TBS, firm to pay $2M in Boston bomb scare

BOSTON, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- Turner Broadcasting System and its marketing firm will pay $2 million for the marketing ploy that caused a panic in Boston over a possible bomb threat.

TBS is the parent company of Cartoon Network, which used about three dozen electronic signs around the Boston area to promote an adult cartoon,

The settlement included about $1 million to cities and state agencies for their response and another $1 million in goodwill funding, CNN said.

Interference Inc., a marketing company and contractor for Turner, hired two men to place the devices in and around Boston. Early Wednesday, the signs were discovered, touching off a panic.

"I think Turner learned a lesson: that they will not tolerate this type of advertising any further," Boston Mayor Thomas Menino told reporters.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said in a written statement she hoped the funds not only would cover expenses of responding to and investigating the devices, but also enable communities involved to "enhance homeland security, or to pursue other important community initiatives."

Turner, which accepted responsibility for the marketing gimmick, said it is reviewing local marketing efforts to "ensure that they are not disruptive or perceived as threatening."