[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 47, Volume 2]
[Revised as of October 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 47CFR73.1201]

[Page 271-272]
 
                       TITLE 47--TELECOMMUNICATION
 
        CHAPTER I--FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (CONTINUED)
 
PART 73_RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES--Table of Contents
 
          Subpart H_Rules Applicable to All Broadcast Stations
 
Sec.  73.1201  Station identification.

    (a) When regularly required. Broadcast station identification 
announcements shall be made:
    (1) At the beginning and ending of each time of operation, and
    (2) Hourly, as close to the hour as feasible, at a natural break in 
program offerings. Television and Class A television broadcast stations 
may make these announcements visually or aurally.
    (b) Content. (1) Official station identification shall consist of 
the station's call letters immediately followed by the community or 
communities specified in its license as the station's location; 
Provided, That the name of the licensee, the station's frequency, the 
station's channel number, as stated on the station's license, and/or the 
station's network affiliation may be inserted between the call letters 
and station location. DTV stations, or DAB Stations, choosing to include 
the station's channel number in the station identification must use the 
station's major channel number and may distinguish multicast program 
streams. For example, a DTV station with major channel number 26 may use 
26.1 to identify an HDTV program service and 26.2 to identify an SDTV 
program service. A radio station operating in DAB hybrid mode or 
extended hybrid mode shall identify its digital signal, including any 
free multicast audio programming streams, in a manner that appropriately 
alerts its audience to the fact that it is listening to a digital audio

[[Page 272]]

broadcast. No other insertion between the station's call letters and the 
community or communities specified in its license is permissible.
    (2) A station may include in its official station identification the 
name of any additional community or communities, but the community to 
which the station is licensed must be named first.
    (c) Channel--(1) General. Except as otherwise provided in this 
paragraph, in making the identification announcement the call letters 
shall be given only on the channel, or channels in the case of a 
broadcaster that is multicasting more than a single channel, identified 
thereby.
    (2) Simultaneous AM (535-1605 kHz) and AM (1605-1705 kHz broadcasts. 
If the same licensee operates an AM broadcast station in the 535-1605 
kHz band and an AM broadcast station in the 1605-1705 kHz band with both 
stations licensed to the same community and simultaneously broadcasts 
the same programs over the facilities of both such stations, station 
identification announcements may be made jointly for both stations for 
periods of such simultaneous operations.
    (3) Satellite operation. When programming of a broadcast station is 
rebroadcast simultaneously over the facilities of a satellite station, 
the originating station may make identification announcements for the 
satellite station for periods of such simultaneous operation.
    (i) In the case of a television broadcast station, such 
announcements, in addition to the information required by paragraph 
(b)(1) of this section, shall include the number of the channel on which 
each station is operating.
    (ii) In the case of aural broadcast stations, such announcements, in 
addition to the information required by paragraph (b)(1) of this 
section, shall include the frequency on which each station is operating.
    (d) Subscription television stations (STV). The requirements for 
official station identification applicable to TV stations will apply to 
Subscription TV stations except, during STV-encoded programming such 
station identification is not required. However, a station 
identification announcement will be made immediately prior to and 
following the encoded Subscription TV program period.

[34 FR 19762, Dec. 17, 1969, as amended at 37 FR 23726, Nov. 8, 1972; 39 
FR 6707, Feb. 22, 1974; 39 FR 9442, Mar. 11, 1974; 41 FR 29394, July 16, 
1976; 47 FR 3791, Jan. 27, 1982; 48 FR 51308, Nov. 8, 1983; 56 FR 64872, 
Dec. 12, 1991; 65 FR 30003, May 10, 2000; 69 FR 59535, Oct. 4, 2004; 72 
FR 45693, Aug. 15, 2007]

    Effective Date Note: At 72 FR 45693, Aug. 15, 2007, in Sec.  
73.1201, paragraph (b) was revised. This paragraph contains information 
collection and recordkeeping requirements and will not become effective 
until approval has been given by the Office of Management and Budget.