Global InformationPrime Time Access Rule information
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The Prime Time Access Rule (PTAR) was an American television broadcasting regulation enforced by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from September 13, 1971, to August 30, 1996. It was instituted under concerns that television networks controlled too much of their affiliates' programming, and that there was not enough competition in program production and distribution. Under the regulation, commercial television networks were prohibited from airing programming in the 7:30 p.m. ET/PT half-hour on weekdays and Saturdays, and the 7:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. ET/PT half-hours on Sundays, on stations in the top 50 media markets. Despite only applying in the largest markets, the PTAR was practiced nationwide.
In the prime access timeslots, stations were expected to schedule local programming; the FCC prohibited reruns of networked programming from airing in the prime access timeslots. In practice, the early-evening fringe became a lucrative time slot for first-run syndicated programming, including game shows, entertainment series, and variety shows. A second regulation—the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules (fin-syn)—was introduced alongside the PTAR, which prohibited the major networks from owning their prime time programs or having co-owned syndication divisions. The PTAR was partially loosened in 1975, allowing the networks to re-claim an hour of programming it had lost on Sunday evenings, provided that the 7:00 p.m. hour be used to schedule either news-based or family-oriented programming. In 1996, the PTAR was repealed by the FCC, which deemed it to be no longer necessary.
The regulations had a major impact on the television industry, with some of its effects still felt in the present day: the PTAR moved the traditional start of prime time programming on the Big Three networks on weekdays and Saturdays from 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.—a scheduling pattern that has remained to this day, and was adopted by later entrants such as Fox and The CW. The PTAR was a factor in the mass cancellation of various programs popular among older and rural audiences, as the networks sought to target younger audiences more desirable to advertisers. Some of these cancelled shows—such as Hee Haw, Lassie, and The Lawrence Welk Show—resurfaced in first-run syndication, and were often picked up in the slots created by the PTAR. By the mid-1980s, many stations began to also air syndicated programming in the 7:00 p.m. slot to form a full "prime access hour".
Even with the repeal of the PTAR, the Big Three networks did not reclaim the 7:00 p.m. hour on weekdays in part because the repeal of fin-syn allowed the networks to purchase the syndicators who were filling the airtime, meaning they would profit either way; they have largely maintained a status quo in the time periods to avoid confusing (and losing) viewers by changing the schedules of established syndicated hits.