An independent non-commercial educational television station serving the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose market is once again in the news for a FCC faux pas, and this time it will cost the licensee a $25,000 civil penalty, as it has signed a Consent Decree to resolve an “OPIF” issues/programs lists flub; incomplete responses in its Commission applications; and for a tardy license renewal filing.
Barbara Kreisman, the Video Division Chief within the NAB’s Media Bureau, approved the Consent Decree with Minority Television Project on Thursday (2/6), which resolves a trio of rule violations.
In addition to the civil penalty, which is not a fine, MTP — licensee of KMTP-32 in San Francisco — will implement a compliance plan to ensure future compliance with the Commission’s Online Public File rule.
While this terminates all pending proceedings with the Bureau, MTP’s history of similar rule violations led Kreisman to renew KMTP’s license for a shortened period of two years, rather than a full eight-year term.
What led to the civil penalty?
MTP should have filed the license renewal applications for KMTP by August 1, 2022. It did not do so until August 10, 2022, and provided no explanation for its tardiness.
There’s more: MTP said “yes” to the statement that its Issues/Programs List had been uploaded to the station’s public inspection file when required. That’s not exactly true, as the Video Division staff identified three late filed issues/programs lists and 19 missing issues/programs lists.
After FCC staff contacted the MTP through counsel, the KMTP-TV uploaded the missing issues/programs lists and amended its application by answering “no” to the OPIF certification question. It explained that the “yes” answer previously stated was “inadvertently” made.
In total the Licensee uploaded to the Station’s OPIF two issues/programs lists between one week and one month late, five issues/programs lists between two months and 11 months late, and 15 issues/programs lists between one year and four and one-half years late.
KMTP, a “multicultural television” station with a mission to “bring people, ideas and action together through their voices,” has had a string of regulatory compliance issues dating back two decades. In August 2017, RBR+TVBR reported that MTP could be held liable for a $20,000 forfeiture from the FCC. Why? The licensee apparently willfully and/or repeatedly violated a trio of rule sections tied to the Commission’s OPIF rules.
