FCC 73.3613 Revised as of October 1, 2014
Goto Year:2013 |
2015
§ 73.3613 Filing of contracts.
Each licensee or permittee of a commercial or noncommercial AM, FM, TV
or International broadcast station shall file with the FCC copies of
the following contracts, instruments, and documents together with
amendments, supplements, and cancellations (with the substance of oral
contracts reported in writing), within 30 days of execution thereof:
(a) Network service: Network affiliation contracts between stations and
networks will be reduced to writing and filed as follows:
(1) All network affiliation contracts, agreements, or understandings
between a TV broadcast or low power TV station and a national network.
For the purposes of this paragraph the term network means any person,
entity, or corporation which offers an interconnected program service
on a regular basis for 15 or more hours per week to at least 25
affiliated television licensees in 10 or more states; and/or any
person, entity, or corporation controlling, controlled by, or under
common control with such person, entity, or corporation.
(2) Each such filing on or after May 1, 1969, initially shall consist
of a written instrument containing all of the terms and conditions of
such contract, agreement or understanding without reference to any
other paper or document by incorporation or otherwise. Subsequent
filings may simply set forth renewal, amendment or change, as the case
may be, of a particular contract previously filed in accordance
herewith.
(3) The FCC shall also be notified of the cancellation or termination
of network affiliations, contracts for which are required to be filed
by this section.
(b) Ownership or control: Contracts, instruments or documents relating
to the present or future ownership or control of the licensee or
permittee or of the licensee's or permittee's stock, rights or
interests therein, or relating to changes in such ownership or control
shall include but are not limited to the following:
(1) Articles of partnership, association, and incorporation, and
changes in such instruments;
(2) Bylaws, and any instruments effecting changes in such bylaws;
(3) Any agreement, document or instrument providing for the assignment
of a license or permit, or affecting, directly or indirectly, the
ownership or voting rights of the licensee's or permittee's stock
(common or preferred, voting or nonvoting), such as:
(i) Agreements for transfer of stock;
(ii) Instruments for the issuance of new stock; or
(iii) Agreements for the acquisition of licensee's or permittee's stock
by the issuing licensee or permittee corporation. Pledges, trust
agreements, options to purchase stock and other executory agreements
are required to be filed. However, trust agreements or abstracts
thereof are not required to be filed, unless requested specifically by
the FCC. Should the FCC request an abstract of the trust agreement in
lieu of the trust agreement, the licensee or permittee will submit the
following information concerning the trust:
(A) Name of trust;
(B) Duration of trust;
(C) Number of shares of stock owned;
(D) Name of beneficial owner of stock;
(E) Name of record owner of stock;
(F) Name of the party or parties who have the power to vote or control
the vote of the shares; and
(G) Any conditions on the powers of voting the stock or any unusual
characteristics of the trust.
(4) Proxies with respect to the licensee's or permittee's stock running
for a period in excess of 1 year, and all proxies, whether or not
running for a period of 1 year, given without full and detailed
instructions binding the nominee to act in a specified manner. With
respect to proxies given without full and detailed instructions, a
statement showing the number of such proxies, by whom given and
received, and the percentage of outstanding stock represented by each
proxy shall be submitted by the licensee or permittee within 30 days
after the stockholders' meeting in which the stock covered by such
proxies has been voted. However, when the licensee or permittee is a
corporation having more than 50 stockholders, such complete information
need be filed only with respect to proxies given by stockholders who
are officers or directors, or who have 1% or more of the corporation's
voting stock. When the licensee or permittee is a corporation having
more than 50 stockholders and the stockholders giving the proxies are
not officers or directors or do not hold 1% or more of the
corporation's stock, the only information required to be filed is the
name of any person voting 1% or more of the stock by proxy, the number
of shares voted by proxy by such person, and the total number of shares
voted at the particular stockholders' meeting in which the shares were
voted by proxy.
(5) Mortgage or loan agreements containing provisions restricting the
licensee's or permittee's freedom of operation, such as those affecting
voting rights, specifying or limiting the amount of dividends payable,
the purchase of new equipment, or the maintenance of current assets.
(6) Any agreement reflecting a change in the officers, directors or
stockholders of a corporation, other than the licensee or permittee,
having an interest, direct or indirect, in the licensee or permittee as
specified by § 73.3615.
(7) Agreements providing for the assignment of a license or permit or
agreements for the transfer of stock filed in accordance with FCC
application Forms 314, 315, 316 need not be resubmitted pursuant to the
terms of this rule provision.
(c) Personnel: (1) Management consultant agreements with independent
contractors; contracts relating to the utilization in a management
capacity of any person other than an officer, director, or regular
employee of the licensee or permittee; station management contracts
with any persons, whether or not officers, directors, or regular
employees, which provide for both a percentage of profits and a sharing
in losses; or any similar agreements.
(2) The following contracts, agreements, or understandings need not be
filed: Agreements with persons regularly employed as general or station
managers or salesmen; contracts with program managers or program
personnel; contracts with attorneys, accountants or consulting radio
engineers; contracts with performers; contracts with station
representatives; contracts with labor unions; or any similar
agreements.
(d)(1) Time brokerage agreements (also known as local marketing
agreements): Time brokerage agreements involving radio stations where
the licensee (including all parties under common ownership) is the
brokering entity, the brokering and brokered stations are both in the
same market as defined in the local radio multiple ownership rule
contained in § 73.3555(a), and more than 15 percent of the time of the
brokered station, on a weekly basis is brokered by that licensee; time
brokerage agreements involving television stations where the licensee
(including all parties under common control) is the brokering entity,
the brokering and brokered stations are both licensed to the same
market as defined in the local television multiple ownership rule
contained in § 73.3555(b), and more than 15 percent of the time of the
brokered station, on a weekly basis, is brokered by that licensee; time
brokerage agreements involving radio or television stations that would
be attributable to the licensee under § 73.3555 Note 2, paragraph (i).
Confidential or proprietary information may be redacted where
appropriate but such information shall be made available for inspection
upon request by the FCC.
(2) Joint sales agreements: Joint sales agreements involving radio
stations where the licensee (including all parties under common
control) is the brokering entity, the brokering and brokered stations
are both in the same market as defined in the local radio multiple
ownership rule contained in § 73.3555(a), and more than 15 percent of
the advertising time of the brokered station on a weekly basis is
brokered by that licensee; joint sales agreements involving television
stations where the licensee (including all parties under common
control) is the brokering entity, the brokering and brokered stations
are both in the same market as defined in the local television multiple
ownership rule contained in § 73.3555(b), and more than 15 percent of
the advertising time of the brokered station on a weekly basis is
brokered by that licensee. Confidential or proprietary information may
be redacted where appropriate but such information shall be made
available for inspection upon request by the FCC.
(e) The following contracts, agreements or understandings need not be
filed but shall be kept at the station and made available for
inspection upon request by the FCC; subchannel leasing agreements for
Subsidiary Communications Authorization operation; franchise/leasing
agreements for operation of telecommunications services on the
television vertical blanking interval and in the visual signal; time
sales contracts with the same sponsor for 4 or more hours per day,
except where the length of the events (such as athletic contests,
musical programs and special events) broadcast pursuant to the contract
is not under control of the station; and contracts with chief
operators.
[ 44 FR 38512 , July 2, 1979, as amended at 47 FR 21496 , May 18, 1982; 50 FR 4664 , Feb. 1, 1985; 50 FR 30951 , July 31, 1985; 51 FR 9966 , Mar. 24,
1986; 51 FR 15785 , Apr. 28, 1986; 57 FR 18093 , Apr. 29, 1992; 57 FR 42706 , Sept. 16, 1992; 61 FR 36305 , July 10, 1996; 63 FR 70050 , Dec.
18, 1998; 64 FR 50646 , Sept. 17, 1999; 66 FR 9972 , Feb. 13, 2001; 68 FR 46358 , Aug. 5, 2003; 79 FR 29006 , May 20, 2014]
Effective Date Note: At 79 FR 29006 , May 20, 2014, § 73.3613 was
amended by revising paragraph (d)(2). This paragraph contains
information collection and recordkeeping requirements and will not
become effective until approval has been given by the Office of
Management and Budget.
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