Goto Section: 73.653 | 73.664 | Table of Contents
FCC 73.658
Revised as of October 1, 2008
Goto Year:2007 |
2009
Sec. 73.658 Affiliation agreements and network program practices; territorial
exclusivity in non-network program arrangements.
(a) Exclusive affiliation of station. No license shall be granted to a
television broadcast station having any contract, arrangement, or
understanding, express or implied, with a network organization under which
the station is prevented or hindered from, or penalized for, broadcasting
the programs of any other network organization. (The term “network
organization” as used in this section includes national and regional network
organizations. See ch. VII, J, of Report on Chain Broadcasting.)
(b) Territorial exclusively. No license shall be granted to a television
broadcast station having any contract, arrangement, or understanding,
express or implied, with a network organization which prevents or hinders
another broadcast station located in the same community from broadcasting
the network's programs not taken by the former station, or which prevents or
hinders another broadcast station located in a different community from
broadcasting any program of the network organization. This section shall not
be construed to prohibit any contract, arrangement, or understanding between
a station and a network organization pursuant to which the station is
granted the first call in its community upon the programs of the network
organization. As employed in this paragraph, the term “community” is defined
as the community specified in the instrument of authorization as the
location of the station.
(c) [Reserved]
(d) Station commitment of broadcast time. No license shall be granted to a
television broadcast station having any contract, arrangement, or
understanding, express or implied, with any network organization, which
provides for optioning of the station's time to the network organization, or
which has the same restraining effect as time optioning. As used in this
section, time optioning is any contract, arrangement, or understanding,
express or implied, between a station and a network organization which
prevents or hinders the station from scheduling programs before the network
agrees to utilize the time during which such programs are scheduled, or
which requires the station to clear time already scheduled when the network
organization seeks to utilize the time.
(e) Right to reject programs. No license shall be granted to a television
broadcast station having any contract, arrangement, or understanding,
express or implied, with a network organization which, with respect to
programs offered or already contracted for pursuant to an affiliation
contract, prevents or hinders the station from:
(1) Rejecting or refusing network programs which the station reasonably
believes to be unsatisfactory or unsuitable or contrary to the public
interest, or
(2) Substituting a program which, in the station's opinion, is of greater
local or national importance.
(f) [Reserved]
(g) Dual network operation. A television broadcast station may affiliate
with a person or entity that maintains two or more networks of television
broadcast stations unless such dual or multiple networks are composed of two
or more persons or entities that, on February 8, 1996, were “networks” as
defined in Sec. 73.3613(a)(1) of the Commission's regulations (that is, ABC,
CBS, Fox, and NBC).
(h) Control by networks of station rates. No license shall be granted to a
television broadcast station having any contract, arrangement, or
understanding, express or implied, with a network organization under which
the station is prevented or hindered from, or penalized for, fixing or
altering its rates for the sale of broadcast time for other than the
network's programs.
(i) No license shall be granted to a television broadcast station which is
represented for the sale of non-network time by a network organization or by
an organization directly or indirectly controlled by or under common control
with a network organization, if the station has any contract, arrangement or
understanding, express or implied, which provides for the affiliation of the
station with such network organization: Provided, however, That this rule
shall not be applicable to stations licensed to a network organization or to
a subsidiary of a network organization.
(j)–(l) [Reserved]
(m) Territorial exclusivity in non-network arrangements. (1) No television
station shall enter into any contract, arrangement, or understanding,
expressed or implied; with a non-network program producer, distributor, or
supplier, or other person; which prevents or hinders another television
station located in a community over 56.3 kilometers (35 miles) away, as
determined by the reference points contained in Sec. 76.53 of this chapter, (if
reference points for a community are not listed in Sec. 76.53, the location of
the main post office will be used) from broadcasting any program purchased
by the former station from such non-network program producer, distributor,
supplier, or other person, except that a television station may secure
exclusivity against a television station licensed to another designated
community in a hyphenated market specified in the market listing as
contained in Sec. 76.51 of this chapter for those 100 markets listed, and for
markets not listed in Sec. 76.51 of this chapter, the listing as contained in
the Nielsen Media Research DMA Rankings for the most recent year at the time
that the exclusivity contract, arrangement or understanding is complete
under practices of the industry. As used in this paragraph, the term
“community” is defined as the community specified in the instrument of
authorization as the location of the station.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (m)(1) of this section, a television station
may enter into a contract, arrangement, or understanding with a producer,
supplier, or distributor of a non-network program if that contract,
arrangement, or understanding provides that the broadcast station has
exclusive national rights such that no other television station in the
United States may broadcast the program.
Note 1: Contracts, arrangements, or understandings that are complete under
the practices of the industry prior to August 7, 1973, will not be
disturbed. Extensions or renewals of such agreements are not permitted
because they would in effect be new agreements without competitive bidding.
However, such agreements that were based on the broadcaster's advancing
“seed money” for the production of a specific program or series that specify
two time periods—a tryout period and period thereafter for general
exhibition—may be extended or renewed as contemplated in the basic
agreement.
Note 2: It is intended that the top 100 major television markets listed in
Sec. 76.51 of this chapter shall be used for the purposes of this rule and that
the listing of the top 100 television markets appearing in the ARB
Television Market Analysis shall not be used. The reference in this rule to
the listing of markets in the ARB Television Market Analysis refers to
hyphenated markets below the top-100 markets contained in the ARB Television
Market Analysis. If a community is listed in a hyphenated market in Sec. 76.51
and is also listed in one of the markets in the ARB listing, the listing in
Sec. 76.51 shall govern.
Note 3: The provisions of this paragraph apply only to U.S. commercial
television broadcast stations in the 50 states, and not to stations in
Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands, foreign stations or noncommercial
educational television or “public” television stations (either by way of
restrictions on their exclusivity or on exclusivity against them).
Note 4: New stations authorized in any community of a hyphenated market
listed in Sec. 76.51 of this chapter or in any community of a hyphenated market
listed in the ARB Television Market Analysis (for markets below the top-100
markets) are subject to the same rules as previously existing stations
therein. New stations authorized in other communities are considered
stations in separate markets unless and until Sec. 76.51 is amended by
Commission action, or the ARB listing is changed.
(Sec. 5, 48 Stat. 1068 (47 U.S.C. 155))
[ 28 FR 13660 , Dec. 14, 1963]
Editorial Note: ForFederal Registercitations affecting Sec. 73.658, see the
List of CFR Sections Affected which appears in the Finding Aids section of
the printed volume and on GPO Access.
Goto Section: 73.653 | 73.664
Goto Year: 2007 |
2009
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