**DA 06-539**

**Released: March 8, 2006**

**[CERTIFIED MAIL -- RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED]{.underline}**

Viacom International Inc.

WTOG(TV)

2000 K Street, N.W.

Suite 725

Washington, D.C. 20006-1809

Re: Viacom International Inc.

WTOG(TV), St. Petersburg, FL

Facility ID No. 74112

File No. BRCT-20041001ALB

Dear Licensee:

This refers to your license renewal application for station WTOG(TV),
St. Petersburg, FL.

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 October 1, 2004, you filed the above-referenced license renewal
application for station WTOG(TV). In response to Section IV, Question 5
of that application, you certify that, during the previous license term,
station WTOG(TV) failed to comply with the limitations on commercial
matter in children's programming specified in Section 73.670 of the
Commission's Rules (Rules).[^1] In Exhibit 19 to that application, you
indicate that station WTOG(TV) exceeded the children's television
commercial limits on one occasion. Specifically, you report that on
Sunday, August 25, 2002, station WTOG(TV) aired a commercial for "Buzz
Lightyear" cereal during the "Buzz Lightyear" program. You attribute the
violation to inadvertence.

In *Children's Television Programming (Recon.),* the Commission stated
that, in order to avoid being considered a program-length commercial,
commercial matter related to a children's program must be separated from
that program "by intervening and unrelated program material." 6 FCC Rcd
at 5099. To ensure that there was no confusion, the Commission
"specifically note\[d\] that intervening commercial matter will not
suffice as a separation device." *Id.* at 5099 n.89. The Commission made
it clear in *Children's Television Programming,* moreover, that
program-length commercials, by their very nature, are extremely serious,
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." 6 FCC Rcd at 2118.

Although Viacom International Inc. (Viacom) attributes the violation to
inadvertence, the Commission has repeatedly rejected inadvertence as a
basis for excusing violations of the children's television commercial
limits. *See, e.g., LeSea Broadcasting Corp. (WHKE(TV))*, 10 FCC Rcd
4977 (MMB 1995); *Buffalo Management Enterprises Corp. (WIVB-TV)*, 10
FCC Rcd 4959 (MMB 1995); *Act III Broadcasting License Corp.
(WUTV(TV))*, 10 FCC Rcd 4957 (MMB 1995); *Ramar Communications, Inc.
(KJTV(TV))*, 9 FCC Rcd 1831 (MMB 1994). However, while we consider any
violation of our rules limiting the amount of commercial matter in
children's programming to be significant, the broadcast of the one
program-length commercial described in your renewal application appears
to have been an isolated occurrence. Though we do not rule out more
severe sanctions for a violation 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 admitted violation of Section 73.670 of the Commission's
Rules described in station WTOG(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 Viacom
International Inc. at the address listed above.

> Sincerely,
>
> Barbara A. Kreisman
>
> Chief, Video Division
>
> Media Bureau

[^1]: 47 C.F.R. § 73.670.