Albuquerque Broadcasting Co. v. Regents of New Mexico College of Agriculture & Mechanic Arts
District Court, D. New Mexico · 1945-12-07 · cited 5×
The case concerned a 1936 contract for the sale of radio station KOB and its FCC license from the defendant college regents to the plaintiff broadcaster, under which the plaintiff agreed to provide one hour per day of non-commercial educational airtime while retaining complete control over station operations and program selection as mandated by the Communications Act of 1934 and FCC rules. The defendant later demanded specific additional time slots, leading the plaintiff to seek a declaratory judgment that it need not comply or cede scheduling authority. The court held that the contract does not obligate the plaintiff to grant the demanded times or share program control, because the final contract paragraph expressly preserves the plaintiff's exclusive authority to choose and schedule broadcasts in the public interest, the agreement must be construed to avoid violating federal licensing requirements, and the FCC retains oversight authority. Ambiguities in the time-selection clause were resolved in favor of legality and public-interest compliance rather than any construction that would divide licensee control.