Back in October, iHeartMedia’s syndicated Bobby Bones Show inadvertently triggered the Emergency Alert System playing a YouTube clip of a prior EAS test on the air.
As part of a consent decree with the FCC, iHeart will pay $1 million in the form of a civil penalty, admit to misuse of EAS tones, and agreed to a compliance and reporting plan as a result of airing a the false alert. iHeart will also implement a three year compliance plan and remove all EAS tones or similar sounding sounds from all audio production libraries.
iHeart joins Viacom, ESPN, Univision’s “X96.3” WXNY New York, and Pathfinder Communications as recent groups to be fined or reach a settlement in regards to false EAS triggers. Read the full FCC Order here.