Olympus Has Fallen Ad Is Costly For TV Nets

The Wall Street Journal reports that a year plus after its release, FilmDistrict's White House hostage thriller "Olympus Has Fallen" finds itself in some hot water over the fact that several media companies are being slapped with proposed steep fines by the FCC.

The agency made the move over a TV spot using an alert sound very similar to the U.S. Government's Emergency Alert System. The TV spot shows glimpses of the White House under attack along with text lines saying "This Is Not a Drill/Test".



The FCC says in a statement it has "long prohibited the transmission of actual or simulated EAS Attention Signals or tones in circumstances other than a real alert or an authorized test of the EAS system."

Viacom is expected to be hit hardest with a $1.1 million fine for airing the ad 108 times. Also scoring fines are NBC Universal for $530,000 and ESPN for $280,000.

The cable companies don't participate in the EAS program, but the rules governing the use of the tones reportedly applies across the board.