The last time the total number of specific radio programs which drew citizen indecency complaints was greater than that of TV and cable combined was 2001. Since then, the two video media have always taken the lead. Broadcast TV by itself had significantly more objectionable programs than radio in 2003, and was in almost a dead heat with radio in every other year since 2002. Since 2000, however, radio has taken the lion's share of heat from the FCC, picking up 32 notices of apparent liability (NAL) while television has been hit a paltry four times. Although many viewers are probably not aware of the rules, cable presents a much more difficult target than radio or television, since indecency regs are pretty much an over-the-air concern only. Cable is insulated by its status as a subscription service knowingly purchased by its customers.

RBR observation:
The FCC was widely expected to release decisions on a large number of TV and radio cases all at once in order to attempt what many think impossible - - the provision of meaningful indecency guidance for the programmers of America's airwaves. They did not meet the rumored December 2005 deadline. Will TV's decency Kevlar continue to turn away the complaint machines, or will it start to close the gap on radio, which has borne the brunt of regulatory wrath to date? We can't wait for this one to hit the streets.

FCC Indecency action: 2000-2005	Total	Radio	NALs	TV	NALs	Cable	NALs	$NALs
2000	111	85	7	25	0	1	0	$48K
2001	346	113	6	33	1	6	0	$91K
2002	389	185	7	166	0	38	0	$99K
2003	375	122	3	217	0	36	0	$440K
2004	314	145	9	140	3	29	0	$7,928K
2005	720	319	0	317	0	84	0	$0
Total	2255	969	32	898	4	194	0	$8,601K

Source: FCC.gov

Numbers under Radio, TV and Cable refer to number of shows complained about, not total number of complaints, which peaked in 2004 at over 1.4M. NAL amounts, which include consent decrees, have been rounded by RBR.