[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 52 (Friday, March 15, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10689-10691]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-6207]



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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR PART 73

[FCC 96-90]


Implementation of Sections 202(a) and 202(b)(1) of the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Broadcast Radio Ownership)

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This Order amends the Commission's Rules to eliminate current 
national multiple radio ownership restrictions and to relax local radio 
ownership restrictions (the ``radio contour overlap'' rule). This 
action is necessary to conform the current rules to section 202(a) and 
202(b)(1) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 15, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan Aronowitz, Mass Media Bureau, 
Policy and Rules Division, (202) 418-2130.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Order, 
FCC 96-92, adopted March 7, 1996 and released March 8, 1996. The full 
text of this Commission decision is available for inspection and 
copying during normal business hours in the FCC Dockets Branch (Room 
239), 1919 M Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. The complete text of this 
decision may also be purchased from the Commission's copy contractor, 
International Transcription Services, (202) 857-3800, 2100 M Street, 
N.W., Suite 140, Washington, DC 20037.

Synopsis of Order

    By this Order, the Commission amends 47 CFR 73.3555 of its rules to 
conform to provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (``Telecom 
Act''), Public Law 104-104, 110 Stat. 56 (1996), signed into law by 
President Clinton on February 8, 1996. Sections 202(a) and 202(b)(1) of 
the Telecom Act direct the Commission to revise Sec. 73.3555 of its 
Rules (47 CFR 73.3555) regarding the national multiple radio ownership 
rule and the local radio ownership (``radio contour overlap'') rule.

National Radio Station Ownership

    2. Section 73.3555(e)(1)(i) of the Commission's Rules generally 
limits commercial radio ownership on a nationwide basis to no more than 
20 AM stations and no more than 20 FM stations. Section 
73.3555(e)(1)(i) further provides that an entity may have an 
attributable but noncontrolling interest in an additional 3 AM and 3 FM 
stations that are small business controlled or minority-controlled. 
Section 202(a) of the Telecom Act directs the Commission to ``modify 
Section 73.3555 of its regulations * * * by eliminating any provisions 
limiting the number of AM or FM broadcast stations which may be owned 
or controlled by one entity nationally.'' Accordingly, 
Sec. 73.3555(e)(1)(i) will be deleted and the remainder of the rule 
will be modified to reflect the changes directed by this section of the 
Telecom Act.

Local Radio Station Ownership

    3. The local radio ownership (``radio contour overlap'') rule, 47 
CFR 73.3555(a)(1), defines the limits of local commercial radio 
ownership by a single entity. Section 73.3555(a)(1) permits ownership 
of up to three commercial radio stations, no more than two of which may 
be in the same service, in radio markets with 14 or fewer stations, 
provided that the owned stations, if other than a single AM and FM 
station combination, represent less than 50 percent of the stations in 
the market; in markets with 15 or more commercial radio stations, 
ownership of up to two AM and two FM commercial radio stations is 
generally permitted if the combined audience share of the commonly 
owned stations does not exceed 25 percent in the market. Section 
202(b)(1) of the Telecom Act requires the Commission to ``revise 
section 73.3555(a) of its regulations * * * to provide that--

    (A) In a radio market with 45 or more commercial radio stations, 
a party may own, operate, or control up to 8 commercial radio

[[Page 10690]]
stations, not more than 5 of which are in the same service (AM or 
FM);
    (B) in a radio market with between 30 and 44 (inclusive) 
commercial radio stations, a party may own, operate, or control up 
to 7 commercial radio stations, not more than 4 of which are in the 
same service (AM or FM);
    (C) in a radio market with between 15 and 29 (inclusive) 
commercial radio stations, a party may own, operate, or control up 
to 6 commercial radio stations, not more than 4 of which are in the 
same service (AM or FM); and
    (D) in a radio market with 14 or fewer commercial radio 
stations, a party may own, operate, or control up to 5 commercial 
radio stations, not more than 3 of which are in the same service (AM 
or FM), except that a party may not own, operate, or control more 
than 50 percent of the stations in such market.''

    Accordingly, Sec. 73.3555(a)(1) and 73.3555(a)(3)(iii) of the 
Commission's Rules will be revised to reflect the changes directed by 
section 202(b)(1) of the Telecom Act, as set forth below. Section 
73.3555(a)(3)(iii), which defines a radio station's ``audience share'' 
for multiple radio ownership under the current rules, will be deleted.

Other Matters

    4. This Order is limited to revising our rules as directed by 
sections 202(a) and 202(b)(1) of the Telecom Act. Section 202(b)(2) of 
the Telecom Act provides that notwithstanding any limitation authorized 
by this subsection, the Commission may permit a person or entity to 
own, operate, or control, or have a cognizable interest in, radio 
broadcast stations if the Commission determines that such ownership, 
operation, control, or interest will result in an increase in the 
number of radio broadcast stations in operation. The implementation of 
this particular provision will be addressed in a subsequent Notice of 
Proposed Rule Making. Of course, entities are not precluded from asking 
the Commission to apply this statutory exception in a particular case 
before any rule changes.
    5. The following aspects of our radio ownership rules, as set forth 
in previous Commission decisions, are unaffected by the Telecom Act and 
will remain in effect: (1) We will continue to define the relevant 
radio market as the area encompassed by the principal community 
contours (i.e., predicted or measured 5 mV/m for AM stations and 
predicted 3.16 mV/m for FM stations) of the mutually overlapping 
stations proposing to have common ownership. (2) The number of stations 
in the market will continue to be determined based on the principal 
community contours of all commercial stations whose principal community 
contours overlap or intersect the principal community contours of the 
commonly-owned and mutually overlapping stations. (3) The stations that 
will be included within the market will continue to be operating 
commercial full-power stations, including daytimers and foreign 
stations. We will continue to exclude non-commercial stations, 
translators and stations that are not operational. However, the 
principal community contours of any non-operational commercial stations 
that are part of a transaction or that are commonly-owned by a party to 
the transaction will continue to be used to define the radio market and 
to count the number of stations in the radio market. We also note that 
time brokerage agreements between two stations in the same market that 
involve more than 15 percent of the brokered station's programming per 
week will continue to be treated as if the brokered station is owned by 
the brokering station for purposes of the radio local ownership rules.

Administrative Matters

    We are revising these rules without providing prior public notice 
and comment because the rules being modified are mandated by the 
applicable provisions of the Telecom Act. We find that notice and 
comment procedures are unnecessary, and that this action therefore 
falls within the ``good cause'' exception of the Administrative 
Procedure Act. See 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) (notice requirements inapplicable 
``when the agency for good cause finds . . . that notice and public 
procedure thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the 
public interest''). The rule changes adopted in this Order do not 
involve discretionary action on the part of the Commission. Rather, 
they simply implement provisions of the Telecom Act that direct the 
Commission to revise its rules according to specific terms set forth in 
the legislation.

Ordering Clause

    7. Accordingly, it is ordered that pursuant to sections 202(a) and 
202(b)(1) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and to sections 4(i) 
and 303(r) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 
154(i), 303(r), part 73 of the Commission's Rules, 47 CFR part 73, is 
amended as set forth below. We note that Sec. 73.3555(e) is also being 
amended in the Order implementing certain of the Telecom Act's 
broadcast television ownership provisions that is being released 
simultaneously with this Order.1 For clarity, the amendments to 
Sec. 73.3555(e) are being set forth only in that proceeding. The rules 
will become effective upon publication of this Order in the Federal 
Register.

    \1\  Order, FCC 96-91 (released March 8, 1996).
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List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73

    Radio broadcasting.

Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.

Rule Changes

    Part 73 of title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended 
as follows:

PART 73--RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES

    1. The authority citation for part 73 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 303, 334.

    2. Section 73.3555 is amended by revising paragraph (a) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 73.3555  Multiple ownership.

    (a)(1) Radio contour overlap rule. No license for an AM or FM 
broadcasting station shall be granted to any party (including all 
parties under common control) if the grant of such license will result 
in overlap of the principal community contour of that station and the 
principal community contour of any other broadcasting station directly 
or indirectly owned, operated, or controlled by the same party, except 
that such license may be granted in connection with a transfer or 
assignment from an existing party with such interests, or in the 
following circumstances:
    (i) In a radio market with 45 or more commercial radio stations, a 
party may own, operate, or control up to 8 commercial radio stations, 
not more than 5 of which are in the same service (AM or FM);
    (ii) In a radio market with between 30 and 44 (inclusive) 
commercial radio stations, a party may own, operate, or control up to 7 
commercial radio stations, not more than 4 of which are in the same 
service (AM or FM);
    (iii) In a radio market with between 15 and 29 (inclusive) 
commercial radio stations, a party may own, operate, or control up to 6 
commercial radio stations, not more than 4 of which are in the same 
service (AM or FM); and
    (iv) In a radio market with 14 or fewer commercial radio stations, 
a party may own, operate, or control up to 5 commercial radio stations, 
not more than 3 of which are in the same service (AM or FM), except 
that a party may not own, operate, or control more than 50 percent of 
the stations in such market.

[[Page 10691]]

    (2) Overlap between two stations in different services is 
permissible if neither of those two stations overlaps a third station 
in the same service.
    (3) (i) Where the principal community contours of two radio 
stations overlap and a party (including all parties under common 
control) with an attributable ownership interest in one such station 
brokers more than 15 percent of the broadcast time per week of the 
other such station, that party shall be treated as if it has an 
interest in the brokered station subject to the limitations set forth 
in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. This limitation shall apply 
regardless of the source of the brokered programming supplied by the 
party to the brokered station.
    (ii) Every time brokerage agreement of the type described in 
paragraph (a)(3)(i) of this section shall be undertaken only pursuant 
to a signed written agreement that shall contain a certification by the 
licensee or permittee of the brokered station verifying that it 
maintains ultimate control over the station's facilities, including 
specifically control over station finances, personnel and programming, 
and by the brokering station that the agreement complies with the 
provisions of paragraph (a) of this section.
    (4) For purposes of this paragraph (a):
    (i) The ``principal community contour'' for AM stations is the 
predicted or measured 5 mV/m groundwave contour computed in accordance 
with Sec. 73.183 or Sec. 73.186 and for FM stations is the predicted 
3.16 mV/m contour computed in accordance with Sec. 73.313.
    (ii) The number of stations in a radio market is the number of 
commercial stations whose principal community contours overlap, in 
whole or in part, with the principal community contours of the stations 
in question (i.e., the station for which an authorization is sought and 
any station in the same service that would be commonly owned whose 
principal community contour overlaps the principal community contour of 
that station). In addition, if the area of overlap between the stations 
in question is overlapped by the principal community contour of a 
commonly owned station or stations in a different service (AM or FM), 
the number of stations in the market includes stations whose principal 
community contours overlap the principal community contours of such 
commonly owned station or stations in a different service.
    (iii) ``Time brokerage'' is the sale by a licensee of discrete 
blocks of time to a ``broker'' that supplies the programming to fill 
that time and sells the commercial spot announcements in it.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 96-6207 Filed 3-14-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-U