TV Station Fined $369,190 for Failure to Participate in Nationwide EAS Tests
Posted on January 31st, 2025 by adminThe FCC has fined a Texas television station $369,190 for failing to properly participate in nationwide EAS tests in 2018, 2019 and 2021. While the station had equipment installed, its employees were not familiar with the station’s obligations or how the EAS equipment functioned. In an attempt to show compliance, they created and aired their own EAS alerts instead of properly receiving and retransmitting the distributed national EAS test alert message. The station made things worse by certifying that it had received and retransmitted the alerts in the EAS Test Reporting System.
The FCC does not conduct nationwide EAS Tests every year, but when they do, their notices announcing the test always contain a warning that stations not properly participating may be subject to enforcement action. However, we really have not seen such actions, thus far. In the case of this Texas TV station, the FCC decided to make a pretty good example.
Other fines may be in the works, but one thing is clear: EAS violations are serious matters, and compliance must be a top priority for stations to avoid potentially significant fines.