Prime Time Access Rule
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Prime Time Access Rule (PTAR) was instituted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to restrict the amount of network programming that local television stations owned by or affiliated with a network may air during "prime time".
The first PTAR was issued in 1970 and was implemented at the beginning of the 1971-1972 season; it is re-examined periodically and has undergone several modifications since its initial issue.
The current PTAR applies only to network-owned or -affiliated stations in the 50 largest markets. It restricts these stations to airing no more than three hours of network programming during the four-hour prime-time block each evening and establishes the first hour of prime time as the "access hour."