WASHINGTON—The Federal Communications Commission has entered into consent decrees with several broadcasters that resolve a 2018 case relating to violations of rules governing children’s programming.
As part of recent orders and consent degrees issued between July 17 and 22, the FCC also agreed to renew the broadcast TV licenses for stations owned by MPS Media, Mercury Broadcasting, Second Generation of Iowa, Deerfield and Manhan Media, Waitt Broadcasting, New Age Media and GoCom Media.
The investigations stem from violations occurring 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.” The FCC found that this violated 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.
In 2022, the FCC levied $3.3 million in fines and September of 2024 the FCC has released a forfeiture order against 19 station groups covering 113 TV stations for a total $3,334,000 in fines for violations in the case.
The newest consent degrees follow a major settlement in late June of 2024 with Sinclair of various investigations, including violations of children's programming rules in the “Hot Wheels” case. In that settlement, Sinclair did not admit to wrongdoing but agreed to make a voluntary payment of $500,000 and to put systems in place to avoid future violations.
The FCC had initially levied a $2.652 million fine on Sinclair, which was opposed by then-commissioner Brendan Carr, a Republican appointee who is now FCC chair.
As part of the newest consent degrees issued between July 17 and 22, the FCC also agreed to renew the following broadcast licenses:
- Mercury Broadcasting Company, Inc., licensee of full-power television station KMTW, Hutchinson, Kan.
- MPS Media of Tennessee License, LLC, licensee of full-power television station WFLI-TV, Cleveland, Tenn.
- Second Generation of Iowa, LTD, licensee of full-power television station KFXA, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
- Waitt Broadcasting, Inc., licensee of full-power television station KMEG, Sioux City, Iowa.
- GoCom Media of Illinois, LLC, licensee of full-power television stationn WBUI, Decatur, Ill.
- Deerfield Media’s KBTV-TV in Port Arthur, Texas; KMYS in Kerrville, Texas; WHAM-TV in Rochester, N.Y.; WSTR-TV in Cincinnati; and Manhan Media’s WWHO, Chillicothe, Ohio.
- New Age Media’s WGFL in High Springs, Fla.; WOLF-TV in Hazleton, Pa.,;WQMY in Williamsport, Pa.; and W24DB-D, a Class A station operating as a translator of WOLF-TV.
