The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a $147,000 fine against the Walt Disney Company’s ESPN after the sports network utilized audio associated with the Emergency Alert System (EAS) in a promotional spot last year.
The spot coincided with the start of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) 2023-24 season, whose games are carried on ESPN and sister network ABC.
The FCC investigated the matter and found that ESPN “willfully and repeatedly violated” certain federal rules regarding the use of EAS tones, which are limited to actual emergencies and test broadcasts.
“Transmitting EAS tones in the absence of an actual emergency is not a game,” Loyaan A. Egal, the Chief of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, said in a statement on Thursday. “These types of violations can raise substantial public safety concerns by causing confusion and in some cases interfering with legitimate emergency uses. Today’s proposed fine reflects the FCC’s commitment to keep the lines clear when it comes to the proper use of tools broadcasters are entrusted with to assist the public during an emergency.”
The FCC’s probe against ESPN started last October after the agency received complaints that the sports network had transmitted the actual EAS tones or a simulation of that audio during an NBA promotional spot.
Related: FCC hits Fox with fine over use of EAS tones
ESPN later admitted it used the tones on two ESPN-owned sports networks — the flagship ESPN network and ESPN 2 — a total of six times, the FCC said. The network provided copies of the promotional spots, which it said were transmitted on cable platforms and streaming services, and were also likely available on YouTube. Several ESPN employees reviewed the spots before they aired, the network affirmed, according to the FCC.
The FCC determined the sports network’s use of EAS tones was on purpose, and is now proposing a maximum fine of $146,976 for the six uses. The sports network will have an opportunity to appeal the fine; if they do not, the payment is due within 30 days. Disney owns a controlling, 80 percent stake in ESPN; Hearst Television owns the other 20 percent.
This is the third fine against ESPN for EAS tone violations over the past 10 years. In 2015, the FCC fined ESPN for a similar use of the emergency tones, and ESPN was found liable for violating the EAS rules again in 2021. In both instances, the tones were used in promotional spots, the FCC said.
