FOX Rejects FCC Fine

BURBANK, March 25: FOX is
reportedly refusing to pay an indecency fine levied by the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) for a 2003 episode of the reality series Married
by America.

Last month, the FCC fined
13 FOX Television Network stations $7,000 each for the so-called “indecent
material.” The fines are only due from the stations in those markets where
viewers complained—not from all 169 owned-and-operated and affiliate
stations. The FOX owned-and-operated stations being fined include WJBK in
Detroit, KMSP-TV in Minneapolis and WTTG in Washington D.C.

According to published
reports, the News Corporation-owned broadcaster has called the FCC’s ruling
"arbitrary and capricious, inconsistent with precedent, and patently
unconstitutional." The network is set to appeal the ruling on behalf of
its own fined stations, as well as the affiliates.

The U.S. broadcast
networks have come under pressure by the FCC as of late for alleged obscene
material; earlier this year, ABC stations were hit with a $1.2-million fine for
a 2003 episode of NYPD Blue.
That too is expected to be appealed.

—By Mansha Daswani