Retailers Hit with Fines for Failing to Disclose Analog Television Sets

On February 18th, 2009, all television broadcasters will be required to switch to digital television signals, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has required that retailers selling analog-only television sets to label them as such.

Not all retailers are readily complying with the labeling order, however, so the FCC has resorted to hitting them in the pocketbook with over $6 million in fines.

The FCC takes the approach that the transition to digital TV in 2009 is a serious matter and those retailers who don’t recognize it will suffer the consequences.

Retailers receiving the steepest fines were Sears/K-Mart at $1.09 million dollars, and Wal-Mart at $992,000.

Other names that topped this list of 11 retailers were Circuit City ($712,000), Fry’s Electronics, Target, Best Buy and CompUSA.

The FCC wants to ensure that no retailer will mislead customers into buying televisions that aren’t capable of receiving digital broadcast signals next year.

In this latest raid, the FCC reportedly checked over 2,200 retail stores and 30 web sites and issued 349 citations.

Data from the Consumer Electronics Association shows that about 50% of U.S. households have already made the change to digital television sets, so it is likely that the retailers may appeal the fines, citing previous consumer outreach efforts.