The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could go all the way with a proposed fine against ESPN.
The proposal calls for a penalty of $146,976 against ESPN for violating the Emergency Alert System (EAS) rules when the network aired ads to promote the 2023-2024 NBA season. The FCC said the tones were used “in the absence of an actual emergency.”
Penalty! ESPN faces a proposed FCC fine for using an emergency alert tone in a promo ad. Using this tone is out of bounds – it’s a public safety hazard to confuse or desensitize viewers to actual emergency alerts. As the refs for these important systems, we made the call.
— The FCC (@FCC) October 17, 2024
The offending ads contained the unauthorized EAS tune and were aired six times from October 20 to 24, 2023. Several complaints were filed on October 20 about the TV spots. The cable network admitted in response to a letter of inquiry that it used the EAS attention signals in the ads.
ESPN will have an opportunity to respond to the proposed fine. The Commission will examine all the evidence and legal arguments surrounding the alleged illegal tone use before making a final decision on the matter.
This is the third time the network misused an emergency tone on air. The FCC issued a $1.12 million fine as part of a forfeiture order in 2015 when ESPN used EAS tones a total of 13 times across three of its cable networks. ESPN violated EAS tone usage rules a second time during an airing of one of its 30 for 30 documentaries Roll Tide/War Eagle, leading to a $20,000 fine in 2021.
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