EXACTLY WHAT IS A SPONSOR ID AND WHY DO I NEED TO MAKE ONE

The FCC has confirmed fining Cumulus Broadcasting $233,000 in January 2021 for failure to properly provide sponsor identification as required by the FCC rules.

So what constitutes sponsor identification and why is it so important?

Essentially if a station airs content that it’s been paid to air or airs content that has been furnished to the station by an outside entity, the identity of the person or entity that paid for the air time or furnished the material for broadcast must be aired along with the ad or program material.

Most of the time we don’t worry about this concern.  If we air an advertisement for 7-up, the ad will most certainly contain material about 7-up.  Who would want to purchase advertising time and not tell you what the product being advertised is or who paid for the ad?  It turns out the answer is “lots of people.”

Let’s say that the sponsorship ID rules go a way for a minute.  You then get a schedule for a product, say, Formula 95.  There are Formula 95 ads in your local newspaper and on radio. The ad content says “Formula 95 will make you feel younger!  You’ll feel more alive!  You’ll have more energy!  It’ll put a smile on your face!  You won’t want to be without it even for a minute”.

And then, in a few weeks, it happens.  A new FM station comes on the air in your market.  It’s 95.1, Formula 95, the best thing that ever happened in (market name).  Now you’ve just promoted a competitor without knowing it.

Could it happen?  Yes!  In fact, it did happen years ago in Chicago with a new AM station that was coming on the air.

In political ads, we hear “paid for by Citizens For Tom Jackson For Treasurer, Jim Jackson, treasurer.”  This is not a requirement under the political advertising rules.  It’s a requirement under sponsorship ID rules.  Who paid for the ad?  Citizens For Tom Jackson For Treasurer, Jim Jackson, treasurer.  And you’ve got to say so with each airing of each ad. Imagine if any candidate or PAC could run ads smearing the competition and the ads never needed to disclose who paid for the airing!!

It’s always a good idea to alert your production folks to the requirement that all ad content must indicate who paid for each ad.  Staying in compliance with the sponsorship Id rules found at FCC 73.1212 will keep you from getting and FCC fine for failure to uphold the sponsorship identification rules!

Mike/