It’s known to listeners within the radius of its tiny 61-watt FM signal serving Greeley, Colo., as “Pirate Radio.” Its music mix is broad but generally considered Oldies and Classic Hits from the early days of rock ‘n’ roll through the 1980s.
But, this is no unlicensed buccaneer. Rather, it is a low-power FM facility that’s run afoul of FCC rules nevertheless. Why? It went over the line on permissible underwriting announcements.
KELS-LPFM in Greeley, Colo., has been sent a Forfeiture Order by the Commission seeking a $15,000 fine against licensee Plymouth Gathering Inc. for broadcasting promotional announcements on behalf of for-profit entities in exchange for consideration.
This, the Commission pointed out, violates its underwriting laws.
The Order comes after the FCC previously issued a Notice of Apparent Liability, in which it found that Pirate Radio aired more than 1,600 commercial advertisements over a three-month period in 2018.
Plymouth Gathering responded, and it didn’t contest the FCC’s findings. But, it sought “an unspecified reduction or elimination” of the proposed forfeiture.
How successful was that request?
“After reviewing Plymouth’s response, we find no reason to cancel, withdraw or reduce the proposed penalty, and we therefore assess the $15,000 forfeiture we proposed,” the Commission concluded. Thus, the licensees’ “limited financial abilities” were not persuasive enough to the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau Chief, Loyaan Egal.
