Viacom to Pay $3.5 Million FCC Fine
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WASHINGTON – Viacom agreed yesterday to pay $3.5 million to end investigations by the Federal Communications Commission into allegations of indecency in its radio and television programming.
The fine, one of the largest in FCC history, settles three pending FCC investigations, one involving shock jock Howard Stern and two involving Opie and Anthony, who lost their Viacom owned New York radio show after it featured a couple purporting to have sex inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan.
Viacom agreed to install audio delay equipment at its radio stations that broadcast live programming, and to train its broadcasters and employees about indecency laws.
“This consent decree allows us to move forward and to focus our efforts in this area by serving our viewers and listeners with techniques to safeguard live broadcasts, such as cutaways and video and audio delays,” Viacom said in a statement.
These are not related to the FCC’s $550,000 fine levied against Viacom after the exposure of singer Janet Jackson’s breast during the CBS Super Bowl halftime show in January. Viacom is contesting that fine.
The agreement cancels investigations into about 50 radio and television shows, said the FCC deputy secretary of communications, Richard Diamond. The shows were broadcast by Viacom owned stations across the country, including some in Florida, Michigan, Ohio, California, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Texas, Massachusetts, and New York.
Viacom has five days to pay the $3.5 million fine, according to the agreement.
Infinity Broadcasting, which is owned by Viacom, paid cumulative fines totaling $1.7 million in 1995 to settle FCC violations by Mr. Stern.
Mr. Stern said last month he was moving from traditional broadcasting to satellite radio network Sirius starting in January 2006, after he finishes his deal with Infinity.
Until their broadcast from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 2002, Greg “Opie” Hughes and Anthony Cumia were syndicated in 17 markets outside New York City, including Cleveland, Dallas, Las Vegas, New Orleans, and Washington. The pair had been off the air until they joined with XM Satellite Radio in October.
By leaving traditional airwaves, the shock jocks avoid any oversight by the FCC.
