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Amendment of Section 3.261 1019
BEFORE THE
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of ' f
Amendment of Section 3.261 of Part 3}
(Radio Broadcast Services). |
REPORT AND ORDER
BY THE COMMISSION: COMMISSIONERS LEE AND MACK NOT PARTIC-
IPATING.
1. On March 22, 1955, the Commission released a report and
order (FCC 55-840 [11.R.R. 1589]) in docket No. 10832, amend-
ing its rules to permit FM broadcast stations to engage in func-
tional music operations on a simplex and/or multiplex basis. In
this report and order the Commission amended section 3.261 of
the rules relating to time of operation of FM broadcast stations to
read, in part, as follows:
A minimum of 36 hours per week during the hours of 6:00 a.m. to
midnight, consisting of not less than 5 hours in any one day, must be
devoted to the FM broadcast operation; time devoted to operations con-
ducted pursuant to a Subsidiary Communications Authorization (see sec-
tions 3.298-3.296) shall not be included in meeting this 36-hour broadcast
requirement.
2. On October 7, 1955, Progress Broadcasting Corp., licensee of
station WHOM-FM, New York, N.Y. filed a petition requesting
the Commission to amend section 3.261 to permit FM stations to
be silent on Sundays. In support of its petition, Progress Broad-
casting Corp. urges that the language of section 3.261 appears to
require FM stations to operate on Sunday. Petitioner states that
the authorization of functional music operations was a recogni-
tion by the Commission that FM stations were, for the most part,
in very poor financial circumstances and required additional
sources of revenue if they were to continue to exist, and notes
that in authorizing functional music operations, the Commission
characterized such operations as essentially of nonbroadcast na-
ture. In order to keep the functional music operation subservient
to the broadcast function, the Commission required in section
3,261 a minimum of 86 broadcast hours per week; and in order to
preclude concentration of the minimum hours in any one period
of time, required a minimum of 5 broadcast hours per day. Peti-
tioner urges, however, that the Commission cannot have intended
to require FM stations to operate on Sundays, noting that section
3.71 of the Commission’s AM rules specifically excludes Sundays
from the minimum operating schedule of standard broadcast sta-
tions. Because Sunday operation involves overtime payments to
1020 Federal Communications Commission Reports
station staffs and provides little opportunity for deriving compen-
satory revenues, it is substantially more expensive than compara-
ble weekday operations. Petitioner urges, therefore, that its pro-
posed revision of section 3.261 would. be consistent with the Com-
mission’s policy of improving the financial circumstances of FM
stations, and further, would equalize treatment’ of standard
broadcast and FM stations in this particular. Such a revision
would not affect the obligation of FM licensees to meet the mini-
mum weekly requirement, and would not permit fulfilling this re-
aurementi in any given short period of time.
he Commission believes that the public interest’ does not re-
quire ae broadcast operation by FM stations. Standard
broadcast stations are expressly exempt from such a requirement.
The Commission believes that the public interest would be served
by removing the financial burden of obligatory Sunday broadcast
operation from FM’ stations. Accordingly, the Commission is
amending section 8.261 of its rules to. permit FM stations to re-
main silent on Sundays.
4, Prior notice of proposed rulemaking is unnecessary under
the provisions of section 3 of the Administrative Procedtire Act,
and the amendment may become effective January 3, 1956, since
the amendment will relieve restrictions upon licensees of FM sta-
tions.
5. The amendment adopted herein is issued pursuant to authori-
ty contained in sections 4(i), 303 (c) and (r) of the Communica-
tions Act of 1934, as amended,
6. In view of the foregoing, It is ordered, That, effective Janu-
ary 8, 1956 section 3.261 of the Commission’s rules is amended to
read as follows: * * *
Adopted December 21, 1955.
Released December 28, 1955.
*Rule deleted since it appears in FOC rules and regulations.