Goto Section: 73.641 | 73.643 | Table of Contents
FCC 73.642
Revised as of October 1, 2011
Goto Year:2010 |
2012
§ 73.642 Subscription TV service.
(a) Subscription TV service may be provided by:
(1) Licensees and permittees of commercial and noncommercial TV
stations, and
(2) Licensees and permittees of low power TV stations.
(b) A licensee or permittee of a commercial or noncommercial TV station
or a low power TV station may begin subscription TV service upon
installation of encoding equipment having advance FCC approval.
However, the licensee or permittee of a TV broadcast station (not
applicable to low power TV stations) must send a letter to the FCC in
Washington, DC, that subscription TV service will commence at least 30
days prior to commencement of such service. In that letter, to be
entitled "Notice of Commencement of STV Operations," the licensee or
permittee is to state that it will comply with the provisions of
paragraphs (e)(1) through (e)(3) and § 73.644(c) of this chapter and
identify the make and type of encoding system to be used. A similar
notice must be submitted if the licensee or permittee commences using
another type of encoding system. (See section 644(h).) A notice must
also be submitted to the FCC in Washington, DC, if encoded subscription
TV service is to be discontinued, at least 30 days prior to such
discontinuance.
(c) The station proof of system compliance measurement data (see
§ 73.644(c)) need not be submitted to the FCC, however, the measurement
data must be available to the FCC upon request.
(d) The use of the visual vertical blanking interval or an aural
subcarrier for transmitting subscriber decoder control code signals
during periods of normal non-encoded programming may be used only upon
specific FCC authorization. Letter requests to use either the video
blanking intervals or aural subcarriers during periods of
non-subscription programming are to be sent to the FCC in Washington,
D.C.
(e) A licensee or permittee of a commercial or noncommercial TV
broadcast or low power TV station may not transmit a subscription
service if it has a contract, arrangement, or understanding expressed
or implied, that:
(1) Prevents or hinders it from rejecting or refusing any subscription
TV broadcast program that it reasonably believes to be unsatisfactory
or unsuitable or contrary to the public interests; or substituting a
subscription or conventional program that, in its opinion, is of
greater local or national importance; or
(2) Delegates to any other person the right to schedule the hours of
transmission of subscription programs. However, this rule does not
prevent a licensee or permittee from entering into an agreement or
arrangement whereby it agrees to schedule a specific subscription TV
broadcast program at a specific time or to schedule a specific number
of hours of subscription programs during the broadcast day (or segments
thereof) or weeks; or
(3) Deprives it of the right of ultimate decision concerning the
maximum amount of any subscription program charge or fee.
(4) Has provisions that do not comply with the following policies of
the FCC:
(i) Unless a satifactory signal is unavailable at the location where
service is desired, subscription TV service must be provided to all
persons desiring it within the Grade A contour of the station
broadcasting subscription programs. Geographic or other reasonable
patterns of installation for new subscription services is permitted
and, for good cause, service may be terminated.
(ii) Charges, terms and conditions of service to subscribers must be
applied uniformly. However, subscribers may be divided into reasonable
classifications approved by the FCC, and the impositions of different
sets of terms and conditions may be applied to subscribers in different
classifications. Further, for good cause, within such classification,
deposits may be required from some subscribers and not of others; and,
also for good cause, if a subscription system generally uses a
credit-type decoder, cash operated decoders may be installed for some
subscribers.
[ 48 FR 56392 , Dec. 21, 1983, as amended at 52 FR 6154 , Mar. 2, 1987; 66 FR 58982 , Nov. 26, 2001]
Goto Section: 73.641 | 73.643
Goto Year: 2010 |
2012
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