will be due by Oct. 15.

WASHINGTON—The FCC today on a 3-2 vote approved several changes to its long-standing children’s TV rules during its July open monthly meeting.

Overall, the changes recognize the dramatic transformation in the availability of children’s video content and offer over-the-air broadcasters new flexibility in meeting their obligations to provide educational programming over the air, said FCC Michael O’Rielly, a proponent for modernization of Kidvid rules.

“This item largely retains the existing regulations in place for the benefit of those who watch Kidvid shows every week,” said O’Rielly.

“This is a modest approach that does nothing to disturb the requirement for broadcasters to air 156 hours per year of Kidvid programs.”

The new rules:

• extend the time frame for core children’s programming by an hour from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.;
• require the majority of core programming to be regularly scheduled on a weekly basis and be at least 30 minutes long; however, permit broadcasters to air up to 52 hours per year of educational specials or short-form programs;
• modify safe-harbor processing guidelines used to determine compliance with Kidvid rules;
• permit 52 hours (13 hours quarterly) of a broadcaster’s yearly 156 hours of core programming to be regularly scheduled weekly programming on a multicast OTA channel;
• revise core programming preemption policies; and remove the obligation to display the Educational and Informational Programming symbol throughout core programing for non-commercial stations.

The changes, particularly the flexibility in scheduling children’s programming and opening up a local broadcaster’s multicast channel for Kidvid use, give TV broadcasters “the opportunity to compete with other video providers without drastically altering the foundation of our Kidvid requirements,” said O’Rielly.

However, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel disagreed. “Take it from the only mother serving on the Federal Communications Commission. Being a parent is not easy,” she said.

“My kids are my sweetest accomplishment and greatest source of joy, but they are also a reliable source of exhaustion. As every mother knows, every little thing that makes it easy to get through the day with your children healthy and safe is a thing you can get behind and support. That’s why the Children’s Television Act is so important.”

The requirements under the act limit advertising and address the obligation of a station to serve the educational and informational needs of children. To meet this obligation, broadcasters must air three hours a week of Kidvid programming—less than 2% of their broadcast time, she said. “I don’t think that is burdensome. I think it is beneficial,” she said.

Acknowledging the fact that children no longer huddle around the TV on Saturday mornings because of the myriad new options they have for programming, Rosenworcel nonetheless said changes in viewing behavior do not warrant Kidvid rule changes.

“Shame on us for using this as an excuse to cut children’s television and make it harder for parents to find safe content on the screen,” she said.

Noting the digital divide in the country, Rosenworcel said many people cannot access children’s content via broadband internet.

In introducing the item for consideration, a member of the Media Bureau staff noted that Nielsen found in the year 2000 that children ages 2 to 16 watched an average of four hours and 19 minutes of video content—nearly two hours of which was on broadcast TV and two minutes of internet-based content.

By 2017, Nielsen figures reveal viewing time had grown to 4.5 hours per day with 37 minutes on average watched on broadcast TV and two hours and three minutes seen on the internet, the staff member said.

During his comments in support of the changes, Commissioner Brendan Carr pointed to the significant growth in the number of hours of children’s programming broadcasters air, notwithstanding cable, satellite and internet TV options.

“Over-the-air broadcasters alone now provide many more hours of children’s programming than the three hours per week required by FCC rules,” said Carr.

He pointed to Ion and PBS as examples. Both “broadcast children’s programming for free 24 hours a day.”

One objection Commissioner Geoffrey Starks raised related to how the rule changes would affect those with disabilities. Specifically, Starks noted a concern that because FCC rules don’t require closed captions for short-form content and multicast streams, viewers with disabilities could be “significantly harmed.”

“Video description and captioning tools are used by deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, visually impaired or deaf-blind children, and by parents and family members with disabilities in order to engage in content with their children and further the educational purpose,” said Starks.

In supporting modernization of the rules, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai noted the significant changes that have occurred in the 29 years since the Children’s Television Act was passed.

“Media that did not exist in 1990, most notably the commercial internet and online streaming services, have completely transformed what we know, what we watch, how we watch and when we watch it,” said Pai.

“This explosion in choice of content and distribution has benefited children, who have access to far more educational programming across all of these platforms than was imaginable in 1990.”

The agency also adopted a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on a way for broadcasters to set aside part of their children’s programming obligations by sponsoring core programming aired on another channel in their market.

The vote was along party lines with Pai, Carr and O’Reilly voting in the affirmative and commissioners Rosenworcel and Starks voting no.

More information is available on the FCC website.

WASHINGTON—Following the request for comments on the FCC’s proposed rule changes to children’s programming, a group of nine Democratic U.S. Senators—Tammy Baldwin (WI), Richard Blumenthal (CT), Sherrod Brown (OH), Tammy Duckworth (IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Amy Klobuchar (MN), Ed Markey (MA), Elizabeth Warren (MA) and Ron Wyden (OR)—has filed a letter with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in opposition to the new rules.

According to FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, the proposed changes to the Children’s Television Act of 1990 are “modest” and are designed to provide schedule flexibility, more diverse and innovative programming, and relieve pressure on broadcasters. However, the senators argue that these new rules would “significantly decrease children’s access to this [educational programming] critical resource.”

Chief among the senators’ concerns are that “the Commission’s current proposed changes would limit the reach of educational content available to children and have a particular damaging effect on youth in low-income and minority communities,” the letter reads. They claim that the new rules would decrease access to valuable educational content through over-the-air services, which 16% of African-American households rely on, 20% of Hispanic households and 30% of Americans making less than $25,000 per year. “We encourage you to continue requiring broadcasters to provide at least three hours per week of regularly scheduled, educational content on primary stations.”

The letter also says that the new rules would allow a third of required educational content to be aired on secondary “multicast” stations. This would limit the number of households that the content could reach, as the senators argue that total viewership of these secondary channels is much lower than broadcasters’ primary stations and aren’t available in “millions” of households.

As for scheduling, only requiring that two-thirds of educational children’s content be regularly scheduled would cause barriers for parents, as they would not know when the programming would be on. As a result, the senators recommend maintaining the current rule that all KidVid programming remain on a regularly scheduled basis.

Other changes that the letter acknowledges could negatively impact children include the extended time frame for when children’s programming can be aired and allowing the required three hours of broadcast per week to be achieved across all of a broadcaster’s stations airing educational programming rather than for each station.

“In exchange for free access to the airwaves, broadcasters, among other public interest obligations, are required to air a mere three hours per week—less than 2% of their total broadcast time—of educational children’s content. This should remain the rule,” the letter concludes.

The vote on the FCC’s KidVid rules is scheduled to take place during the July open meeting on July 10. The NAB previously came out in support of the FCC’s proposed changes.

Both commercial and government entities are taking a closer look at the rules and practices they employ for children’s programming.

The FCC this week asked for public input (aka Report & Order) regarding its children programming rules with a vote set for the commission’s July open meeting. Meanwhile, YouTube, after some recent controversial incidents, is considering its own rule changes to where it places kids’ content.

FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly described the proposed changes in the R&O as “modest.” Among them are changes to the requirements for airing educational and informational children’s programming. This includes extending the time range for when E/I programming satisfies the required three-hours-per-week window (6 a.m.-10 p.m.); counting a limited number of non-regularly scheduled programming toward the three-hour total, though the majority still regularly scheduled programming; allowing a limited number of short-form programming; and more.

The order says these changes would provide “additional schedule flexibility, allow broadcasters to offer more diverse and innovative educational programming, and relieve unnecessary burdens on broadcasters, while also ensuring that high quality educational programming remains available to all children.”

The FNPRM, meanwhile, is seeking comments on a regime that would allow broadcasters to meet kid programming obligations by, in part, producing or funding programs that aired on another station in their markets.

Some, like the NAB, see these proposed rule changes as a necessary modernization. In an official statement, NAB Executive Vice President of Communications Dennis Wharton said:

“NAB appreciates the efforts of Commissioner O’Rielly, Chairman Pai and FCC staff in crafting common-sense reform to children’s TV regulations long out of step with 21st century marketplace dynamics. Children today can watch video content anytime, anywhere and on any device. While NAB believes the record supports even further relief from KidVid rules, we appreciate the flexibility these revised rules will provide to broadcasters to better serve children, parents and our local communities.”

One of those new sources for children’s content that Wharton referenced is YouTube, which is reviewing some of its own procedures when it comes to such content. As The Wall Street Journal has reported, following some incidents where children were exposed to inappropriate content, the online video platform is looking at a couple of different options: one is moving all children’s content into the already existing YouTube Kids app; another is switching off a feature that automatically plays a new video after one has been completed for kids’ programming.

No decision has yet been made as to how YouTube will address these concerns and proposed changes. The FCC will hold a vote on the R&O on July 10.

A new Pew Research survey has found that a large majority (81%) of parents turn to YouTube for kids content, about half go to it for how to do stuff they don't know how to do, and a minority turn to it for news.

That kids content finding could buttress Republican FCC member assertions that they can loosen rules on broadcast kids content because parents and kids are increasingly looking over the top for content, as well as arguments by kids TV advocates that YouTube needs to better monitor the child-targeted portions of its site.

Pew says it polled a "nationally representative" sample of 4,500 adults. Of those, 51% said YouTube provided important how-to information, while 19% said it was helpful in their understanding of what was happening in the world. 

That last finding could raise flags with those worried about fake news and election meddling online, though the survey also found that respondents recognized that they could not believe everything they saw. About two-thirds (64%) said they at least sometimes accessed YouTube videos that seemed obviously false or untrue, while 60% recognized that some of the videos were of "dangerous or troubling" behavior.

Pew also studied the sites recommendation algorithm and found that the recommendations encouraged viewers to watch progressively longer videos, from 9 minutes to almost 12 minutes to almost 15 minutes by the fifth video recommendation.

That study looked at 696,468 "total encounters" resulting in 346,086 unique recommended videos. That study of recommended video also reinforced the prominence of children's content on YouTube, said Pew. "Of the 50 individual videos that were recommended most often during the analysis, 11 of them were determined by researchers to be oriented toward children, based on their content."

WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission today by a 4-0 vote adopted an order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to open C-band downlink spectrum for flexible use, including deployment of 5G services in the mid-band.

The action, taken during the FCC’s monthly Open Meeting, makes available 500 MHz between 3.7 and 4.2 GHz for flexible use to encourage development of advanced wireless services, including 5G.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr noted the rapidly growing demand of consumers for mobile data, noting that today’s monthly total exceeds 1 exabyte, and echoed the sentiments of his three fellow commissioners about the urgency of finding more spectrum to meet that demand.

INFORMATION GATHERING

The order requires fixed satellite service earth station operators in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band to certify their existing registration and license information. It also requires collection of information from space station licensees on their use of the band. The FCC will use the information to find the most efficient way to drive use of the band for 5G, IoT and other service, while protecting incumbents.

The NPRM proposes adding a mobile allocation to all 500 MHz identified for C-band flexible use and asks for comments on different proposals, including market-based, auction and other mechanisms, for bringing flexible use to the band.

It also seeks comment on allowing more intensive point-to-multipoint fixed use in a portion of the band on a shared basis as well as on ways to protect incumbents from harmful interference.

[Read: Rep. Cole: Noncoms Must Be Protected In C Band Sharing]

Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said the agency must do even more to make spectrum available, including freeing the 3.5GHz band that for years has been “ready to go” but remains “mired in the agency’s bureaucracy.” Rosenworcel called for publication of a spectrum calendar that puts “every band on a schedule for all to see,” and removes the opaqueness regarding when certain bands will become available for more intensive use.

In response, the NAB reminded the commission of the value of C-band services for broadcasting.

“Nearly every American depends on C-band satellite spectrum to receive radio and television programming,” the association said. “The FCC should tread lightly when looking at repurposing even more spectrum for the commercial wireless industry. Slogans and promises are what led the FCC to repurpose spectrum for Dish, and that spectrum still sits fallow. NAB looks forward to working with the Commission to take a close look at widespread existing uses of C-band spectrum, and determining the best path forward.”

TWEAKING EAS

The agency also took steps to enhance the nation’s emergency alerting systems during the meeting. It adopted a Report and Order laying out procedures for authorized state and local officials to conduct “live code” tests of the Emergency Alert System using the codes and processes used during an actual emergency.

Commissioner Michael O’Rielly opposed the use of actual EAS tones for these tests. “Americans should not fear they are in imminent danger,” he said. While voting to approve the item, O’Rielly dissented to this portion of the R&O.

[Read: Missouri The Next State To Conduct A Solo EAS/WEA Test]

However, the other commissioners generally expressed that using the actual codes will increase the proficiency of local alerting officials and educate the public about how to respond to an actual alert. The R&O requires steps to coordinate and plan the tests as well as disclaimers to inform the public that such warnings are only test.

The item also authorizes Public Service Announcements using the two-tone attention signal and the simulated header code of three audible tones that come before the attention signal as long as an appropriate disclaimer is included in the PSA.

The R&O gives EAS participants 24 hours to report any false emergency alert message to the FCC operations center.

KIDVID FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

The agency also adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking aimed at modernizing so-called Kid Vid rules set up in 1996 as directed by the Children’s Television Act.

The genesis of the NPRM is the dramatic transformation in the way children are accessing content. Rather than relying almost exclusively on TV as in 1996, today’s kids can find content on dedicated children’s channels carried by MVPDs, on multicast broadcast channels, and over the top, said O’Rielly, who is spearheading the changes.

NAB applauded the move.

“NAB thanks the FCC for its proposal to update children’s television programming rules and Commissioner O’Rielly for his leadership on this issue,” the association said in a statement. :Broadcasters remain committed to delivering educational programming to kids. But given the seismic changes in how children consume media, it makes perfect sense for the Commission to take a fresh look at these regulations. We will work with the FCC and other stakeholders to craft common-sense, flexible and effective rules that allow local TV stations to continue serving the educational needs of children.”