**DA 07-1595**

**Released: April 4, 2007**

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

Raleigh (WRDC-TV) Licensee, Inc.

WRDC(TV)

c/o Kathryn Schmeltzer, Esq.

Shaw Pittman LLP

2300 N Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20037-1128

Re: Raleigh (WRDC-TV) Licensee, Inc.

WRDC(TV), Durham, NC

Facility ID No. 54963

File No. BRCT-20040730ARG

Dear Licensee:

This refers to your license renewal application for station WRDC(TV),
Durham, NC.

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.[^1] The commercial limitations became effective on January 1,
1992.[^2]

On July 30, 2004, you filed the above-referenced license renewal
application for station WRDC(TV). In response to Section IV, Question 5
of that application, you certify that, during the previous license term,
WRDC(TV) failed to comply with the limitations on commercial matter in
children's programming specified in Section 73.670 of the Rules. In
Exhibit 19, you indicate that on September 13, 2002 during the program
"Tarzan", station WRDC(TV) aired a commercial advertising "Disney on
Ice", which contained an appearance by the program's Tarzan character.
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."[^3] To
ensure that there was no confusion, the Commission "specifically
note\[d\] that intervening commercial matter will not suffice as a
separation device."[^4] 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."[^5] Although
you indicate that the program-length commercial resulted from
inadvertence, this does not mitigate or excuse the violation. In this
regard, the Commission has repeatedly rejected human error and
inadvertence as a basis for excusing violations of the children's
television commercial limits.[^6]

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. 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 Raleigh (WRDC-TV) Licensee, Inc. for the violation of the
children's television commercial limits rule and policies described in
station WRDC(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 the licensee
at the address listed above, and to its counsel, Kathryn Schmeltzer,
Esquire, Shaw Pittman LLP, 2300 N Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
20037-1128.

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

[^1]: *Children's Television Programming*, 6 FCC Rcd 2111, 2118, *recon.
    granted in part*, 6 FCC Rcd 5093, 5098 (1991).

[^2]: *Children's Television Programming,* 6 FCC Rcd 5529, 5530 (1991).

[^3]: 6 FCC Rcd at 5099.

[^4]: *Id.* at 5099 n.89.

[^5]: *Children's Television Programming*, 6 FCC Rcd at 2118.

[^6]: *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).