The Financial Interest and Syndication Rules, widely known as the fin-syn rules, were a set of United States rules imposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1970 on the television industry.
The FCC sought to prevent the Big Three television networks from monopolizing the broadcast landscape by preventing them from owning any of the programming that they aired in prime time.[1] The rules also prohibited networks from airing syndicated programming they had a financial stake in. The rules also led the networks to spin off their syndicated divisions, such as CBS' CBS Enterprises, which was renamed Viacom in 1971 and spun off; ABC's ABC Films, which was sold to its five executives and later renamed Worldvision Enterprises; and NBC's syndicated division NBC Films, which was sold to National Telefilm Associates (NTA) for $7.5 million. The latter two deals both occurred in March 1973.[2][3][4][5]
After a deregulatory mode inspired by President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, the agency's commissioners voted to eliminate the rules in 1993.
- ^ D. Croteau; W. Hoynes (2006). The Business of Media: Corporate Media and the Public Interest. Thousand Oaks, California: Pine Forge Press. p. 85.
- ^ "Sudden halt to Viacom spin-off" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 1, 1971. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
- ^ "Worldvision Enterprises, Inc. v. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. (1983)". Retrieved September 9, 2016.
- ^ "Price of film" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 19, 1973. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
- ^ "Sale of NBC Films completes exodus of networks from syndication" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 12, 1973. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
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