Fcc Repeals Rule Requiring Independent TV Shows Top 3 Networks Expected To Get Richer
A federal rule that helped make week-night stars of letter-turning Vanna White and answer-posing Alex Trebek is heading into its last season.
The 25-year-old rule - which requires network-affiliated stations in the top 50 markets to reserve an hour of prime time for shows not produced by ABC, CBS and NBC opened up a home for such syndicated shows as “Wheel of Fortune” (“I’d like to buy a vowel, Vanna”), “Jeopardy” (“In the form of a question, please”) and “Entertainment Tonight” (“Back to you, Mary”).
The Federal Communications Commission voted 5-0 Friday to eliminate the rule after one year.
TV viewers won’t immediately see a big difference in programming for prime time, which lasts from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Central and Mountain time, network officials said.
But the rule’s elimination likely will enrich the Big Three networks because they will be permitted to sell programs they produce to some of the nation’s largest stations.
Still, no one expects shows like “Wheel of Fortune” - which generally appear in the first hour of prime time - to disappear. They are popular with viewers, cheaper than old network reruns and have long-term contracts, entertainment executives said.
Meanwhile, in a separate decision, the FCC agreed to let the Fox television network remain intact - even though the company’s ownership exceeds federal foreign ownership limits - because it serves the public interest.
The FCC said the network, which has brought the country “Married…With Children” and “The Simpsons,” has expanded competition, viewing choices and jobs.
New networks like Fox, Paramount and Warner Bros. or their affiliates, are not subject to the prime-time access rule that FCC agreed to repeal.
Syndicators like King World and Viacom and the nation’s 450 independent TV stations those not affiliated with one of the Big Three networks - have fought to retain the rule.
The Big Three networks and syndicators like Disney have been pushing for repeal.
The rule was designed to limit the Big Three networks’ control over affiliates’ programming decisions and to increase the diversity of programs available to the public.
But the television marketplace is significantly more competitive than when the rule was adopted, the FCC said, noting that program producers and suppliers now have other ways to get programs to the public - cable, VCRs and direct-to-the-home satellites.