*Pages 1--3 from Microsoft Word - 55583.doc* Federal Communications Commission Washington, D. C. 20554 March 10, 2006 DA 06- 556 Released: March 10, 2006 CERTIFIED MAIL – RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED White Knight Broadcasting of Shreveport License Corp. KSHV( TV) 700 St. John Suite 301 Lafayette, LA 70501 Re: White Knight Broadcasting of Shreveport License Corp. KSHV( TV), Shreveport, LA Facility ID No. 73706 File No. BRCT- 20050131ALG Dear Licensee: This refers to your license renewal application for station KSHV( TV), Shreveport, LA. In the Children’s Television Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101- 437, 104 Stat. 996- 1000, codified at 47 U. S. C. Sections 303a, 303b and 394, Congress directed the Commission to adopt rules, inter alia, limiting the number of minutes of commercial matter that television stations may air during children’s programming, and to consider in its review of television license renewals the extent to which the licensee has complied with such commercial limits. Pursuant to this statutory mandate, the Commission adopted Section 73.670 of the Rules, 47 C. F. R. § 73.670, which limits the amount of commercial matter which may be aired during children’s programming to 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and 12 minutes per hour on weekdays. The Commission also reaffirmed and clarified its long- standing policy against “program- length commercials.” The Commission defined a “program- length commercial” as “a program associated with a product, in which commercials for that product are aired,” and stated that the entire duration of any program- length commercial would be counted as commercial matter for the purpose of the children’s television commercial limits. Children’s Television Programming, 6 FCC Rcd 2111, 2118, recon. granted in part, 6 FCC Rcd 5093, 5098 (1991). The commercial limitations became effective on January 1, 1992. Children’s Television Programming, 6 FCC Rcd 5529, 5530 (1991). On January 31, 2005, you filed the above- referenced license renewal application for station KSHV( TV). In response to Section IV, Question 5 of that application, you certify that, during the previous license term, KSHV( TV) complied with the limitations on commercial matter in children’s programming specified in Section 73.670 of the Commission’s Rules. In Exhibit 19 to that application, however, you indicate that on September 24, 2002 a commercial for the 1 2 Gameboy Advance E- Reader broadcasted during the “Pokemon” program aired on the WB Network. According to your description, three “Pokemon” game cards were shown for approximately 1.04 seconds. You also indicate that the “Pokemon” game cards were not identifiable and were not verbally identified during the commercial. You maintain that the de minimis appearance of these cards could not have confused the viewer and that you do not believe that this occurrence violates the children’s programming commercial limits rules. Nonetheless, you state, the licensee is disclosing this incident out of an abundance of caution. As a preliminary matter, we note that Congress was particularly concerned about program- length commercials because young children often have difficulty distinguishing between commercials and programs. S. Rep. No. 227, 101 st Cong., 1 st Sess. 24 (1989). Thus, in Children’s Television Programming, the Commission made it clear that program- length commercials, by their very nature, are extremely serious violations of the children’s television commercial limits, stating that the program- length commercial policy “directly addresses a fundamental regulatory concern, that children who have difficulty enough distinguishing program content from unrelated commercial matter, not be all the more confused by a show that interweaves program content and commercial matter.” 1 Accordingly, in interpreting and applying the Commission’s policies regarding program- length commercials, we are concerned about and dealing with the cognitive abilities of young children, not adults. See, e. g., Scripps Howard Broadcasting Company (KNXV- TV), 12 FCC Rcd 19504, 19505 (MMB 1997) (Scripps Howard), aff’g 9 FCC Rcd 2547 (MMB 1994). With respect to the station’s broadcast of the commercial for the Gameboy Advance E- Reader, although you contend that the “Pokemon” game cards appeared for approximately 1.04 seconds during the commercial, it is well- established that the determination as to whether a particular program is a program- length commercial is not dependent on the duration of the appearance of the program- related product in the commercial announcement. The Commission has stated on numerous occasions that, where a commercial announcement includes a product related to the program in which the commercial is broadcast, then the program is a program- length commercial regardless of the duration of the appearance of the program- related product in the commercial. UTV of San Francisco, Inc. (KBHK- TV), 10 FCC Rcd 10986, 10988 (1995); see also WPIX, Inc., 14 FCC Rcd 9077 (MMB 1999) (commercial for “Spirit of Mickey” home video showing brief image of Donald Duck on cover of video aired during “Quack Pack” program); Act III Broadcasting License Corp. (WUTV( TV)), 10 FCC Rcd 4957 (1995), aff’d, 13 FCC Rcd 10099 (MMB 1997) (commercial for a fast food restaurant promoting a trip to Disney World as a contest prize contained a brief image of Goofy and aired during the program “Goof Troop”). Moreover, we believe that, in the context of the cognitive abilities of young children, there is the potential for confusion between the Gameboy commercial and the “Pokemon” program regardless whether any “Pokemon” character is depicted given the image of a “Pokemon” game card contained in the commercial and the consequent likelihood that children my associate it with the program. Based on these circumstances, where there is a clear potential for confusion in the minds of young children, the Commission’s program- length policy is applicable. Scripps Howard, 12 FCC Rcd at 19506. 1 Children’s Television Programming, 6 FCC Rcd at 2118. 2 3 While we consider any violation of our rules limiting the amount of commercial matter in children’s programming to be significant, the violation described in your renewal application appears to have been an isolated occurrence. Although we do not rule out more severe sanctions for violations of this nature in the future, we have determined that an admonition is appropriate at this time. Therefore, based upon the facts and circumstances before us, we ADMONISH you for the violation of the children’s television commercial limits rule and policies described in station KSHV( TV) ’s renewal application. We remind you that the Commission expects all commercial television licensees to comply with the limits on commercial matter in children’s programming. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, a copy of this Letter shall be sent by First Class and Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested to Sheldon Galloway, President, White Knight Broadcasting of Shreveport License Corp. at the address listed above, and to Kathryn R. Schmeltzer, Esquire, Shaw Pittman LLP, 2300 N Street, N. W., Washington, D. C. 20037. Sincerely, Barbara A. Kreisman Chief, Video Division Media Bureau 3