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Broadcasters Pay $12.5 Million to Settle Payola Allegations

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4/13/2007
The FCC today released four Orders adopting Consent Decrees with CBS Radio, Citadel Broadcasting Corporation (“Citadel”), Clear Channel Communications, Inc. (“Clear Channel”), and Entercom Communications Corp. (“Entercom”). Pursuant to the Consent Decrees, the broadcasters agreed to pay a combined $12.5 million to close investigations into possible violations of the FCC’s sponsorship identification rules. Specifically, the Consent Decrees resolved allegations that the broadcasters may have accepted cash or other consideration from record labels in exchange for airplay of artists from those labels without disclosing those arrangements, a practice commonly referred to as “payola.”


A PDF version of this entire article can be found at Broadcasters Pay $12.5 Million to Settle Payola Allegations.