Sinclair to Same-Day Delay Broadcast of '9/11' to Avoid Risk of FCC Indecency Fines

Sinclair to Same-Day Delay Broadcast of '9/11' to Avoid Risk of FCC Indecency Fines

BALTIMORE, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBGI) announced today that it will delay the broadcast of the documentary, "9/11," which is scheduled to air in prime time on the CBS television network on September 10th. In order to avoid the risk of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) indecency fines, Sinclair's two CBS affiliates will delay the broadcast until after 10:00 pm that same day when the FCC's indecency rules are no longer in effect. Sinclair deeply regrets not being able to broadcast this valuable program in its regularly scheduled time period, but recent decisions by the FCC regarding what is considered indecent, the refusal of the FCC to provide guidance in advance of the broadcast of this program and recently enacted legislation increasing fines from $32,500 to $325,000 per station (and potentially per utterance) for those broadcasters that air a program the FCC deems indecent, have left the Company with no choice.

The documentary, which is being broadcast by the CBS network, contains the use of profanity. Although Sinclair is mindful that the FCC concluded that the use of profanity in "Saving Private Ryan" did not violate indecency rules, the FCC more recently ruled that the same expletives were indecent when uttered in the Martin Scorsese documentary, "The Blues: Godfathers and Sons."

It is unfortunate that the current rules, which promote censorship and impose excessive fines, coupled with the lack of clear or advance guidance from the FCC, impede broadcasters from airing programs that honor our heroes and memorialize significant events, such as 9/11, that have unified us as a nation. The application of such restrictions to broadcast television is especially troubling given the lack of restrictions imposed on content distributed via the Internet, as well as content on cable and satellite television, which are received by the vast majority of the public in the same manner as is broadcast television. Moreover, the rules and fines do not differentiate between broadcasters based upon market size, as a result of which the potential fines are such that if imposed, they could effectively put out of business television stations located in markets similar in size to the locations of Sinclair's CBS affiliates.

Sinclair's CBS affiliate in Portland, Maine (WGME) will air "9/11" beginning at 11:30 pm and its CBS affiliate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (KGAN) will air the documentary beginning at 10:30 pm local time on September 10, 2006.

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies, owns and operates, programs or provides sales services to 58 television stations in 36 markets. Sinclair's television group is affiliated with all major networks and reaches approximately 22% of all U.S. television households. For more information, please visit Sinclair's website at http://www.sbgi.net/.

Source: Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc.

CONTACT: Barry M. Faber, VP & General Counsel, Sinclair Broadcast Group,
Inc., +1-410-568-1500

Web site: http://www.sbgi.net/

Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/110203.html

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