WASHINGTON — The license renewal cycle is becoming costly for low-power TV stations that haven’t kept public inspection files current. Within one week, the commission leveled fines totaling $60,000 on low-power broadcasters for omissions related to recordkeeping on children’s programming. Of those, $45,000 were released on Friday:
Abacus TV of Jacksonville, Fla., licensee of WJKF-CA was fined $9,000 for failing to file Children’s Television Programming Reports for 14 of 17 quarters during its previous license period. Byrne Acquisition Group’s W48CX, aka WHHI, a Class A in Hilton Head, S.C., was fined $18,000 for missing the kid show filing requirement 23 times. Carmen Cabrera, licensee of WIMN-CA in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, was fined $3,000 for failing to file 11 kid TV reports. First Media Radio of Roanoke Rapids, N.C., licensee of WNVN-LP in Demopolis, Ala., was popped $6,000 for three missing reports and three missing kid TV commercial limit certifications. Specialty Broadcasting’s WRCF-LP of Orlando, Fla., earned a $9,000 fine for 10 missing reports.
Earlier in the week, Sunshine Broadcasting of Gainesville, Fla., was fined $15,000 for missing kid show reports at two stations—WIMP-CD in Miami and WARP-CD in Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla.
All of the omissions were discovered in license renewal applications filed last year.
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