FCC Jeers ABC's 'Desperate' Promo

(CBS/AP)  The nation's chief media regulator expressed disappointment Wednesday over the steamy locker room opening to ABC's "Monday Night Football" broadcast.

"I wonder if Walt Disney would be proud," said Michael Powell, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

The opening, which has generated complaints to ABC and the FCC, featured actress Nicollette Sheridan in the locker room, supposedly dressed only in a white towel. She drops the towel and jumps into the arms of Philadelphia Eagles star Terrell Owens. Sheridan was shown only from behind and above the waist after dropping the towel.

Then the shot panned out to two more stars of "Desperate Housewives," Teri Hatcher and Felicity Huffman, watching the scene unfold on a television and commenting on desperate women.

Powell questioned the judgment of those who decided to air the scene.

"It would seem to me that while we get a lot of broadcasting companies complaining about indecency enforcement, they seem to be continuing to be willing to keep the issue at the forefront, keep it hot and steamy in order to get financial gains and the free advertising it provides," Powell said during an interview on CNBC.

An FCC spokeswoman said the agency has received a number of complaints about the ABC broadcast, though she declined to say how many.

The complaints will be reviewed and the commission will decide whether or not to open an investigation that could result in a fine against the network. The maximum indecency fine is $32,500 per incident.

ABC quickly apologized for the locker room intro. And the NFL called it "inappropriate and unsuitable for our 'Monday Night Football' audience."

"It is normal for teams to cooperate with ABC in the development of an opening for its broadcast," the Eagles said. "After seeing the final piece, we wish it hadn't aired."

ABC has broadcast "Monday Night Football" with a five-second delay this season, a precaution after singer Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" at February's Super Bowl halftime show — when singer Justin Timberlake ripped off part of Jackson's outfit, exposing her right breast to a TV audience of some 90 million people.

CBS is protesting a proposed FCC fine of $550,000 for the halftime show.

"Desperate Housewives" doesn't need the promotion — the soap-opera/comedy is one of the top-rated shows on television — but ABC may have been looking to improve the football broadcast's ratings. ABC and co-owned ESPN are still negotiating for rights for the games, while CBS and Fox completed their deals last week.

As for his tenure at the agency, Powell, the son of outgoing Secretary of State Colin Powell, said he'd be around for "a while yet."

"I still am having fun. There are still things that are really significantly important to me to complete," he said. "Right now, I just have no plans of going anywhere."