**DA 06-1517**

**Released: July 28, 2006**

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

Fox Television Stations, Inc.

KTXH(TV)

5151 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.

c/o Molly Pauker, Esq.

Washington, D.C. 20016

Re: Fox Television Stations, Inc.

KTXH(TV), Houston, Texas

Facility ID No. 51569

File No. BRCT-20060403BJA

Dear Licensee:

This refers to your license renewal application for station KTXH(TV),
Houston, Texas.

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 its Rules (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 April 3, 2006, you filed the above-referenced license renewal
application for station KTXH(TV). In response to Section IV, Question 5
of that application, you certify that, during the previous license term,
station KTXH(TV) failed to comply with the limitations on commercial
matter in children's programming specified in Section 73.670 of the
Rules.[^1] In Exhibit 19, you indicate that station KTXH(TV) exceeded
the children's television commercial limits on November 8, 2002, when a
commercial including the character of "Buzz Lightyear" aired during the
"Buzz Lightyear" program.[^2] You attribute the violation to human error
and recount station KTXH(TV)'s compliance procedures and corrective
measures taken in order to prevent future violations of the commercial
limits.

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,* 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 Fox Television Stations, Inc. (Fox) attributes the violation to
human error, the Commission has repeatedly rejected human error and/or
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). Nor do
corrective actions which have been taken to prevent subsequent
violations of the children's television rules and policies relieve Fox
of liability for the violation which has occurred. *See, e.g., WHP
Television, L.P. (WHP-TV)*, 10 FCC Rcd 4979, 4980 (MMB 1995); *Mountain
States Broadcasting, Inc. (KMSB-TV)*, 9 FCC Rcd 2545, 2546 (MMB 1994);
*R&R Media Corporation (WTWS(TV))*, 9 FCC Rcd 1715, 1716 (MMB 1994);
*KEVN, Inc.* *(KEVN-TV)*, 8 FCC Rcd 5077, 5078 (MMB 1993);
*International Broadcasting Corp.*, 19 FCC 2d 793, 794 (1969). 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
Fox for the admitted violation of Section 73.670 of the Rules described
in station KTXH(TV)'s renewal application. We remind Fox 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 the licensee
at the address listed above, and to Molly Pauker, Esq., Fox Television
Stations, Inc., 5151 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20016.

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

[^1]: 47 C.F.R. § 73.670.

[^2]: On October 26, 2001, the Commission granted an application to
    assign the license for station KTXH(TV) from Paramount Stations
    Group of Washington Inc. to Fox Television Stations, Inc.
    (BALCT-20010808ABE). That assignment transaction was consummated on
    November 1, 2001.