• by David Kaplan , November 23, 2004

Viacom has decided to settle a variety of outstanding indecency complaints filed against it with the Federal Communications Commission, but the media giant is still challenging the $550,000 penalty related to the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident.

After conceding that some broadcasts shown on its network CBS--specifically those shown on affiliate station WKRK-FM Detroit and broadcast on its radio property Infinity--were indecent, Viacom has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle outstanding indecency complaints.

"We have now resolved all outstanding matters before the FCC related to indecency except for the Super Bowl," Viacom said in a statement. "While we deeply regret the incident involving Janet Jackson, we believe that a government fine for an unintentional broadcast is unfair and unwarranted and we are challenging that decision. This consent decree allows us to move forward and to focus our efforts in this area by serving our viewers and listeners with techniques to safeguard live broadcasts, such as cut-aways, and video and audio delays."

As part of its settlement with the FCC, Viacom has promised to implement a compliance plan to prevent future violations.

"We also intend to continue our efforts to inform and encourage viewers, especially parents, to use available tools, such as ratings and v-chips, to make informed decisions," the Viacom statement added. "Our goal is to provide the wide variety of programming desired by millions of Americans and the tools that give each family the freedom to decide what they will watch in their homes. We believe that consumers, not the government, should decide what they will watch and hear."

As for the infamous Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl Halftime Show when Jackson's breast was exposed during a dance sequence, Viacom still contends that it should not be forced to suffer any penalties.

The FCC has concluded that the performance was patently offensive to community standards for a prime-time broadcast because it was "clearly graphic" and intended to "pander, titillate, or shock."

Further, the FCC has said that Viacom showed "willful indifference" to the content of the halftime show.

For its part, Viacom called the FCC's conclusion a distortion of the record. "Viacom screened the performers, developed the script [with the CBS Standards Dept.], reviewed the rehearsals and costumes and implemented a five-second delay," the company's statement says. The fact that these measures didn't prevent "the unplanned deviation from the script" does not constitute indifference, the Viacom filing added.