The FCC has fined KSQA Topeka, Kan. (DMA 135), $15,000 for not filing on time its Children’s Television Programming Reports. The station is owned by KSQA LLC, a joint venture between Barbara Wade (51%) and Cooper-Fowler Media (49%). KSQA is an affiliate of music network ZUUS Country. The FCC said “the licensee’s failure to electronically file the Station’s Children’s Television Programming Reports in a timely manner for 14 quarters and its failure to disclose this in its renewal application constitutes an apparent willful and/or repeated violation.”
DMA 135: TOPEKA, KS
Comments (11)
Ellen Samrock says:
April 7, 2016 at 5:20 pm
This is how outmoded, useless laws turn businesses into ATM machines for the government. I’m surprised the NAB and television broadcasters who are subject to this requirement (LPTV stations are exempt) haven’t pressured Congress to repeal it.
Kristina Veltri says:
April 8, 2016 at 6:01 pm
Going by the station’s history Topeka considers this station a local joke and the fine is pretty much karma; they bumped WIBW off their own channel number on cable and just run ZUUS 24/7. ZUUS literally sends them a carbon copy E/I report they just have to Ctrl+V into the E/I Kidvid form. Whatever you feel about E/I requirements it’s literally five minutes to fill it out and file it every month.
Ellen Samrock says:
April 8, 2016 at 6:48 pm
Your missing my point. This isn’t about KSQA, it’s about a law that no longer makes sense or is needed. When Congress unleashed the Children’s Television Act on broadcasters in 1990, Tim Berners-Lee had just published a paper outlining what would be known as the World Wide Web and in that year the first web page was created. A lot has transpired in the 26 years since. So much so, that children have virtually abandoned traditional television as a source of entertainment and education. Now they get it through smartphones, tablets, software, games, streaming devices and of course the internet. And if they watch linear television shows geared for their age at all, it’s usually by way of cable or satellite (consider that HBO is now showing Sesame Street, not PBS). Whatever questionable benefits the CTA had back in 1990, has long since been negated by advancing technology.
Kristina Veltri says:
April 8, 2016 at 11:05 pm
Again, I know about E/I and think the entire concept myself is outdated and exploited by a few companies who don’t intend to educate anyone but their own children about how to get rich quick. The fact is that ZUUS (and all subchannel networks) sends boilerplate E/I information to their affiliates and it doesn’t take that long to file a report at all; if a licensee doesn’t even want to bother with that, don’t have a station.
Ellen Samrock says:
April 9, 2016 at 12:22 pm
Without a doubt there are some serious management problems with KSQA. But broadcast television is still the most heavily regulated of all broadcasting industries. Even radio has it easier. And rather than roll back some of these regulatory burdens, the Feds, particularly the FCC under Herr Wheeler, want to lard on even more of them. No wonder many station owners want out, particularly Class A owners. Only a lucky few can afford the support staff to keep track of, fill out and file (or upload) all the silly paperwork the Feds require.
Jeff Douglass says:
April 7, 2016 at 7:41 pm
Good to know it takes 3 and 1/2 years for someone to even notice…
Joe Jaime says:
April 7, 2016 at 8:58 pm
Required kids programming is a farce! Are the parents requiring kids to sit down and watch cartoons on local TV?
This requirement needs to be eliminated… what a joke!
Cameron Miller says:
April 8, 2016 at 2:05 pm
They’re actually boring, low budget live-action E/I shows.
Keith ONeal says:
April 8, 2016 at 10:31 pm
Amen, Mac Thomas. When you have Litton programming E/I crap on ABC, CBS, The CW, and, coming soon, NBC with shows NO ONE WATCHES (including the kids) then you have a BIG PROBLEM! I wait until 12 NOON on Saturdays before I turn on my TV. Saturday Morning TV is TOTALLY UNWATCHABLE! Bring back the days when NBC had Qubo, CBS had Nickelodeon Kids, FOX had FOX Kids, and ABC had the tween shows. Shows like Jane & The Dragon, Winx Club, Johnny Test, Hannah Montana, Pearlie, The Jetsons, Top Cat, etc., are way more entertaining than any of this LITTON CRAP!!!
Bobbi Proctor says:
April 8, 2016 at 9:07 am
This station appears to be a joke. We travel with a HDTV set and a small antenna as cable systems don’t always carry all local stations and the signal is superior to what you get via cable systems in most hotels. Watched KSQA (channel 12) in Topeka recently and the picture was quite poor. Nothing local including commercials. Topeka doesn’t have many stations and this station could easily add some decent “network” programming instead of just running country music all the time. KSQA appears to exist to turn the auction into an ATM machine by selling “their” spectrum.
Veronica Serrano Padilla says:
April 8, 2016 at 11:58 am
What’s funny is that the government doles out free spectrum for TV stations to use and stations like this (and others) simply thumb their nose at the basic requirements. They should not only be fined, but lose their license.