[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 47, Volume 4]
[Revised as of October 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 47CFR76.65]

[Page 602-603]
 
                       TITLE 47--TELECOMMUNICATION
 
                    CHAPTER I--FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
                         COMMISSION (CONTINUED)
 
PART 76_MULTICHANNEL VIDEO AND CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE--Table of Contents
 
           Subpart D_Carriage of Television Broadcast Signals
 
Sec. 76.65  Good faith and exclusive retransmission consent complaints.

    (a) Duty to negotiate in good faith. Television broadcast stations 
that provide retransmission consent shall negotiate in good faith the 
terms and conditions of such agreements to fulfill the duties 
established by section 325(b)(3)(C) of the Communciations Act 47 U.S.C. 
325; provided, however, that it shall not be a failure to negotiate in 
good faith if the television broadcast station proposes or enters into 
retransmission consent agreements containing different terms and 
conditions, including price terms, with different multichannel video 
programming distributors if such different terms and conditions are 
based on competitive marketplace considerations. If a television 
broadcast station negotiates with multichannel video programming 
distributors in accordance with the rules and procedures set forth in 
this section, failure to reach an agreement is not an indication of a 
failure to negotiate in good faith.
    (b) Good faith negotiation--(1) Standards. The following actions or 
practices violate a broadcast television station's duty to negotiate 
retransmission consent agreements in good faith:
    (i) Refusal by a television broadcast station to negotiate 
retransmission consent with any multichannel video programming 
distributor;
    (ii) Refusal by a television broadcast station to designate a 
representative with authority make binding representations on 
retransmission consent;
    (iii) Refusal by a television broadcast station to meet and 
negotiate retransmission consent at reasonable times and locations, or 
acting in a manner that unreasonably delays retransmission consent 
negotiations;
    (iv) Refusal by a television broadcast station to put forth more 
than a single, unilateral proposal.
    (v) Failure of a television broadcast station to respond to a 
retransmission consent proposal of a multichannel video programming 
distributor, including the reasons for the rejection of any such 
proposal;
    (vi) Execution by a television broadcast station of an agreement 
with any party, a term or condition of which, requires that such 
television broadcast station not enter into a retransmission consent 
agreement with any multichannel video programming distributor; and
    (vii) Refusal by a television broadcast station to execute a written 
retransmission consent agreement that sets forth the full understanding 
of the television broadcast station and the multichannel video 
programming distributor.
    (2) Totality of the circumstances. In addition to the standards set 
forth in section 76.65(b)(1), a multichannel video programming 
distributor may demonstrate, based on the totality of the circumstances 
of a particular retransmission consent negotiation, that a television 
broadcast station breached its duty to negotiate in good faith as set 
forth in section 76.65(a).
    (c) Any multichannel video programming distributor aggrieved by 
conduct that it believes constitutes a violation of the regulations set 
forth in this section or Sec. 76.64(l) may commence an adjudicatory 
proceeding at the Commission to obtain enforcement of the rules through 
the filing of a complaint. The complaint shall be filed and responded to 
in accordance with the procedures specified in Sec. 76.7.
    (d) Burden of proof. In any complaint proceeding brought under this 
section, the burden of proof as to the existence of a violation shall be 
on the complainant.
    (e) Time limit on filing of complaints. Any complaint filed pursuant 
to this subsection must be filed within one year of the date on which 
one of the following events occurs:
    (1) A complainant multichannel video programming provider enters 
into a retransmission consent agreement with a television broadcast 
station that the complainant alleges to violate one or more of the rules 
contained in this subpart; or
    (2) A television broadcast station engages in retransmission consent 
negotiations with a complainant that the

[[Page 603]]

complainant alleges to violate one or more of the rules contained in 
this subpart, and such negotiation is unrelated to any existing contract 
between the complainant and the television broadcast station; or
    (3) The complainant has notified the television broadcast station 
that it intends to file a complaint with the Commission based on a 
request to negotiate retransmission consent that has been denied, 
unreasonably delayed, or unacknowledged in violation of one or more of 
the rules contained in this subpart.
    (f) Termination of rules. This section shall terminate at midnight 
on December 31, 2005.

[65 FR 15575, Mar. 23, 2000, as amended at 68 FR 52127, Sept. 2, 2003]