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Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, DC 20554 In the Matter of ) ) MB Docket No. 17- WSBS Licensing, Inc. ) ) ) CSR No. For Modification of the Television Market ) For WSBS-TV, Key West, Florida ) Facility ID No. 72053 To: Office of the Secretary Attn.: Chief, Policy Division, Media Bureau PETITION FOR SPECIAL RELIEF WSBS LICENSING, INC. SPANISH BROADCASTING SYSTEM, INC. Nancy A. Ory Paul A. Cicelski Laura M. Berman Lerman Senter PLLC 2001 L Street NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20036 Tel. (202) 429-8970 April 19, 2017 Their Attorneys -ii- SUMMARY In this Petition, WSBS Licensing, Inc. and its parent company Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (“SBS”) seek modification of the television market of WSBS-TV, Key West, Florida (the “Station”), to reinstate 41 communities (the “Communities”) located in the Miami- Ft. Lauderdale Designated Market Area (the “Miami-Ft. Lauderdale DMA” or the “DMA”) that were previously deleted from the Station’s television market by virtue of a series of market modification decisions released in 1996 and 1997. SBS seeks recognition that the Communities located in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties form an integral part of WSBS-TV’s natural market. The elimination of the Communities prior to SBS’s ownership of the Station cannot diminish WSBS-TV’s longstanding service to the Communities, to which WSBS-TV provides significant locally-produced news and public affairs programming targeted to residents of the Communities, and where the Station has developed many substantial advertising relationships with local businesses throughout the Communities within the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale DMA. Cable operators have obviously long recognized that a clear nexus exists between the Communities and WSBS-TV’s programming because they have been voluntarily carrying WSBS-TV continuously for at least a decade and continue to carry the Station today. Tellingly, WGEN-TV, the only other television station licensed to Key West and which shares a tower with WSBS-TV, is entitled to must carry in the Communities pursuant to a Commission decision granting such mandatory carriage with facts nearly identical in every meaningful way to the facts of this case. Further, as a Spanish-language “specialty” Station, WSBS-TV’s Nielsen ratings show a strong connection to the Communities, with the Station achieving an average share of 3% among Hispanic viewers (Monday through Saturday 8:00 p.m. through 11:00 p.m. and Sunday 7:00 p.m. through 11:00 p.m.) for at least the -iii- last five years. The Bureau should recognize these market facts and the historical ties between WSBS-TV and the Communities and permanently reassign them to WSBS-TV’s market. As shown herein, the factual evidence provided by SBS provides overwhelming and conclusive evidence demonstrating that WSBS-TV is entitled to mandatory MVPD carriage in the Communities. In the Communities, WSBS-TV satisfies each of the five key statutory factors used to justify the requested market modification and, as demonstrated herein, each of the Communities have always formed a fundamental part of the Station’s natural economic market. In short, in granting this Petition, the Bureau would simply be memorializing the already longstanding carriage of WSBS-TV on the cable systems that service the Communities, consistent with the statutory factors considered in market modification proceedings. For these reasons, and those discussed further herein, SBS respectfully urges the Bureau to grant the Petition forthwith. -iv- TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... ii TABLE OF EXHIBITS ................................................................................................................. vi I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 2 A. Background ............................................................................................................. 2 B. History of WSBS-TV’s Carriage and Service ........................................................ 4 C. Cultural/Ethnic Characteristics of the Communities and the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale DMA .................................................................................................... 6 D. Geographical Factors with Respect to the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale DMA ................ 9 II. STATUTORY AND FCC STANDARDS FOR MARKET MODIFICATIONS REQUIRE INCLUSION OF THE COMMUNITIES IN THE STATION’S MARKET .......................................................................................................................... 10 A. Summary of Market Modification Standards ....................................................... 10 B. WSBS-TV Has Been Historically Carried and Is Currently Carried on Systems in the Communities ................................................................................. 13 C. WSBS-TV Provides Significant Local Service to Viewers Residing in the Communities, Demonstrating the Station’s Strong Connection to the Communities. ........................................................................................................ 15 (i) WSBS-TV is a Spanish-Language “Specialty” Station and Provides Unique Programming Responsive to the Needs and Interests of a Subset of Viewers in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale DMA and the Communities ...................................................................... 19 (ii) Station Local News Programming. ........................................................... 20 (iii) Community and Political Leaders Confirm That WSBS-TV Provides Important Programming that Serves the Interests of the Communities ............................................................................................. 21 (iv) The Station Provides a Programming Service that is Different Than Any Other Station in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale DMA ................... 22 D. Modifying the Market to Include the Communities Will Promote Access to WSBS-TV ......................................................................................................... 23 E. Relevant Commission Precedent Demonstrates That WSBS-TV’s Lack of NLSC Coverage In the Communities is Not The Deciding Factor and other Local Service May be Relied on to Demonstrate Coverage of the Communities ......................................................................................................... 24 F. WSBS-TV’s Nielsen Ratings Trend and Other Economic and Political Factors Demonstrate a Close Relationship Between WSBS-TV and the Communities ......................................................................................................... 25 -v- (i) Ratings Show Connection to Communities .............................................. 25 (ii) Advertising by Businesses in the Communities on WSBS-TV Shows Market Connection ........................................................................ 26 (iii) WSBS-TV’s Operations and Studio Facility in the Communities Provides Evidence of Strong In-Market Presence .................................... 27 (iv) Community Events.................................................................................... 27 (v) Press Coverage Demonstrates the Extent of WSBS-TV’s Market ........... 28 (vi) Labor and Shopping Markets Demonstrate the Connection between Key West and the Communities ................................................. 29 (vii) Congressional Districts Confirm the Shared Interest by WSBS-TV and the Communities .............................................................. 29 III. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 30 -vi- TABLE OF EXHIBITS Exhibit A Communities Previously Excluded from WSBS-TV’s Market Exhibit B 2010 U.S. Census Bureau County Data Exhibit C BIA Kelsey TV Summary Report for Miami-Ft. Lauderdale Market Exhibit D Nielsen Station Index Directory of TV Stations by Market for 2006-2007 through 2016-2017 Exhibit E Current Channel Line-Ups for Comcast, Advanced Cable, AT&T/U-Verse, Atlantic Broadband and Over-the-Air Reception Exhibit F 2008 Channel Line-Ups for Comcast, Advanced Cable, Atlantic Broadband Exhibit G Cable Headend Map Cable Community Map Exhibit H Letters from Political and Community Leaders Exhibit I Nielsen Ratings Exhibit J List of Advertisers Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, DC 20554 In the Matter of ) ) MB Docket No. 17- WSBS Licensing, Inc. ) ) CSR No. For Modification of the Television Market ) For WSBS-TV, Key West, Florida ) Facility ID No. 72053 To: Office of the Secretary Attn.: Chief, Policy Division, Media Bureau PETITION FOR SPECIAL RELIEF WSBS Licensing, Inc. (“Petitioner”) is the licensee of Station WSBS-TV, Channel 3, Key West, Florida (FCC Facility ID No. 72053) (“WSBS-TV” or the “Station”). Key West is located in Monroe County and is part of the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale Designated Market Area (the “Miami-Ft. Lauderdale DMA” or the “DMA”). The Miami-Ft. Lauderdale DMA is comprised of three counties in south Florida - Miami-Dade County, Broward County and Monroe County. There are 41 cable communities in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale DMA (the “Communities”) in which WSBS-TV does not officially have “must carry” status under the FCC rules, even though cable systems have been carrying WSBS-TV in the Communities for more than a decade and they continue to do so today.1 1 A list of the communities WSBS-TV seeks to include in its market