§  76.987   New product tiers.

   (a) Operators may establish a category of CPSTs, referred to as "new
   product tiers" ("NPTs"), and offer these tiers to subscribers at prices
   they elect.

   (b) In order to be eligible to offer NPTs, cable operators must meet
   the following conditions:

   (1) Operators offering NPTs are prohibited from making fundamental
   changes to what they offer on their BSTs and CPSTs offerings on
   September 30, 1994. Operators may drop channels or move channels
   between BSTs and/or CPSTs or to an a la carte offering so long as the
   aggregation of such changes do not constitute a fundamental change in
   their BST or CPSTs.

   (2) Operators may not drop channels that were offered on their BSTs or
   CPSTs on September 30, 1994 and move them to NPTs unless they wait at
   least two years from the date the channels were dropped from the BSTs
   or CPSTs. Time shifted versions, slightly altered versions or renamed
   versions of channels offered on BSTs and CPSTs on September 30, 1994
   shall not be exempt from this restriction.

   (3) Operators must market their BSTs and CPSTs so that customers should
   be reasonably aware that:

   (i) Those tiers are being offered to the public;

   (ii) The names of the channels available on those tiers; and

   (iii) The price of the tiers. A subscriber may not be charged for an
   NPT unless the cable operator has obtained the subscriber's affirmative
   consent. Changes to the fundamental nature of an NPT must be approved
   by subscribers in accordance with § 76.981.

   (4) Operators may not require the subscription to any tier, other than
   a BST, as a condition for subscribing to an NPT and operators may not
   require subscription to an NPT as a condition for subscribing to a
   CPST. These restrictions will not apply to cable operators prior to
   October 5, 2002, if such operators lack the capacity to offer BSTs and
   NPTs without also providing other intermediate tiers of service as
   provided in § 76.900(c).

   (c) Operators may offer the same service on NPTs as are on one or more
   BSTs or CPSTs. A channel that occupied a CPST or BST part-time on
   September 30, 1994 also may be offered full-time on an NPT as long as
   it continues to be offered at least part-time on CPST or BST, under
   substantially the same conditions as before it was offered on the NPT.
   If a channel occupies a BST or CPST (regulated pursuant to § 76.922)
   full-time on September 30, 1994, and is subsequently reduced to
   part-time on the BST or CPST, that channel may not be offered on an NPT
   full-time. Operators that offer a channel both on an NPT and a BST or
   CPST will have a continuing obligation to ensure that subscribers are
   aware that the channels are available on the CPST or BST.

   (d) Operators may temporarily place new channels on CPSTs for marketing
   purposes and then move them to NPTs. In order for an operator to move a
   channel from a CPST to an NPT pursuant to this paragraph, the channel
   must not have been offered on a BST or CPST prior to October 1, 1994.

   (e) After initially electing to offer an NPT, a cable operator may
   cease to provide the NPT, upon proper notice to subscribers pursuant to
   § 76.1603. If an operator drops an NPT and subsequently determines to
   reestablish that tier, at the time of the reestablishment it must
   comply with the conditions for offering NPTs set forth in paragraph (b)
   of this section.

   (f) If the Commission receives a complaint about an NPT, the operator
   need not file the rate justification provided in § 76.956, but shall
   within the time period provided by that rule file documentation that
   the NPT meets all the conditions set forth in this section.

   Note 1 to § 76.987: Cable operators offering a NPT must comply with the
   notice requirement of § 76.1605.

   [ 59 FR 62625 , Dec. 6, 1994, as amended at  65 FR 53617 , Sept. 5, 2000]