Univision Radio Facing FCC Fine.

According to Radio and Records magazine, the Federal Communications Commission is potentially going to fine Univision Radio $28,000.

Although the incident dates back to when Hispanic Broadcasting owned the stations, the commission today proposed the penalty against seven Univision stations — fined $4,000 each — for airing a conversation between Raul Brindis from the Raul Brindis and Pepito Show and an HBC sales rep without the sales rep’s consent. According to the FCC release, Brindis, who is based at Univision Radio’s KLTN (Estereo Latino)/Houston, called the sales rep’s cell phone pretending to be someone the complainant had met at a bar. He revealed his true identity only after airing what the commission described as a “flirtatious conversation.” Univision argued that since the complainant worked for HBC, FCC rules stipulate that it was unnecessary for Brindis to announce that the call was being broadcast. However, while the commission acknowledged that its rules do allow station staff to broadcast conversations with station staff without prior notice in certain cases — such as news and sports coverage — in this case Brindis lied about his identity and aired a conversation the complainant assumed was private. The FCC also rejected Univision’s contention that it shouldn’t be held liable since the violation occurred before it owned the stations, noting that its rules stipulate ownership transfers don’t absolve new owners from previous rule violations