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
   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 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. 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]