$20,000 Penalty Proposed for Contest Rules Violation

The FCC Enforcement Bureau proposed a $20,000 penalty against iHeartMedia-associated broadcaster IHM Licenses over violations of the agency’s contest rules by WBGG(FM) Fort Lauderdale, said a notice of apparent liability released Tuesday. The station allegedly disqualified a contest entrant in May 2019 because the same person had won a previous contest two months earlier. Station staff told the would-be contestant that winners of contests in the previous 90 days were barred from participating, but the contest’s written rules set that limit at only 30 days. The station also didn’t keep the contest’s rules posted online for 30 days after the contest’s end, the NAL said. The broadcaster argued the rules were ambiguous, but FCC precedent “makes clear that ambiguous rules are to be construed against the interests of the promoter of the contest,” said the NAL. The proposed forfeiture was adjusted upward due to iHeart’s history of violating contest rules and ability to pay, the NAL said.