§  73.7005   Holding period.

   (a) Assignments/Transfers. NCE stations awarded by use of the point
   system in § 73.7003 shall be subject to a holding period. From the grant
   of the construction permit and continuing until the facility has
   achieved four years of on-air operations, an applicant proposing to
   assign or transfer the construction permit/license to another party
   will be required to demonstrate the following two factors: that the
   proposed buyer would qualify for the same number of or greater points
   as the assignor or transferor originally received; and that
   consideration received and/or promised does not exceed the assignor's
   or transferor's legitimate and prudent expenses. For purposes of this
   section, legitimate and prudent expenses are those expenses reasonably
   incurred by the assignor or transferor in obtaining and constructing
   the station (e.g. expenses in preparing an application, in obtaining
   and installing broadcast equipment to be assigned or transferred,
   etc.). Costs incurred in operating the station are not recoverable
   (e.g. rent, salaries, utilities, music licensing fees, etc.). Any
   successive applicants proposing to assign or transfer the construction
   permit/license prior to the end of the aforementioned holding period
   will be required to make the same demonstrations.

   (b) Technical. In accordance with the provisions of § 73.7002, an NCE
   applicant receiving a decisive preference for fair distribution of
   service is required to construct and operate technical facilities
   substantially as proposed, and can not downgrade service to the area on
   which the preference is based for a period of four years of on-air
   operations.

   (c) The holding period in this section does not apply to construction
   permits that are awarded on a non-comparative basis, such as those
   awarded to non-mutually exclusive applicants or through settlement.

Subpart L—Digital Broadcast Television Redistribution Control