[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: 47CFR76.65]

[Page 556-557]
 
                       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 
and multichannel video programming distributors shall negotiate in good 
faith the terms and conditions of retransmission consent agreements to 
fulfill the duties established by section 325(b)(3)(C) of the Act; 
provided, however, that it shall not be a failure to negotiate in good 
faith if:
    (1) 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; or
    (2) The multichannel video programming distributor enters into 
retransmission consent agreements containing different terms and 
conditions, including price terms, with different broadcast stations if 
such different terms and conditions are based on competitive marketplace 
considerations. If a television broadcast station or multichannel video 
programming distributor negotiates 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 or multichannel video 
programming distributor's (the ``Negotiating Entity'') duty to negotiate 
retransmission consent agreements in good faith:
    (i) Refusal by a Negotiating Entity to negotiate retransmission 
consent;
    (ii) Refusal by a Negotiating Entity to designate a representative 
with authority to make binding representations on retransmission 
consent;
    (iii) Refusal by a Negotiating Entity 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 Negotiating Entity to put forth more than a 
single, unilateral proposal;
    (v) Failure of a Negotiating Entity to respond to a retransmission 
consent proposal of the other party, including the reasons for the 
rejection of any such proposal;
    (vi) Execution by a Negotiating Entity of an agreement with any 
party, a term or condition of which, requires that such Negotiating 
Entity not enter into a retransmission consent agreement with any other 
television broadcast station or multichannel video programming 
distributor; and
    (vii) Refusal by a Negotiating Entity 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 Sec.  76.65(b)(1), a Negotiating Entity may demonstrate, based 
on the totality of the circumstances of a particular retransmission 
consent negotiation, that a television broadcast station or multichannel 
video programming distributor breached its duty to negotiate in good 
faith as set forth in Sec.  76.65(a).
    (c) Good faith negotiation and exclusivity complaints. Any 
television broadcast station or 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:

[[Page 557]]

    (1) A complainant enters into a retransmission consent agreement 
with a television broadcast station or multichannel video programming 
distributor that the complainant alleges to violate one or more of the 
rules contained in this subpart; or
    (2) A television broadcast station or multichannel video programming 
distributor engages in retransmission consent negotiations with a 
complainant that the 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 multichannel video programming distributor; or
    (3) The complainant has notified the television broadcast station or 
multichannel video programming distributor 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, 2009.

[70 FR 40224, July 13, 2005]