The fine would become the largest ever negotiated between the F.C.C. and a radio licensee.
It would surpass the 1995 fine of $1.7 million dollars which Infinity Broadcasting agreed to pay the F.C.C. for complaints over content aired on Stern's show.
Earlier this year on January 27, The Federal Communications Commission proposed a fine (Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture) of $715,000 in response to Clear Channel's airing of indecent material over several broadcast stations during several days. The material at issue was aired on the “Bubba the Love Sponge” program. The Commission proposed a penalty of $27,500 for each of 26 indecency violations. This $715,000 forfeiture was the highest ever proposed against a broadcast licensee.
On February 25, Clear Channel announced a strong new “Responsible Broadcasting Initiative” to make sure the material aired by its radio stations conformed to the standards and sensibilities of the local communities they served.
Fines continued for Clear Channel in March. The F.C.C. slammed the company with another proposed fine of $247,900 for indecent remarks aired on three of its radio stations that carry the “Elliot in the Morning” show.
Then, on April 8, the F.C.C. issued a proposed fine against Clear Channel Communications "for apparently willfully broadcasting indecent material" in connection with the “Howard Stern Show”. The Commission proposed a total fine of $495,000 representing the maximum statutory amount of $27,500 for each of eighteen total indecency violations.
