§ 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 § 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 § 76.53 of this chapter, (if
   reference points for a community are not listed in § 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 § 76.51 of this chapter for those 100 markets listed, and for
   markets not listed in § 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
   § 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 § 76.51
   and is also listed in one of the markets in the ARB listing, the listing in
   § 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 § 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 § 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: For Federal Register citations affecting § 73.658, see the
   List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids section of
   the printed volume and at www.fdsys.gov.

   return arrow Back to Top