Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
DA 07-4714
Release Date: November 21, 2007
Howard F. Jaeckel, Esq.
CBS Broadcasting, Inc.
1515 Broadway
New York, New York 10036
Re: Application for Renewal of License
Station KUTV(TV), Salt Lake City, Utah
File No. BRCT-20060601ASL
Facility ID No. 35823
 
Objectors and Counsel:
On August 28, 2006, Andrea Gutton and Sharilee Guest (“Objectors”) filed identical 
pleadings styled as formal petitions to deny (“Objections”) opposing the license renewal 
application for Station KUTV(TV), Salt Lake City, Utah, licensed to KUTV Holdings, Inc.
(“KUTV”), a wholly owned subsidiary of CBS Broadcasting, Inc. (“CBS”).1  CBS filed an 
opposition on January 9, 2007.  For the reasons set forth below, we will deny the Objections and 
grant the license renewal application.
Background.   The Objectors stated that station KUTV(TV) has violated community 
standards of decency, citing as an example the March 15, 2006, Notice of Apparent Liability for 
Forfeiture (“NAL”) issued against all CBS owned-and-operated and affiliated stations that aired 
the December 31, 2004, episode of the program “Without a Trace.”2 The Objectors stated that 
airing this program and filing suit to challenge the Commission’s indecency prohibition indicate 
that the station has not acted in the public interest and lacks the character qualifications to be a 
Commission licensee. They further stated that CBS violated the terms of the November 23, 2004 
Consent Decree between Viacom, its parent, and the Commission,3 which required it “to 
immediately suspend all employees materially participating in the decision to air indecent 
programming, and launch an internal investigation upon the issuance of a Notice of Apparent 
Liability for violation of indecency law.”4 They contended that “CBS and this station have made 
  
1 The Objectors did not serve the licensee, or otherwise provide a return address on the petition.   We will exercise 
our discretion pursuant to section 73.3587 of the Commission’s rules, however, and consider the filing as an 
informal objection.  47 C.F.R. §73.3587.
2 In the Matter of Complaints Against Various Television Licensees Concerning Their December 31, 2004, 
Broadcast of the Program “Without a Trace,” Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, 21 FCC Rcd 2732 
(2006).
3 Viacom, Inc. et al, Order, 19 FCC Rcd 23100 (2004) (“2004 Consent Decree”), pet. for recon. denied, 12 FCC Rcd 
12223 (2006).
4 Objections, at 3.
2
no announcement regarding the suspension of personnel, and investigation, or any other unmet 
condition of this Consent Decree.”5  
In response, CBS argued that it is contesting the March 15, 2006, NAL, and thus there is 
“no ultimate determination by the Commission that CBS has committed any violation of the 
FCC’s rules.”6 CBS further contended that, even were there to be such a finding, it would not 
“be of a character warranting the denial of the license renewal.”7 The scene at issue, according 
to CBS, “lasted less than a minute and involved no nudity or simulated sexual acts of a graphic 
nature.”8 With respect to whether its actions violated the 2004 Consent Decree, CBS stated that 
it had reached a “considered conclusion that it had presented nothing indecent and that none of 
its employees had done anything wrong.”9 According to CBS, to deny renewal based on 
violation of the 2004 Consent Decree, given these facts, would be “patently frivolous.”10
The Commission and CBS have negotiated the terms of a new Consent Decree attached 
to the instant letter concerning CBS’s compliance with the conditions set forth in the 2004 
Consent Decree.  As part of the attached Consent Decree, CBS acknowledges that it 
inadvertently failed to comply with the remedial steps specified in Paragraph IV(8)(f) of the 
2004 Consent Decree as contemplated by the FCC following issuance of the March 15, 2006 
Notice of Apparent Liability, understands the Consent Decree’s terms, and has taken steps to 
ensure the additional oversights do not occur in the future.
Section 309(k)(1) of the Communications Act of 1934 (the “Act”) states that the 
Commission shall grant a license renewal application if it finds, with respect to that station, that 
(a) the station has served the public interest, convenience, and necessity; (b) there have been no 
serious violations by the licensee of the Communications Act or Commission rules and 
regulations; and (c) there have been no other violations by the licensee of this Act or the rules or 
regulations of the Commission which, taken together, would constitute a pattern of abuse.11 With 
respect to whether grant will serve the public interest, the Commission will designate a hearing 
pursuant to Section 309(d)(1) of the Act if (a) the petitioner provides specific allegations of fact 
sufficient to show that such a grant would be prima facie inconsistent with the public interest;12
and (b) the allegations, taken together with any opposing evidence before the Commission, raise 
a substantial and material question of fact as to whether grant would serve the public interest.13
We find that the Objectors have failed to demonstrate that the licensee of station KUTV(TV) has 
committed serious violations of the Communications Act or Commission rules during the 
  
5 Id.
6 CBS Opposition, at 3.
7 Id.
8 Id. at 3-4.
9 Id. at 2, note 4.
10 Id.
11 47 U.S.C. §309(k)(1).
12 47 U.S.C. §309(d)(1); Astroline Communications Co. Ltd. Partnership v. FCC, 857 F.2d 1556 (D.C. Cir. 1988) 
(“Astroline”).
13 Astroline, 857 F.2d at 1561.
3
previous license term, or has otherwise engaged in a pattern of abuse.  We further find that the 
Objectors have failed to raise a substantial and material question of fact as to whether grant of 
the instant license renewal application would violate the public interest.  
Discussion.  We find that the Objectors have failed to demonstrate that the licensee of 
Station KUTV(TV) has committed serious violations of the Communications Act or Commission 
rules during the previous license term, or has otherwise engaged in a pattern of abuse.  We 
further find that the Objectors have failed to raise a substantial and material question of fact as to 
whether grant of the instant license renewal applications would violate the public interest.
CBS programming aired prior to the November 23, 2004, cannot be considered in 
determining whether grant of the instant license renewal application would comply with section 
309(k)(1) of the Act as the Commission has agreed not to use the facts of the 2004 Consent 
Decree, the forfeiture orders, the pending inquiries or complaints, "or any similar complaints" 
regarding programming aired before the Consent Decree's effective date for any purpose relating 
to Viacom or its stations, and to treat all such matters as null and void.14  With respect to 
KUTV’s character qualifications, the Commission concluded in the 2004 Consent Decree that, 
with respect to material aired before November 23, 2004, there were "no substantial and material 
questions of fact….as to whether Viacom possesses the basic qualifications, including its 
character qualifications, to hold or obtain any FCC licenses or authorizations."15  The 
Commission has upheld both of these determinations upon reconsideration.16  
The Objectors cited an excerpt from the episode of “Without a Trace” that resulted in the 
March 2006 NAL.  Section 504(c) of the Act prohibits reliance on the mere issuance of the NAL 
to demonstrate that grant of the license renewal application would be inconsistent with 309(k)(1) 
of the Act.17  The Commission has thus stated that it will “not penalize someone for challenging 
the NAL rather than paying it…but will look only to the facts underlying prior NALs to 
determine whether the person is engaging in a pattern of non-compliant behavior.”18  Based on 
the limited showing provided by the Objectors, we cannot find that the apparent violation 
justifies denial or designation of the license renewal application, or that it demonstrates a pattern 
of non-compliant behavior.  The fact that local municipalities have requested “family-friendly 
and child-appropriate [programming] standards” does not provide a sufficient basis to find that 
CBS’s current programming generally meets the legal definition of indecency.19 Furthermore, 
we conclude that CBS possesses the basic qualifications to hold an FCC license notwithstanding 
its airing of “Without a Trace” following the November 23, 2004 Consent Decree.
  
14 2004 Consent Decree, 19 FCC Rcd at 23106-23107, ¶ 10.
15 Id at 23103, ¶ 4.  
16 2004 Consent Decree, Order on Reconsideration 12 FCC Rcd at 12226-12227.
17 47 U.S.C. § 504(c) (generally prohibiting use of a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture that has neither been 
paid nor finally adjudicated in another proceeding to the detriment of the person to whom the notice was issued).  
18 In the Matter of the Commission’s Forfeiture Policy Statement and Amendment of Section 1.80 of the 
Commission’s Rules to Incorporate the Forfeiture Guidelines, 15 FCC Rcd 303, 304 ¶ 3 (1999).
19 Objections, at 2.
4
With respect to whether CBS violated the specific terms of the compliance plan entered 
into as part of the 2004 Consent Decree, the Commission and CBS have negotiated the terms of 
a new Consent Decree attached to the instant letter that resolves the issues raised by the 
Objectors.  Based on our review of the record, we conclude that the Consent Decree contains 
appropriate terms and conditions addressing the issues raised by the Objectors surrounding
noncompliance with the 2004 Consent Decree and that CBS has the basic qualifications to be a 
Commission licensee. Therefore, we conclude that there are no substantial and material 
questions of fact at issue and that grant of the instant license renewal application, subject to the 
specific representations and commitments contained in the Consent Decree, would comply with 
Section 309(k) of the Act.
Accordingly, the informal objections filed by Andrea Gutton and Sharilee Guest ARE 
DENIED.  IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the application (File No. BRCT-20060601ASL) 
of KUTV Holdings, Inc., for renewal of license for station KUTV(TV), Salt Lake City, Utah, IS 
GRANTED.
Sincerely,
Monica Shah Desai
Chief, Media Bureau