WASHINGTON, September 17, 2015 – The Federal Communications Commission today adopted rules
that allow broadcasters to disclose contest rules online as an alternative to broadcasting them over the air.
Adopted in 1976, the Contest Rule requires broadcasters to disclose important contest information fully
and accurately, and to conduct contests substantially as announced.
Today’s rule change preserves these requirements, but modernizes how broadcast stations can meet their
disclosure obligation by announcing their contest terms over the air or by posting that information on an
Internet website. The Order also adopts related implementing rules, including the requirement that
broadcasters periodically announce over the air the website address where their contest rules can be
found.
The FCC began this rulemaking in response to the dramatic changes that have occurred in the way
Americans obtain information since the Contest Rule was adopted almost four decades ago. The rule
changes give broadcast stations more flexibility in the way they comply with the Contest Rule, and give
consumers a more convenient way to obtain contest information normally aired through television and
radio advertisements.