FCC Proposes Fining CBS $550,000 For Superbowl

[desdemona]

FCC Proposes Fining CBS Stations $550,000 For Singer's Exposure

By Frank Ahrens

Washington Post Staff Writer

Thursday, July 1, 2004; Page C01

The Federal Communications Commission has determined this week that singer Janet Jackson's brief breast-baring incident during CBS's broadcast of the Super Bowl halftime show in February was indecent and has proposed fining 20 CBS-owned stations a total of $550,000, according to FCC sources.

If approved, it would be the largest indecency fine ever levied against a television broadcaster.

The show also featured a crotch-grabbing rapper and several S&M-clad dancers gyrating behind Jackson and fellow pop star Justin Timberlake. Toward the end of the routine, Timberlake ripped off part of Jackson's leather bodice, exposing her breast for a few seconds. "A wardrobe malfunction," Timberlake said later.

FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell took the unusual step of personally launching an indecency investigation on the Monday after the Super Bowl, which was seen by about 90 million viewers. The FCC's enforcement bureau took up the case and concluded the investigation faster than usual.

The bureau has ruled that the halftime show violated the agency's indecency standards, which say that sexual or scatological material may not be broadcast over the airwaves between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when children are most likely to be watching.

The finding led to Powell's office placing an order before the five FCC commissioners, assessing the 20 CBS-owned stations the maximum fine of $27,500 each. If three of the five commissioners approve the order, parent company Viacom Inc. would be liable for the fine. It would be only the third fine levied against a television broadcaster in FCC history and is by far the largest. The agency has fined numerous radio broadcasters over the years for millions. It recently proposed fining Viacom's radio unit, Infinity Broadcasting, about $400,000 for remarks by shock jock Howard Stern and others.

The FCC would not comment yesterday.

Viacom owns 20 CBS and 19 UPN stations. CBS programming, however, is seen on more than 200 affiliate stations, including Washington's WUSA, Channel 9. The FCC chose not to fine the affiliates, saying they had no control over the production of the halftime show and no knowledge it would contain the racy material, said FCC sources, who would not comment on the record on a pending proceeding. The halftime show was produced by another Viacom subsidiary, MTV, known for its sexually suggestive videos and original series

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