Univision agrees to decree in EAS infraction

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Univision-RadioA television ad with an EAS tone in it resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for that industry. A Univision radio station faces a much lighter liability for a similar infraction.


At issue was programming on Univision’s WXNY-FM New York.

The FCC wrote, “The Commission received a Complaint from a resident of Passaic County, New Jersey (a suburb of New York City) alleging that, on January 28, 2014, he heard “EAS warning tones” aired over Station WXNY-FM. He then tuned in to listen for further instruction but did not hear Station employees declare any type of emergency or announce a test of the EAS. The listener tried to understand the Spanish words to determine the nature of the warning, but ultimately realized that it was not a true emergency alert. The Complainant noted that it would be confusing for listeners to hear the EAS Tones and distinguish a real alert or legitimate test from a comedy routine.”

Univision said its DJs were using a simulated EAS tone, and rather than argue over the semantics of this situation, Univision and the FCC agreed to settle with a consent decree.

Univision has trained its employees to make sure this doesn’t happen again, and is not charged with a violation.

It will also pay a civil penalty of $20,000.

1 COMMENT

  1. ha,,,, i do understant that there was an infraction,, BUT>>> its a lot of attention to a system that is completely non-working,, i remember 2006,2007,2008 and th eas summits we attended in d.c. fema was there for the lunch and had no clue of the workings ,,, more govt involvement that will not work!!!

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