READ THE RESTAdd another $12,000 to Pokemon's tab.
That is how much the FCC has proposed fining KHCW(TV) Houston, Tex., for violating the FCC's limits on commercials in kids TV shows, including a program-length commercial triggered by an ad in the Pokemon show.
The FCC has fined numerous stations for an ad for the GameBoy E-Reader on the defunct WB Network that aired during the show and featured a fleeting glimpse of a Pokemon character. The FCC has said that any reference to a character in a show in an ad within that show turns the entire show into an ad (got that?).
The station also admitted to airing two other program-length commercials and exceeding the ad limits--10.5 minutes per hour on weekend, 12.5 on weekdays--by 90 seconds. The benchmark fine for the commercial violations is $8,000, but the FCC bumped it up, citing the number of violations.
Here is the FCC document. CONTACT: Leave me a Houston or Texas media news tip | COMMENT: Click to leave your thoughts on this post here
