CBS Fined Over Half-a-million Dollars For Airing Janet Jackson's Breast

WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (AFP) - CBS television has been fined over half-a-million dollars for airing footage of Janet Jackson`s "wardrobe malfunction" in which the singer`s breast was revealed to a national television audience of millions.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) charged CBS, a unit of Viacom, with "apparently willfully broadcasting indecent material" on February 1 this year during a half-time music sequence on the sidelines of the Super Bowl American football championship.
The fine of 550,000 dollars is the legal maximum the regulator can levy against CBS.
The television network has 30 days in which to contest the FCC`s findings, a spokesman for the regulator told AFP.
"They can pay the amount and appeal, if they don`t the case may be brought to the Department of Justice," the spokesman said.
The revealing of Jackson`s breast, dubbed "nipplegate," for a few seconds on national television at an event watched by some 90 million viewers sparked an uproar across the country.