Legal ID rules in the past

[Garrett Wollman]

<<On Sun, 01 Mar 2009 14:02:35 -0500, SteveOrdinetz <hykker@wildblue.net> said:

> in that regard in those days.  Were the rules different then?  I 
> always was taught that a legal ID was calls followed by COL.
> I'm pretty sure "Hit Parade" debuted around November of '68.

At various times the rules have been both looser in some ways and
stricter in others.  Here's what the rules said from at least 1948 to
1967.  At that time, there were separate legal ID rules for "standard
broadcast", FM, and TV; the AM rules were at section 73.117:

  (a) A licensee of a standard broadcast station shall make station
  identification announcement (call letters and location) at the
  beginning and ending of each time of operation (1) on the hour and
  (2) either on the half hour or at the quarter hour preceding the
  next hour; Provided,

  (b) Such identification announcement need not be made on the hour
  when to make such announcement would interrupt a single consecutive
  speech, play, religious service, symphony concert, operatic
  production or forum of longer duration than 30 minutes.  In such
  cases the identification announcement shall be made at the beginning
  of the program, at the first interruption of the entertainment
  continuity, and at the conclusion of the program.

  (c) Such identification announcement need not be made on the half
  hour or quarter hours when to make such an announcement would
  interrupt a single consecutive speech, play, religious servie,
  symphony concert, or operatic production.  In such cases an
  identification announcement shall be made atthe first interruption
  of the entertainment continuity and at the conclusion of the
  program; Provided, that an announcement within 5 minutes of the time
  specified in paragraph (a) (2) of this section will satisft the
  requirements of identification announcements.

  (d) In the case of variety show programs of longer duration than 30
  minutes, the identification announcement shall be made within 5
  minutes of the hour and of the times specified in paragraph (a)(2)
  of this section.

  (e) In the case of all other programs the identification
  announcement shall be made within 2 minutes of the hour and of the
  time specified in paragraph (a)(2) of this section.

  (f) In making the identification announcement the call letters shall
  be given only on the channel of the station identified thereby,
  except as otherwise provided in [section] 73.287 of the Commissions
  Rules Governing FM Broadcast Stations.

The FM rules are mostly identical to the AM rules, except that
paragraph (a) reads:

  (a) A licensee of an FM broadcast station shall make separate
  station identification announcement (call letters and location) for
  such station ; provided, however, that if ther same licensee
  operates an FM radio broadcasting station and a standard broadcast
  station 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 operation.  If the call letters of the FM station
  do not clearly reveal that it is an FM station, the joint
  announcement shall state that one of the stations is an FM station.
  Station identification announcements shall be made at the beginning
  and ending of each time of operation and during operation (1) on the
  hour and (2) either on the half hour or at the quarter hour
  following the hour and at the quarter hour preceding the next hour ;
  Provided:

(This text is from the 1968 /Broadcasting Yearbook/ and may not be
accurate.)

The FCC rules were restructured some time in 1969 or 1970; by 1971,
the familiar section 73.1201 had appeared, albeit in a rather
different form from what we're used to today.  It read:

  (a) When regularly required.  Broadcast stations shall announce
  station identification: (1) at the beginning and ending of each time
  of operation, and (2) regularly, during operation, within 2 minutes
  of each hour.  Stanard, FM, and noncommercial educational FM
  broadcast stations shall, additionally, announce station
  identification regularly within 2 minutes of each half-hour.
  Television broadcast stations may make the hourly announcements
  either visually or aurally, but shall make the announcement at the
  beginning and ending of each time of operation both visually an
  aurally.

  (b) Content.  (1) Official station identification shall consist of
  the station's call letters immediately followed by the name of the
  community or communities specified in its license as the station's
  location.

  (2) When given specific written authorization to do so, a station
  may include in its official station identification the name of an
  additional community or commmunities, but the community to which the
  staiton is licensed must be named first.

  (3) A licensee shall not in any identification announcements,
  promotional announcements or any other broadcast matter either lead
  or attempt to lead the station's audience to believe that the
  station has been authorized to identify officially with cities other
  than those permitted to be included in official station
  identifications under subparagraphs (1) and (2) of this paragraph.

  NOTE: Commission interpretations of this paragraph may be found in a
  separate Public Notice issued October 30, 1967, entitled "Examples
  of Application of Rule Regarding Broadcast of Statements Regarding a
  Station's Licensed Location" (FCC 67-1132; 10 FCC 2d 407.)

  (c) Channel.  (1) Generally.  Except as provided in subparagraph (2)
  of this paragraph, in making the identification announcement the
  call letters shall be given only on the channel of the station
  identified thereby.

  (2) [simulcast rule same as before]

  (d) Program interruption.  Licensees shall in general arrange their
  programming so as to permit the broadcast of station identification
  announcements at the regular times prescribed in paragraph (a) of
  this section without undue disruption of program continuity.
  Subject to this requirement, a station identification announcement
  need not be presented at the time it is regularly required, if to do
  so would objectionably break program continuity essential to the
  value of the program to the audience.  However, program continuity
  is deemed to be broken and therefore an announcement is required, if
  during the four-minute period in which an announcement is regularly
  due there is presented any non-program matter, such as commercial,
  public service or promotional announncements.  While there may be
  exceptions, normally program continuity is also demeed to be broken,
  and an identification announcement required, if during the
  four-minute period there occurs the end of a regular period in a
  sports event being broadcast (e.g., round, quarter, or half-inning),
  the end of an act in a dramatic or variety program, the intermission
  of a live concert, opera, recital, or ot6her musical performance
  presented live in its entirety (presented simultaneously or by
  rebroadcast), or the end of any other musical selection.

  (e) Deferred station identification.  (1) If a station omits a
  regular station identification announcement as permitted under
  paragraph (d) of this section, it shall broadcast a deferred station
  identification announcement at the next opportunity when it can be
  presented without objectionably breaking program continuity
  essential ot the value of the program to the audience.  Such
  opportunity is deemed to occur, at the latest, when any of the
  material or events mentioned in paragraph (d) of this section is
  presented or occurs.

  (2) If no opportunity for an announcement (as defined in
  subparagraph (1) of this paragraph) occurs after a regular station
  identification is omitted, a deferred station identification
  announcement shall be broadcast promptly at the end of the program
  unless the next regular station identification is broadcast within 5
  minutes after the program ends.

By 1973, the detailed rules regarding when announcements must be made
had been replaced with the current language: "hourly, as close to the
hour as feasible, at a natural break in program offerings", but the
specific rules about not announcing other communities (or making
misleading announcements about the station's location) were still
present.  That language appears to have been dropped in 1982 or 1983.
(It was shown in the 1979 BY, but it's not in my 1985 printed copy of
Part 73.)

-GAWollman