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FCC: Indecency OK on satellite radio
By David B. Wilkerson, CBS.MarketWatch.com
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday that its broadcast indecency rules do not apply to satellite radio services, paving the way for shock jock Howard Stern to say whatever he wants when he moves to Sirius Satellite Radio in 2006.
Saul Levine, president of Southern California-based Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters, had filed a petition for rulemaking with the commission, asking that it apply broadcast indecency rules to satellite radio.
In a letter to Levine dated Thursday, Ken Ferree, the chief of the commission's Media Bureau, said that the FCC had previously ruled that "subscription-based services do not call into play the issue of decency."
Ferree added that the commission's ruling is consistent with court decisions affirming that indecency is an issue in media that offer "indiscriminate access" to children.
He cited cases dating all the way back to FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, the landmark 1978 Supreme Court decision that gave the commission authority to regulate language used on the public airwaves. That case stemmed from a complaint about a broadcast of comedian George Carlin's "Seven Filthy Words" monologue.
Stern, one of the top-rated talents in radio for more than two decades, is under contract to Viacom's Infinity radio division, where his contract runs out at the end of 2005. After that deal expires, he'll head to Sirius. (Viacom is a significant shareholder in MarketWatch Inc., the publisher of this report.)
Stern's show has led to FCC fines on several occasions, most recently in April when the Clear Channel network was fined $495,000 for a Stern broadcast.
Sirius rival XM Satellite Radio has edgy hosts of its own, such as Opie & Anthony, who recently joined the company's programming lineup. The New York radio personalities were fired for a 2002 stunt in which they held a contest that encouraged people to have sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral.
Shares of Sirius declined 30 cents to close at $7.65 on Wednesday, while XM advanced 34 cents to $39.51.
David B. Wilkerson is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in San Francisco.
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