22 October 2007 @ 10:03FCC Issues Fines to Sellers of Analog Televisions

Ars Technica writes that the FCC has issued fines totaling $96,000 to Radio Shack, HH Gregg, FYE, Fred Meyer Stores, Ultimate Electronics, and Boscov’s for selling analog-only televisions with prominent warning of the digital transition on February 17, 2009.

While the fines aren’t massive, they do show that the FCC takes retailer compliance with its rules seriously. Those rules, which went into effect on May 25, 2007, force any company selling analog-only TV sets to display a prominent “Consumer Alert” in “a size of type large enough to be clear, conspicuous and readily legible” that is located on the set itself or immediately adjacent to it. The Alert warns potential buyers that the set will not receive over-the-air broadcasts after February 17, 2009 without a converter box.