Federal Communications Commission Record DA 95-974
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
10 FCC Red No. 10 Federal Communications Commission Record DA 95-974 Arbitron audience research organization.4 An ADI is a Before the geographic market designation that defines each television Federal Communications Commission market exclusive of others, based on measured viewing Washington, D.C. 20554 patterns. Essentially, each county in the United States is allocated to a market based on which home-market stations receive a preponderance of total viewing hours in the In re: county. For purposes of this calculation, both over-the-air and cable television viewing are included.5 WNNE-TV, Inc. CSR-4003-A 3. Under the Act, the Commission is also directed to Hartford, Vermont consider changes in ADI areas. Section 614(h) provides that the Commission may: For Modification of Station WNNE-TV©s ADI with respect to a particular television broadcast sta tion, include additional communities within its tele vision market or exclude communities from such MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER station©s television market to better effectuate thepurposes of this section. Adopted: April 25,1995; Released: May 8,1995 In considering such requests, the 1992 Cable Act provides By the Cable Services Bureau: that: the Commission shall afford particular attention to INTRODUCTION the value of localism by taking into account such 1. WNNE-TV, Inc. ("WNNE-TV"), licensee of commer factors as: cial Television Broadcast Station WNNE-TV (NBC, Chan nel 31), Hartford, Vermont, has filed the captioned petition (I) whether the station, or other stations located in for special relief seeking to include communities of Ash the same area, have been historically carried on the land, Bath, Bath (village), Bethlehem, Bethlehem (town), cable system or systems within such community; Campion, Canaan. Dorchester, Enfield, Franconia, Groton, Hanover, Haverhill, Holderness, Lebanon, Lincoln, Lisbon, (II) whether the television station provides coverage Littleton, Monroe, North Haverhill, Piermont, Plymouth, or other local service to such community; Rumney, Sugar Hill, Thornton, Warren. Waterville Valley, (III) whether any other television station that is eli Wentworth, Woodstock, Woodsville and surrounding areas gible to be carried by a cable system in such commu of Grafton County (collectively known as "the Commu nity in fulfillment of the requirements of this section nities") within the Burlington, Vermont-Plattsburgh, New provides news coverage of issues of concern to such York "area of dominant influence" (ADI) for the limited community or provides carriage or coverage of sport purpose of cable television mandatory broadcast signal car ing and other events of interest to the community; riage rules. 1 State Cable TV Corporation ("State Cable"), a and cable operator serving six communities in Grafton County, (IV) evidence of viewing patterns in cable and filed an opposition to the petition for special relief. noncable households within the areas served by the WNNE-TV filed a reply to State Cable©s Opposition. cable system or systems in such community. BACKGROUND 4. The legislative history of this provision indicates that: 2. Pursuant to §4 of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 ("1992 Cable where the presumption in favor of ADI carriage Act")2 and implementing rules adopted by the Commission would result in cable subscribers losing access to in its Report and Order in MM Docket 92-2S9,3 a commer local stations because they are outside the ADI in cial television broadcast station is entitled to assert man which a local cable system operates, the FCC may datory carriage rights on cable systems located within the make an adjustment to include or exclude particular station©s market. A station©s market for this purpose is its communities from a television station©s market con- "area of dominant influence," or ADI, as defined by the 1 WNNE-TV©s petition covers all communities in Grafton poses of the broadcast multiple ownership rules. Section County, New Hampshire, except the communities of Alexan 76.55(e) of the Commission©s Rules provides that the ADIs to be dria, Bridgewater, Bristol and Hebron. These communities were used for purposes of the initial implementation of the man the subject of an earlier filed petition that the Commission datory carriage rules are those published in Arbitron©s granted in WNNE-TV, Inc., 9 FCC Red 270 (1994). 1991-1992 Television Market Guide. 5 Pub. L. No. 102-385, 106 Stat. 1460 (1992). 5 Certain counties are divided into more than one sampling 3 8 FCC Red 2965, 2976-2977 (1993). unit because of the topography involved. Also, in certain cir 4 Section 4 of the 1992 Cable Act specifies that a commercial cumstances, a station may have its home county assigned to an broadcasting station©s market shall be determined in the man ADI even though it receives less than a preponderance of the ner provided in §73.3555(d)(3)(i) of the Commission©s Rules, as audience in that county. Refer to Arbitron©s Description of in effect on May 1, 1991. This section of the rules, now Methodology handbook for a more complete description of how redesignated §73.3555(e)(3)(i), refers to Arbitron©s ADI for pur counties are allocated. 4993 DA 95-974 Federal Communications Commission Record 10 FCC Red No. 10 sistent with Congress© objective to ensure that televi 7. Adding communities to a station©s ADI generally en sion stations be carried in the areas which they serve titles that station to insist on cable carriage in those com and which form their economic market. munities. However, this right is subject to several conditions: 1) a cable system operator is generally required to devote no more than one-third of the system©s activated * * * * * channel capacity to compliance with the mandatory signal carriage obligations; 2) the station is responsible for [This subsection] establishes certain criteria which the delivering a good quality signal to the principal headend of Commission shall consider in acting on requests to the system; 3) indemnification may be required for any modify the geographic area in which stations have increase in copyright liability resulting from carriage; and signal carriage rights. These factors are not intended 4) the system operator is not required to carry the signal of to be exclusive, but may be used to demonstrate that any station whose signal substantially duplicates the signal a community is part of a particular station©s market.6 of any other local signal carried, or the signal of more than one local station affiliated with a particular broadcast net work. If, pursuant to these requirements, a system operator 5. The Commission provided the following guidance in elects to carry the signal of only one such duplicating the Report and Order to aid decisionmaking in these mat signal, the operator is obliged to carry the station from the ters: ADI whose city of license is closest to the principal headend of the cable system. 10 Accordingly, based on the For example, the historical carriage of the station specific circumstances involved, the addition of commu could be illustrated by the submission of documents nities to a station©s ADI may guarantee it cable carriage listing the cable system©s channel line-up (e.g., rate and specific channel position rights, or may simply provide cards) for a period of years. To show that the station the system operator with an expanded list of must-carry provides coverage or other local service to the cable signals from which to choose (i.e., when the system has community (factor 2), parties may demonstrate that used up its channel capacity mandated for broadcast signal the station places at least a Grade B coverage contour carriage, or determined which of duplicating network affili over the cable community or is located close to the ated stations are entitled to carriage priority). community in terms of mileage. Coverage of news or other programming of interest to the community could be demonstrated by program logs or other MARKET FACTS AND ARGUMENTS OF THE PARTIES* descriptions of local program offerings. The final fac 8. WNNE-TV states that its request includes all commu tor concerns viewing patterns in the cable commu nities served by cable systems in Grafton County, New nity in cable and noncable homes. Audience data Hampshire, exclusive of the communities of Alexandria, clearly provide appropriate evidence about this fac Bridgewater, Bristol and Hebron. Grafton County is lo tor. In this regard, we note that surveys such as those cated in the Portland-Poland Spring, Maine ADI and used to demonstrate significantly viewed status could WNNE-TV©s community of license. Hartford, Vermont, is be useful. However, since this factor requires us to located in Windsor County, which is assigned to the evaluate viewing on a community basis for cable and Burlington-Plattsburgh ADI. WNNE-TV states that because noncable homes, and significantly viewed surveys the county is rural and mountainous many viewers in the typically measure viewing only in noncable house Communities rely on cable television to receive local holds, such surveys may need to be supplemented broadcast signals. with additional data concerning viewing in cable 9. One quarter of Grafton County immediately adjoins homes.7 Windsor County, in which WNNE-TV©s city of license is located, at the New Hampshire-Vermont border. Hartford, 6. In adopting rules to implement this provision, the Vermont, WNNE-TV©s community of license, is one mile Commission indicated that requested changes should be away from Lebanon, New Hampshire, Grafton County©s considered on a community-by-community basis rather largest community. Four miles due riorth from Hartford is than on a county-by-county basis, and that they should be Hanover, New Hampshire, Grafton County©s second largest treated as specific to particular stations rather than ap community.