Fox Wants FCC to Relax Network Law : Television: The scrappy broadcasting company, nearing network status, claims federal syndication rules are antiquated.

Fox Broadcasting Co. will ask the Federal Communications Commission to allow it to develop into a true “fourth network” to compete with NBC, ABC and CBS free of rules that restrict network programs and sales.

Fox Inc. Chairman Barry Diller, in Washington Thursday to press his case on Capitol Hill and at the FCC, said his company on Tuesday will ask the commission to relax so-called financial interest and syndication rules on networks.

The FCC defines a network, among other things, as a company that broadcasts at least 15 hours of television programs a week. Fox Broadcasting, the scrappy three-year-old company that has won a loyal following with such shows as “21 Jump Street,” “Married . . . With Children” and gritty “reality” programs, expects to achieve network status in September.

Besides asking the FCC to change the rules--called fin-syn rules in the industry--Fox also wants a waiver from the 15-hour programming limit so it can “continue to grow,” Diller said.

Fox also wants the FCC to revise its definition of a network, Diller said.

The fin-syn rules prohibit a TV network from selling to independent stations programs that have been presented on the network. They also prohibit a network from having a financial interest in programs it does not solely produce.

Fox has been airing its shows on its seven owned stations and is selling them to an affiliate “network” and to non-Fox-affiliated stations. The selling to non-affiliated stations would stop if Fox qualified as a network.

Fox officials claim the rules are antiquated in an era of multinational media conglomerates and that they stifle competition.