FCC Fines Retailers Over TV Transition

The FCC has fined eleven retailers over $6 million dollars for violations for violating rules about selling TVs that won't work after the digital TV transition.

The Federal Communications Commission has handed out more than $6 million in fines (PDF) to retailers and two television suppliers for violating rules about labeling and importing televisions that won’t work after the United States’ digital television transition on February 17, 2009. The retailers were cited for failing to properly label analog-only TVs, while the suppliers were cited for importing analog-only TV after an FCC deadline.

Retailers Sears and K-Mart got the stiffest fines of almost $1.1 million apiece; Wal-Mart came in second with $992,000, while Circuit City managed third place with $712,000. Other penalized retailers include Fry’s, Target, Target, Best Buy, CompUSA.

The FCC had mandated that 25-inch or larger televisions imported into the U.S. after July 1, 2006, had to have digital tuners; Syntax-Brillian and Precor were filed $1.27 million and $357,900 for importing analog-only TVs after that date.

The FCC also fined Polaroid and Proview Technology $775,000 and $300,000, respectively, for shipping television receivers that can’t use V-Chip technologies. The FCC said it had also reached settlements with seven other electronics manufacturers for possible violations of V-Chip DTV regulations, including Panasonic, Matsushita, and the North American arm of Philips Electronics.