There is a show in Houston radio show on KRBE called Roula & Ryan's Roses -- you can subscribe here. It's rather amusing and trashy. I've heard it a few times before. "Retired Engineer" on Kingwood.com, a local forum, made the claim that on-air prank calls were illegal, that they were all scripted. You can see the claim here,

Retired Engineer linked to this

However, on examination that pages links to "FCC Fines of $25,000 and $16,000 for Airing Phone Calls Without Prior Consent". The source seems to root its claim in this statute,

Section 73.1206 of the FCC’s rules prohibits the broadcast, or recording for purposes of broadcast, of telephone calls without first getting the consent of the person on the other end of the phone.

And these FCC rulings,

I just find that very hard to believe. There is another show that is significantly less malicious that also airs in Houston called Dean & Rog's Birthday Scam. They don't interfere with marriages and relationships with information of adultery, but they sure do prank call people.

Is it illegal to air a prank call in the United States because of FCC regulation? And, if so, how is everyone doing it?