American Public Media is paying $86,400 to settle an FCC enforcement action after a BBC program carried audio that resembled Emergency Alert System tones and aired widely across the US public radio system.
The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau said the incident occurred in May 2023 during an episode of BBC Witness History titled Chasing the World’s Biggest Tornado. The episode aired via the BBC World Service and included tones similar to EAS alerts, a practice US broadcast rules prohibit even when the content is non-emergency programming or originates overseas. The restriction is designed to prevent listener confusion and reduce the risk that audiences become numb to real emergency warnings.
Under the consent decree, the FCC said the program was carried by 46 stations owned by APM through Minnesota Public Radio and Southern Californian Public Radio, and by roughly 500 additional affiliate stations, putting the reach of the broadcast near 550 outlets.
APM told the Commission the episode was provided by the BBC under a blanket distribution agreement and emphasized it did not produce the content. The FCC nonetheless reiterated its long-standing position that each broadcaster is responsible for everything transmitted over its airwaves, regardless of whether the material is locally originated, syndicated, or supplied by a third party.
The settlement comes at a difficult time for public media finances, with APM agreeing to what the FCC described as a voluntary contribution to the US Treasury following federal funding cuts under the Trump Administration.
The FCC has repeatedly warned that real or simulated EAS tones used outside true emergencies can lead to alert fatigue, diminishing public responsiveness when an actual warning is issued. Because EAS tones contain operative data, improper use can also trigger false activations or interfere with legitimate alerts, undermining the integrity of the alerting system and creating a public safety risk.