Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of ) ) WRNN License Company, LLC ) MB Docket No. 12-1 ) CSR-______Petition for Special Relief for ) Modification of the Television Market of ) Station WRNN-TV ) ) To: Chief, Media Bureau )

PETITION FOR SPECIAL RELIEF

I. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY

WRNN License Company, LLC (“WRNN License Co.”), licensee of television station

WRNN-TV, New Rochelle, New York (Fac. ID No. 74156) (“WRNN” or the “Station”), by its attorneys and pursuant to Section 614 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and

Section 76.7(a) of the Commission’s Rules, hereby submits this Petition for Special Relief

(“Petition”) to modify the television market of WRNN to include all of the communities served by the Service Electric Cable TV of New Jersey, Inc. (“Service Electric”) system in Morris,

Sussex, and Warren Counties in New Jersey.1 On June 14, 2020, Altice USA announced that it had consummated the acquisition of Service Electric and would transition Service Electric customers to Altice USA’s Optimum brand (“Optimum”).2

1 Each county is located in the New York Designated Market Area (“DMA”) and is not currently part of WRNN’s market. Specifically, WRNN is seeking to add the communities identified on Exhibit A and any additional communities in the same counties or served by the same system(s) and not presently included in WRNN’s television market (the “Communities”). 2 See Mike Farrell, Altice USA Completes Small System Buy, Multichannel News (July 14, 2020), available at https://www.nexttv.com/news/altice-usa-completes-small-system-buy. As described more fully herein, in the years since the Commission modified the

Communities out of WRNN’s local television market in 1996, WRNN has taken a number of

steps to significantly improve the coverage it provides to the Communities. Through these changes, WRNN now satisfies the statutory test for market modification proceedings: (i) several multichannel video programming distributors (“MVPDs”) historically carried WRNN in the

Communities; (ii) Service Electric historically carried WRNN’s channel share partner, WWOR-

TV, and the stations co-located with WRNN at One World Trade Center in the Communities;

(iii) WRNN places a noise-limited service contour over almost all of the Communities, is

geographically proximate to them, and is connected to them by shopping and labor patterns; and

(iv) programming aired by WRNN is of interest to residents of the Communities. Applying these

same factors, the Commission recently determined that dozens of communities in the DMA

served by other providers should be included in WRNN’s market,3 and WRNN License Co.

respectfully requests that the Commission promptly reach the same conclusion here.

II. BACKGROUND

WRNN is an independent television station that has served the New York DMA for

decades.4 WRNN has invested significantly over the years to improve its coverage within the

New York DMA, which has been the subject of a number of regulatory proceedings.

3 See Petition of WRNN License Company, LLC for Modification of the Television Market of Station WRNN-TV, New Rochelle, New York, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 34 FCC Rcd. 6446 (MB 2019) (“WRNN-Spectrum Order”); Petition of WRNN License Company, LLC for Modification of the Television Market of Station WRNN-TV, New Rochelle, New York, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 35 FCC Rcd. 1838 (MB 2020) (“WRNN-Altice Order”); Matter of WRNN License Company, LLC for Modification of the Television Market of Station WRNN-TV, New Rochelle, New York, Memorandum Opinion and Order, MB Dkt. No. 20-153, DA 20-1012 (MB rel. Sept. 1, 2020) (“WRNN-Comcast Order”). 4 WRNN signed on-air as WTZA in 1985.

-2- In 1996, the Cable Services Bureau granted a petition filed by Service Electric seeking to

remove the Communities served by its New Jersey system from WRNN’s television market.5 In

granting the petition, the Bureau focused on WRNN’s geographic distance from the

Communities, its one time consideration by Nielsen for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy DMA, its

lack of historic cable carriage on the Service Electric system, and its then-failure to place a

Grade B contour over the Communities.6

Now, the factors that previously caused the Commission to delete the Communities from

WRNN’s market no longer apply. The Communities are within the Station’s noise-limited service contour and the Station is geographically proximate to them. WRNN’s change in circumstance is the result of a series of actions taken by WRNN to improve its coverage in the

Communities, beginning with a modification of its prior transmitter site in 20047 and, more

recently, its channel sharing arrangement with WWOR-TV, Secaucus, New Jersey (Fac. ID No.

74197) (“WWOR”).8 The 2004 modification to WRNN’s transmitter site expanded the Station’s

signal coverage in the DMA to include many of the Communities that the Station did not reach at

the time of the 1996 market modification. Subsequent to that change, WRNN substantially

expanded its cable carriage in the DMA. Today, WRNN’s signal covers all of Morris and most

of Sussex and Warren Counties, including all but one of the Communities. WRNN has also

changed its community of license to New Rochelle, which is considerably closer to the

5 In re: Service Electric Cable TV of New Jersey for Modification of the Television Market for Stations: WTBY, Poughkeepsie, NY WRNN, Kingston, NY WLIG, Riverhead, NY WHAI, Bridgeport, CT Memorandum Opinion and Order, 11 FCC Rcd. 22561 (CSB 1996). 6 Id. at 22577, para. 44. 7 See FCC File No. BLCDT-20040908AMF. 8 See LMS File No. 0000053803.

-3- Communities than its former community of license. Accordingly, the Communities are now properly within the Station’s market and the market should be modified accordingly.

III. LEGAL STANDARD

a. Market Modification Procedures

Pursuant to Section 614(h) of the Communications Act, the Commission considers the following factors when evaluating market modification petitions:

(I) Whether the station, or other stations located in the same area, have been historically carried on the cable system(s) within the community;

(II) Whether the television station provides coverage or other local service to the community;

(III) Whether modifying the market of the television station would promote consumers’ access to television broadcast station signals that originate in their State of residence;

(IV) Whether any other television station that is eligible to be carried by a cable system in the community in fulfillment of the requirements of Section 614(h) provides news coverage of issues of concern to the community or provides carriage or coverage of sporting and other events of interest to the community; and

(V) Evidence of viewing patterns in cable and noncable households within the areas served by the cable system(s) in such community.9

To establish a station’s relationship to the communities at issue, the Commission requires petitioners to support their requests for market modification with the following evidence:

(1) A map or maps illustrating the relevant community locations and geographic features, station transmitter sites, cable system headend locations, terrain features that would affect station reception, mileage between the community and the

9 47 U.S.C. § 534(h)(l)(C)(ii)(I)-(V). See also Second Report and Order Definition of Markets for Purposes of the Cable Television Broadcast Signal Carriage Rules, Order on Reconsideration and Second Report and Order, 14 FCC Rcd. 8366, 8369-8370 (1999); The STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014, Pub. L. No. 113-200, 128 Stat. 2059 (2014) (adding new statutory factor, denominated as factor (III) above); Amendment to the Commission’s Rules Concerning Mkt. Modification, Implementation of Section 102 of the STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014, Report and Order, 30 FCC Rcd. 10406 (MB 2015).

-4- television station transmitter site, transportation routes and any other evidence contributing to the scope of the market;

(2) Noise-limited service contour maps (for full-power digital stations) or protected contour maps (for Class A and low power television stations) delineating the station’s technical service area and showing the location of the cable system headends or satellite carrier local receive facilities and communities in relation to the service areas.

(3) Available data on shopping and labor patterns in the local market;

(4) Television station programming information derived from station logs or the local edition of the television guide;

(5) Cable system channel line-up cards or other exhibits establishing historic carriage, such as television guide listings; and

(6) Published audience data for the relevant station showing its average all day audience (i.e., the reported audience averaged over Sunday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-1 a.m., or an equivalent time period) for both cable and noncable households or other specific audience indicia, such as station advertising and sales data or viewer contribution records.

(7) If applicable, a statement that the station is licensed to a community within the same state as the relevant community.10

The Bureau may waive the requirement to submit certain evidence for good cause shown, particularly if it is in a position to resolve the petition without such evidence.11

b. Relevant Precedent

When instituting the current channel sharing regime pursuant to the broadcast Incentive

Auction, the Commission recognized that “relocations made to implement a channel sharing

arrangement may [impact] a station’s MVPD carriage rights.”12 It noted that the carriage rights

10 47 CFR § 76.59(b). 11 Tobacco Valley Communications, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 31 FCC Rcd. 8972, 8976 n. 22 (MB 2016) (“Tobacco Valley Communications”); 47 CFR § 1.3. 12 Expanding the Economic and Innovation Opportunities of Spectrum Through Incentive Auctions, Report and Order, 29 FCC Rcd. 6567, 6857, para. 708 (2014).

-5- of a station moving within its DMA would not be “expanded or diminished” automatically

through the relocation process, but that a channel sharee able to reach additional communities

from its new location could seek to add those communities to its market.13

In 2018, the Media Bureau considered two petitions for market modification filed by

Entravision Holdings, LLC (“Entravision”) seeking to add certain communities to television station WJAL’s market.14 Like WRNN, WJAL was a successful bidder in the Incentive Auction

and entered into a channel sharing arrangement as a sharee that resulted in a transmitter site re-

location and community of license change. Based on WJAL’s new transmitter site and

community of license, Entravision sought to add certain communities in the Washington, DC

DMA served by Comcast and CoxCom to WJAL’s market. Many of these communities had

previously been deleted from the station’s market.

The Media Bureau granted Entravision’s petition. In so doing, the Bureau found that

historic carriage of WJAL’s channel sharing partner weighed in favor of Entravision’s requested

market modification and that WJAL’s signal coverage and geographic proximity to the

communities at issue, as well as shopping and labor patterns, “strongly weigh[ed] in favor of a

grant.”15

13 Id. at 6857, para. 709. 14 Entravision Holdings, LLC for Modification of the Television Market for Station WJAL(TV), Silver Spring, Maryland, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 33 FCC Rcd. 2215 (MB 2018) (“Entravision Order”). 15 Id. at 2231, para. 28. The Commission afforded little or no weight to other statutory factors discussed in Entravision’s petition.

-6- Recently, the Bureau had the opportunity to apply these same principals in response to

three petitions by WRNN License Co.16 Although the Bureau reiterated that every market modification must be based on the specific facts of that proceeding, it nevertheless recognized that it should not “discount the relevance of the Entravision Order.”17 In granting WRNN’s

petitions, the Bureau noted the carriage by the providers of WRNN’s channel sharing partner in

the subject communities along with carriage by the providers of other co-located and nearby

stations.18 The Bureau also found “substantial evidence regarding WRNN’s signal coverage,

geographic proximity, and shopping and labor patterns in relation to the Communities that

overcomes the absence of local programming in WRNN’s channel lineup.”19

IV. THE FIVE MARKET MODIFICATION FACTORS ENUMERATED IN THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT SUPPORT ADDITION OF THE COMMUNITIES TO WRNN’S MARKET

Application of the five market modification factors to WRNN supports grant of the instant

Petition.

a. Historic Carriage

The first statutory factor the Commission must consider is “whether the station, or other

stations located in the same area, have been historically carried on the cable system or systems

within such community.”20 This factor can demonstrate the presence of a “‘market nexus’

16 See generally WRNN-Spectrum Order; WRNN-Altice Order. WRNN License Co. also has a pending petition involving communities served by Comcast that is unopposed. See WRNN License Company, LLC, Dkt. No. 20-153, CSR-8990-A. 17 WRNN-Spectrum Order at 6451, para. 9; WRNN-Altice Order, para. 11; WRNN-Comcast Order, para. 10. 18 WRNN-Spectrum Order at 6452, para. 12; WRNN-Altice Order, para. 14; WRNN-Comcast Order, para. 12. 19 WRNN-Spectrum Order at 6452, para. 13; see also WRNN-Altice Order, para. 20; WRNN- Comcast Order, para. 18. 20 47 U.S.C. § 534(h)(l)(C)(ii)(I).

-7- between the broadcast station and the communities where the station is carried and thus provide

evidence as to the scope of a station’s market.”21 WRNN has not been carried on Service

Electric’s New Jersey system pursuant to Service Electric’s must-carry obligations. Nevertheless,

the historical carriage still weighs in WRNN’s factor.

First, as the Media Bureau repeatedly has recognized, “carriage of co-located stations in a

particular community also is relevant in the context of a market modification request.”22 The

Bureau explained that “such carriage is evidence of a petitioner station’s nexus with a community” and that “‘[e]ven when a station has no history of carriage in a community, the

Commission [gives] weight to this factor when another station based in the same area has been carried in the community.’”23 Accordingly, the Bureau found in the WRNN-Spectrum Order that

the historic carriage factor weighed in favor of WRNN’s prior requested market modification

even though WRNN had no history of carriage in the communities by Spectrum because WRNN

relocated its transmission facilities to WWOR’s transmitter site, and Spectrum carried WWOR.

The Bureau further explained that “since Spectrum also carries other co-located and nearby

stations, we believe that WRNN would be at a competitive disadvantage if Spectrum did not also

carry WRNN in the Communities.”24

21 Tennessee Broadcasting Partners, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 23 FCC Rcd. 3928, 3932, para. 5 (MB 2008) (“Tennessee Broadcasting Partners”); see also Entravision Order at 2223, para. 11. 22 WRNN-Spectrum Order at 6451, para. 10; WRNN-Altice Order, para. 12; WRNN-Comcast Order, para. 12. 23 WRNN-Spectrum Order at 6452, para. 12 (quoting Woods Communications Corporation, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 32 FCC Rcd. 6597, 6600, para. 6 (MB 2017) (citing Tennessee Broadcasting Partners, 23 FCC Rcd. at 3934, para. 10 (finding that carriage of a competing station in the same community provides evidence to support market modification)). 24 Id.; see also WRNN-Altice Order, para. 12; WRNN-Comcast Order, para. 12.

-8- As demonstrated by Exhibit B, Service Electric carries WWOR on its system serving the

Communities.25 Service Electric also carries other stations co-located with WRNN and WWOR

at One World Trade Center.26 Thus, for Service Electric to refuse to carry WRNN in the

Communities would make WRNN an outlier amongst its peers and place the Station at a severe

competitive disadvantage.27

Also relevant to the Commission’s consideration of the historic carriage factor is whether

the station requesting market modification is carried by competitors in the relevant

communities.28 As evidenced by the local channel lineup cards in Exhibit C, WRNN is currently

carried by Comcast, Optimum (legacy systems), Spectrum, Verizon FiOS, DISH and DIRECTV

in Morris, Sussex, and Warren Counties, including in the Communities (as applicable).29 Not only does WRNN have extensive MVPD carriage within the Communities themselves, but as demonstrated on Exhibit D, which depicts the Station’s carriage within the DMA, the

Communities at issue are not isolated communities far removed from WRNN’s audience, but rather “donut holes” within WRNN’s distribution footprint.30 Indeed, Optimum already carries

WRNN on all of its other systems serving the DMA pursuant to a petition for special relief the

25 Exhibit B (Current Service Electric Cable Lineup Card). 26 For example, Service Electric carries WABC(DT), WCBS-TV, WNBC(DT), WNET(DT), and WPXN-TV, all of which broadcast from One World Trade Center. Id. 27 Entravision Order at 2225, para. 15. 28 See, e.g., Petition for Modification of Philadelphia, PA Designated Market Area with Regard to Station WACP, Atlantic City, NJ, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 29 FCC Rcd 1835, 1845, para. 19, n. 77 (MB 2014); WRNN-Comcast Order, para. 12. 29 Exhibit C (Other MVPD Lineup Cards). 30 See Exhibit D (WRNN Cable Carriage Map).

-9- Commission granted earlier this year.31 Thus, the historic carriage factor clearly weighs in favor of WRNN’s requested market modification.32

b. Local Coverage and Service

Under the second statutory factor, the Commission considers “whether the television

station provides coverage or other local service” to the community at issue.33 To establish that a

station provides coverage or other local service, “parties may demonstrate that the station places

at least a Grade B coverage contour over the cable community, or is located close to the

community in terms of mileage.”34 The Commission consistently has recognized that signal

coverage35 and geographic proximity36 are solid measures of the scope of a station’s market and

31 See WRNN-Altice Order, para. 26. 32 Although the Media Bureau determined in the WRNN-Spectrum Order and the WRNN-Altice Order that it need not accord WRNN new station status to properly analyze its market modification petitions, it nevertheless “consider[ed] the Station’s dramatic change in circumstances due to its change in community of license and transmitter site relocation as mitigating circumstances with respect to the Station’s lack of historic carriage.” WRNN-Spectrum Order at 6452, para. 12.; WRNN-Altice Order, para. 14. 33 47 U.S.C. § 534(h)(1)(C)(ii)(II). 34 Tennessee Broadcasting Partners, 23 FCC Rcd. at 3934, para. 11. The service area of an analog station was defined by the station’s Grade B contour. A digital television station’s service area is defined as the area within its noise-limited contour where its signal strength is predicted to exceed the noise-limited contour service level, which for channels 14-69 is 41 dBu. See 47 CFR § 73.622(e). The Commission treats a digital station’s noise-limited contour as the functional equivalent of an analog station’s Grade B contour. See Report to Congress: The Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act of 2004, Study of Digital Television Field Strength Standards and Testing Procedures, 20 FCC Rcd. 19504, 19507, para. 3 (2005). 35 CoxCom, LLC, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 30 FCC Rcd. 10978, 10985, para. 11 (MB 2015) (“the Commission has long recognized that Grade B contour coverage, in the absence of other determinative facts, is an efficient tool to adjust market boundaries because it is a count indicator of the economic reach of a particular television station’s signal.”). 36 Comcast Cable Communities, Inc., Memorandum Opinion and Order, 19 FCC Rcd. 5245, 5252, para. 17 (MB 2005) (“Given the station’s closer geographic proximity, it appears that it is [the station’s] intent to serve these communities. As such, carriage of the station’s signal is reasonable and appropriate under the [Communications Act] and the Commission’s rules.”).

-10- help establish the relevant nexus between the station and the market. The Commission also looks

to shopping and labor patterns to help assess the connection between a station and the communities at issue as well as any locally-focused programming broadcast by the station.37 The

Commission affords less significance to locally-focused programming where signal coverage,

geographic proximity, and shopping and labor patterns evidence a sufficient nexus to the

community.38

i. Contour and Signal Strength

WRNN’s 41 dBu noise-limited service contour clearly encompasses most of the

Communities. Even before its move to One World Trade Center, the Station’s 41 dBu noise-

limited service contour encompassed many of the Communities as a result of its 2004 transmitter

site modification.39 Today, WRNN’s signal contour covers all of the Communities in Service

Electric’s cable system except for one (Knowlton) that is just barely outside WRNN’s 41 dBu

contour.40 Indeed, as demonstrated by Exhibit F, WRNN’s coverage of the Communities is

37 Tennessee Broadcasting Partners, 23 FCC Rcd. at 3937, para. 22. 38 WRNN-Spectrum Order, para. 18 (“[W]e find substantial evidence regarding WRNN’s signal coverage, geographic proximity, and shopping and labor patterns in relation to the Communities that overcomes the absence of local programming in WRNN’s channel lineup.”); Entravision Order at 2229, para. 23 (“[W]e find that the ample evidence regarding WJAL’s signal coverage, geographic proximity, and shopping and labor patterns in relation to the Communities overcomes the absence of local programming in WJAL’s channel lineup and that the second statutory factor weighs strongly in favor of WJAL’s Petition.”). 39 See FCC File No. BLCDT-20040908AMF. 40 Exhibit E (Contour Maps). See 47 C.F.R. § 76.59(b)(2) (noting that “[s]ervice area maps using Longley-Rice (version 1.2.2) propagation curves may also be included to support a technical service exhibit”); see also WRNN-Spectrum Order, para. 4 n. 10; Entravision Order at 2219, para. 4 n. 17. The locations of cable headends are no longer available via cable operators’ public inspection files. However, WRNN License Co.’s Broadcast Operations Manager contacted Service Electric’s Director of Engineering, who confirmed that Service Electric’s headend is located at 917 Harmony Brass Castle Road, Washington, NJ 07882, as depicted on the maps provided in Exhibit E. Given the number of Communities at issue, including all of the Communities on a single map would have rendered the map illegible. Accordingly, WRNN

-11- nearly identical to the other major stations co-located on One World Trade Center—all of which

are deemed local to the Communities.41 WRNN’s contour and signal strength, therefore, support

inclusion of the Communities in the Station’s market.42

ii. Geographic Proximity

Pursuant to its analysis of the second statutory factor, the Commission will examine a

station’s proximity to the subject communities in terms of mileage. In so doing, the Commission

considers both the distance between a station’s transmitter site and the relevant communities and

the distance between a station’s community of license and the relevant communities.43 As

demonstrated by Exhibit G and discussed in further detail below, the Station is geographically proximate to the Communities.

License Co. has provided an overview map identifying all of the counties in which the Communities are located and more detailed maps reflecting the location of each of the Communities. See 47 C.F.R. § 76.59(b)(1) (specifying that the required evidence be provided on “[a] map or maps”); WRNN-Comcast Order, paras 14-18 & n.54 (accepting combination of overview and detail maps to satisfy Section 76.59(b)(2)). WRNN License Co. has also provided in Exhibit G (Distances) calculations reflecting the distance between each of the Communities and both WRNN’s transmitter site and community of license. 41 Exhibit F (Contour Map of Stations Located at One World Trade Center). In the WRNN-Altice Order, the Commission noted that “there are a number of Communities that are not encompassed within the WRNN-DT Longley-Rice 41+ DBU Coverage of Altice Communities in Suffolk County, NY and there is one Community in Ocean County, NJ that is not within the 41+ DBU coverage.” WRNN-Altice Order, para. 20, n. 82. Nonetheless, the Commission determined that, because the stations co-located with WRNN were carried by Altice in the communities at issue, “WRNN would be an outlier if we did not treat all of these stations the same in these circumstances.” Id. Here, all but one of the Communities are encompassed by WRNN’s 41 dBu contour, providing even stronger evidence of WRNN’s service to the Communities than the evidence the FCC found sufficient in Altice. See WRNN-Comcast Order, para. 18 & n.75. 42 See Entravision Order at 2229, para. 23 (finding that WJAL’s contour encompassing the communities at issue supported the station’s requested market modification); 2006 Cablevision Order at 19, para. 71 (explaining inclusion of additional communities in the market that did not meet all criteria but were “an integrated part of” and “in close proximity to” a covered system). 43 See, e.g., WRNN License Company, Memorandum Report and Order, 20 FCC Rcd. 7904, 7909, para. 10 (MB 2005); Time Warner Entertainment-Advance/Newhouse Partnership, Memorandum Report and Order, 22 FCC Rcd. 13642, 13646, para. 9 (MB 2007).

-12- The table below reflects the direct distances from WRNN’s transmitter and community of license to the closest and furthest Communities in each county in Service Electric’s New Jersey system:

DISTANCES TO TRANSMITTER SITE (WTC) Community County Distance (miles) Jefferson Morris 36.56 Sparta Sussex 39.41 Sandyston Sussex 54.29 Frelinghuysen Warren 48.66 Knowlton Warren 56.27

DISTANCES TO COMMUNITY OF LICENSE (NEW ROCHELLE) Community County Distance (miles) Jefferson Morris 34.00 Sparta Sussex 44.33 Sandyston Sussex 51.29 Frelinghuysen Warren 60.19 Knowlton Warren 64.99

A spreadsheet reflecting the driving and “as the crow flies” distances from WRNN’s community of license and transmitter site to each of the Communities is attached hereto as Exhibit G. This data demonstrates WRNN’s proximity to the Communities. In terms of WRNN’s transmitter site, the furthest Community is only 56.27 miles away as the crow flies and 65.95 miles driving, while the closest Community is less than 40 miles both as the crow flies and driving.44 In terms of WRNN’s community of license, the furthest Community is less than 65 miles as the crow flies from New Rochelle, while the closest is just 34 miles from New Rochelle.45 Likewise, the furthest Community in terms of driving distance is about 75 miles from New Rochelle, while the closest is less than 45 miles. These distances compare favorably to distances that the

44 Id. 45 Exhibit G (Distances).

-13- Commission previously has found geographically proximate to the station at issue, including

other communities served by Optimum in the DMA.46

Consistent with relevant precedent, the Commission should find that the distance of

WRNN’s transmitter and community of license from the Communities weighs in favor of

WRNN License Co.’s requested market modification.

iii. Shopping and Labor Patterns

The Commission also considers shopping and labor patterns when analyzing whether a

nexus exists between a station and the communities it seeks to add to its market. As

demonstrated herein, WRNN’s community of license—New Rochelle, New York (the second

largest community in Westchester County, New York)—shares strong economic connections

with the Communities.

New Rochelle and the Communities are part of the larger New York/New Jersey

Metropolitan Area and therefore are connected by a multitude of interstate and state highways as well as public transportation. New Rochelle is easily accessible by car from any of the

Communities.47 The Communities are also all part of New York/New Jersey’s interconnected

46 See, e.g., WRNN-Altice Order, para. 17 (adding a community that was 101.7 miles away from New Rochelle); WRNN-Comcast Order, para. 15 (adding communities up to 77 miles from New Rochelle as the crow flies and 86 miles driving). In re KJLA, LLC for Modification of the Television Market for Station KJLA-DT, Ventura, California, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 26 FCC Rcd. 12652, para. 11 (MB 2011) (modifying KJLA’s market to include communities located between 64 and 108 miles from the station’s community of license); KNTV License, Inc., 16 FCC Rcd. 6785 (2001) (adding communities that were 35-55 miles away); Paxson Atlanta License, Inc., 13 FCC Rcd. 20087 (1998) (adding communities that were 50 miles away); Burnham Broadcasting, Inc., 10 FCC Rcd. 7117 (1997) (adding a community that was 48 miles away); Time Warner Cable, 11 FCC Rcd. 8047 (1996) (refusing to delete communities that were 60 miles away); Cablevision Systems Corporation, 11 FCC Rcd. 6453 (1996) (refusing to delete communities that were 48-55 miles away); Time Warner Cable, 11 FCC Rcd. 3510 (1996) (refusing to delete communities that were 45 miles away). 47 Exhibit H (Driving and Public Transportation Routes).

-14- public transportation system, which connects New Rochelle and most of the Communities

through Penn Station – the busiest train station in the country serving approximately 650,000

passengers each day.48 Passengers can access New Rochelle from Penn Station via Amtrak in

just 26 minutes.49

New Rochelle boasts many businesses, entertainment and sports venues, and shopping

outlets that attract residents from all over the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan Area,

including the Communities.50 New Rochelle is also home to Iona College, which draws 3,287

undergraduate and 639 graduate students.51 Undergraduates at Iona hail from 21 states and the

District of Columbia with the largest percentage of enrolled out-of-state undergrads coming from

New Jersey.52

Residents of New Rochelle also regularly visit the Communities for recreational

activities, including hiking the Appalachian Trail (which traverses Sussex and Warren Counties),

visiting parks and museums, and attending summer camps such as New Jersey’s 4-H camp,

which attracts campers from throughout the tri-state area.53

U.S. Census Data also shows that New Rochelle and the Communities share many common characteristics.54 For example, the populations of New Rochelle and each of the

counties served by Service Electric are highly educated, with employment rates in the low 60%

48 John Schettino, The New York Penn Station Atlas (2015), http://pennstationatlas.com/book/. 49 Exhibit I (Amtrak Schedule). 50 Exhibit J (New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce Business Directory). 51 Exhibit K1 (Iona College Facts). 52 Id. 53 See Exhibit K2 (Recreation in the Communities). 54 Compare Exhibit K3 (Census Data – New Rochelle) with Exhibits K4 (Census Data – Morris County), K5 (Census Data – Sussex County) and K6 (Census Data – Warren County).

-15- range and median incomes of around $100,000. In addition, the average commuting time for

residents in New Rochelle and counties served by Service Electric’s New Jersey system is

around 30 minutes, 55 reflecting the interconnected and interdependent nature of the New

York/New Jersey Metropolitan Area:

Average Resident Commuting Time [minutes] New Rochelle 32.5 County Sussex 38.2 Morris 31.0 Warren 35.8

Many residents from Westchester, Morris, Sussex, and Warren Counties commute to New York

City, which serves as the economic hub of the region that binds these suburban communities

together.56

Thus, as demonstrated herein, the interconnection between New Rochelle and the

Communities supports weighing the second statutory factor in favor of WRNN License Co.’s

requested market modification.57

55 Id. 56 See Mitchell L. Moss and Carson Qing, The Dynamic Population of Manhattan at 11 (Mar. 2012), available at https://wagner.nyu.edu/files/rudincenter/dynamic_pop_manhattan.pdf (explaining that more than half of Manhattan’s daytime population consists of commuters); Jason Bram and Alisdair McKay, The Evolution of Commuting Patterns in the New York City Metro Area, Current Issues in Economics and Finance Vol. 11, No. 10 at 2 (Fed. Res. Bank of N.Y. Oct. 2005), available at https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/current_issues/ci11-10.pdf. 57 See WRNN-Comcast Order, para. 18 (finding similar factors “conclusively demonstrate WRNN’s coverage and local service to the Communities”).

-16- iv. Local Programming

Finally, when analyzing the second statutory factor the Commission will consider local

programming. The absence of such programming, however, will not tip the scale against a

petitioner where historical carriage, geographic proximity, and shopping and labor patterns

support weighing the second statutory factor in favor of petitioner.58

WRNN airs regional and international news, paid programming, and syndicated

programming.59 This programming is of general interest to viewers in the Communities.

Furthermore, each night, WRNN broadcasts Richard French Live, an Emmy-award winning

news talk show that covers issues of importance throughout the region and, specifically, in the

Communities. Recent episodes of Richard French Live have included coverage of issues of

importance to residents of the Communities, including New Jersey’s response to COVID-19, the controversial proposal for a rail tunnel under the Hudson River, and the employment of undocumented workers at New Jersey golf clubs. In addition, Richard French Live uses a local lens from which to view stories of national importance. For example, Mr. French has interviewed

Former Congressman Leonard Lance and current Congressman Tom Malinowski of New

Jersey’s 7th Congressional District (which includes parts of Morris and Warren counties) about

COVID-19 and impeachment, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey’s 11th

Congressional District (which includes Sussex County) about COVID-19 and election interference, and one of New Jersey’s U.S. Senators, Robert Menendez, about economic stimulus.60 Mr. French also has provided extensive coverage of New Jersey Governor Phil

58 See Entravision Order at 2229, para. 23. 59 Program lineups for WRNN are attached hereto as Exhibit L (WRNN Programming Lineup). 60 See Exhibit M (Richard French Live Community-Related Stories).

-17- Murphy, including his response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the New Jersey

economy, his concerns about mail-in voting and the upcoming general election, and his response

to events in Washington, such as the revelation of details from President Trump’s interviews with Bob Woodward.

As demonstrated herein, WRNN provides programming of interest to the Communities, further supporting weighing the second statutory factor in its favor.

c. Consumer’s Access to In-State Broadcast Signals

The third statutory factor asks “whether modifying the market of the television station would promote consumers’ access to television broadcast station signals that originate in their

State of residence.”61 This factor is intended to ensure that cable and other multichannel video

programming distributor subscribers are “receiving news, politics, sports, emergency

information, and other television programing relevant to their home state” and “relevant to their

everyday lives.”62 Nonetheless, the Commission has explicitly stated that, to the extent a petition

does not involve an “in-state” station, the “in-state factor would be inapplicable and the modification request would be evaluated based on the other statutory factors.”63

WRNN is licensed to New Rochelle, New York, and broadcasts from a transmitter

located atop One World Trade Center in lower Manhattan. The Communities are located in New

61 47 U.S.C. § 534(h)(1)(C)(ii)(III). 62 Amendment to the Commission’s Rules Concerning Mkt. Modification, Implementation of Section 102 of the STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014, Report and Order, 30 FCC Rcd. 10406, 10420, para. 18 (MB 2015) (“STELAR Market Mod. Order”). 63 Entravision Order at 2230, para. 25 (citing STELAR Market Mod. Order, 30 FCC Rcd. at 10420, para. 19). The Commission also affirmed in the Entravision Order that “[t]he inability to satisfy one factor does not serve to increase scrutiny under any of the other four factors, any more than satisfaction of one factor would diminish scrutiny under the others.” Id. (emphasis in original).

-18- Jersey, and thus the Commission should assign no weight to this factor with regard to those

communities.64

d. Carriage of Other Eligible Stations

Next, under the fourth statutory factor, the Commission will consider “whether any other

television station that is eligible to be carried by a cable system in such community in fulfillment of the requirements of this section provides news coverage of issues of concern to such community or provides carriage or coverage of sporting and other events of interest to the community.”65 This factor is generally interpreted as enhancing a station’s market modification

petition if other stations do not sufficiently serve the communities at issue; however, other

stations’ service to the communities rarely has counted against a petition.66 Upon information

and belief, Service Electric’s New Jersey system carries other television stations that provide

coverage of news, sports, and other issues of interest to the Communities. Consistent with well-

established precedent, the Commission should assign no weight to this factor in its evaluation of

the Petition.

e. Viewing Patterns

The fifth statutory factor focuses on “evidence of viewing patterns” in cable and noncable

households located within the area served by the cable system at issue.67 The Bureau has determined that even if it considered WRNN’s viewership to be low or non-existent in the communities at issue:

WRNN’s recent changed circumstances regarding its community of license and transmitter site relocation and improved signal coverage are mitigating

64 WRNN-Spectrum Order at 6455, para. 20; WRNN-Comcast Order, para. 20. 65 47 U.S.C. § 534(h)(1)(C)(ii)(IV). 66 Entravision Order at 2230, para. 26. 67 47 U.S.C. § 534(h)(1)(C)(ii)(V).

-19- circumstances with respect to a lack of viewership in the Communities. Any lack of WRNN viewership would not be surprising given that its market was modified to exclude the Communities over two decades ago.68

So too here. WRNN still does not subscribe to Nielsen or any other ratings service and has

requested, but did not receive, permission to utilize published audience data relevant to this

factor.69 WRNN’s direct response media provider maintains logs of orders received in response

to programming broadcast on WRNN, which have included numerous orders from the counties

in which the Communities are located—evidencing WRNN’s viewership in those communities.70

As explained above, WRNN’s market was modified in 1996 to exclude the Communities.

Thus, to the extent the Commission considers the Station’s viewership to be “low” or

“nonexistent,” it should similarly consider that level of viewership to be “unsurprising” and

68 WRNN-Spectrum Order, para. 23; see also WRNN-Comcast Order, para. 23. 69 To the extent necessary, WRNN requests a waiver of the requirement of 47 CFR § 76.59(b)(6) to provide published audience data for the relevant station. Although the Commission recently directed the Media Bureau to “dismiss without prejudice at the outset of the proceeding petitions that fail to either include all required supporting evidence, or reflect at least an effort to obtain that evidence,” N.B., Colorado Petitions for Modification of the Satellite Television Markets of KDVR-TV, KCNC-TV, KMGH-TV, and KUSA-TV, Denver, Colorado, MB Docket Nos. 16-366, 16-367, 16-368, and 16-369, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 34 FCC Rcd. 5030, para. 16 (2019), it concurrently noted that “the Media Bureau may waive the requirement to submit certain evidence for good cause, particularly if the Bureau is in a position to resolve the petition without such evidence,” id. at para. 5 (citing Tobacco Valley Communications, 31 FCC Rcd. at 8976 n. 22). The Bureau previously has recognized the sufficiency of WRNN’s efforts and found that, under comparable circumstances, waiver is appropriate. WRNN-Comcast Order, para. 22 & n.87 (“We waive this rule to the extent necessary because the Petitioner, although unsuccesful, made the effort to secure such published audience data and submitted in the alternative WRNN Direct Response Logs and information regarding the sale of advertising time to local advertisers, as evidence of viewership.”). 70 See Exhibit N (WRNN Direct Response Call Log). In the WRNN-Spectrum Order and the WRNN-Comcast Order, the FCC “recognized Petitioners’ evidence of direct sales to viewers in the Communities and the demonstrated effort to provide additional evidence of viewership.” WRNN-Spectrum Order, para. 25; WRNN-Comcast Order, para. 23.

-20- afford this factor limited weight.71 Furthermore, the Commission should consider the Station’s recent modifications to its community of license, transmitter site relocation, and signal coverage improvement as mitigating circumstances with respect to any lack of viewership in the

Communities.72 The Commission, thus, should either weigh this factor in favor of WRNN, or afford it limited weight.

71 Entravision Order at 2231, para. 27; WRNN-Spectrum Order, para. 23; WRNN-Comcast Order, para. 23. 72 Id.

-21- V. Conclusion

As shown herein, application of the statutory factors to WRNN License Co.’s requested market modification support adding the Communities to WRNN’s market.

Respectfully Submitted,

WRNN License Company, LLC

By: s/Ari Meltzer Ari Meltzer Kathryne Dickerson Wiley Rein LLP 1776 K Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 (202) 719-7000

Its Attorneys

Date: October 26, 2020

-22- DECLARATION OF CHRISTIAN FRENCH

I, Christian French, hereby declare under penalty of perjury that I have reviewed the foregoing Petition for Special Relief and that, to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief formed after reasonable inquiry, it is well grounded in fact and is warranted by existing law and is not interposed for any improper purpose.

s/Christian French Christian French Chief Operating Officer

Dated: October 26, 2020

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, Clelia Zattoni, hereby certify that, on October 26, 2020, I directed a copy of the foregoing Petition for Special Relief to be sent to the following entities via first-class mail, postage pre-paid:

Service Electric Cable TV of NJ, Inc. PMCM TV, LLC 320 Sparta Avenue 1329 Campus Parkway Sparta, NJ 07871 Neptune, NJ 07754

American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. Mountain Broadcasting Corporation 77 West 66th Street, 16th Flr 99 Clinton Road Attn: John W. Zucker, Esq. West Caldwell, NJ 07006 New York, NY 10023-6298 New York City Dept. of Info Technology & CBS Broadcasting Inc. Telecommunications CBS LITV LLC NYC Media 2020 M Street, NW Attn: Janet Choi, GM Washington, DC 20036 1 Centre Street, 27th Floor New York, NY 10007 Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue Fox Television Stations, LLC Hartford, CT 06105 400 N. Capitol Street, NW Suite 890 WNET Washington, DC 20001 825 Eighth Avenue Attn: General Counsel Scripps Media, Inc. New York, NY 10019 312 Walnut Street, 28th Floor Cincinnati, OH 45202 NBC Telemundo License LLC 300 New Jersey Ave, N.W. ION Media License Company, LLC Suite 700 601 Clearwater Park Road Washington, DC 20001 West Palm Beach, FL 33401

New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority Trinity Broadcasting of New York, Inc. PO Box 777 111 E. 15th Street Trenton, NJ 08625 0777 New York, NY 10003 2101

Univision New York LLC WXTV License Partnership, G.P. 5999 Center Drive 5999 Center Drive Los Angeles, CA 90045 Suite 4083 Los Angeles, CA 90045

NRJ TV NY License Co., LLC Green Township Administrative Offices 722 S. Denton Tap Road, Suite 130 Town Clerk Coppell, TX 75019 PO Box 65 150 Kennedy Road State of New Jersey Tranquility, NJ 07879 Board of Public Utilities Office of Cable Television Municipal Clerk Doreen Schott 44 South Clinton Avenue 16 Wallkill Avenue Post Office Box 350 Hamburg NJ, 07419 Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0350 Township Administrator Town Administrator Jessica Caruso 134 Newton-Sparta Road 1 Rumsey Way Newton, N.J. 07860 Hampton Township, NJ 07860

Town Administrator Township administrator Municipal Building Municipal Building 106 Route 94 40 Spring Valley Road Blairstown, NJ 07825 Hardwick, NJ 07825

Municipal Office Township Manager 34 Wantage Avenue Hardyston Township Municipal Building Branchville, NJ 07826 149 Wheatsworth Road, Suite A Hardyston, NJ 07419 Township Manager 10 Mansfield Drive Town Administrator Stanhope, NJ 07874 Municipal Building P.O. Box 284 Lori Nienstedt 407 Hope-Great Meadows Road Administrator, Acting Municipal Clerk Hope, NJ 07844 151 US Highway 206 Augusta, NJ 07822 Township Administrator 1033 Weldon Road Town Administrator Lake Hopatcong, NJ 07849 46 Main Street Franklin, NJ 07416 Municipal Clerk Municipal Building Township Clerk 628 Route 94 443 Rt. 94 Columbia, NJ 07832 Newton, NJ 07860 Municipal Clerk /Registrar Township Administrator AnnaRose Fedish Municipal Building 33 Morris Farm Road 210 Main Street Lafayette Township NJ 07848 Johnsonburg, NJ 07825

Thomas S. Russo, Jr. Town Manager 39 Trinity St. Newton, NJ 07860

Borough Clerk/Registrar Robin Hough 14 Highland Ave Ogdensburg, NJ 07439

Township Clerk Amanda Lobban 133 County Route 645 Sandyston, NJ 07826

Township clerk 65 Main St. Sparta Township, NJ 07871

Township Clerk Lynda Knott 964 Stillwater Road Newton, NJ 07860

Antoinette Smith Municipal Clerk/Admin 2 Main Street Sussex, NJ 07461

Administrator Charles G. Voelker 1 Church Street Vernon, NJ 07462 Administrator and Acting Municipal Clerk Michael L Restel 888 State Highway 23 NJ Wantage Township, NJ 07461

By: /s/ Clelia Zattoni

FCC:Success:Form 159 - PRINTABLE VERSION https://apps.fcc.gov/FeeFiler/printed159_success.cfm

Remittance ID:3466855 Authorization Number:26Q9MADN Successful Authorization -- Date Paid: 10/26/20 FILE COPY ONLY!!

READ INSTRUCTIONS FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION APPROVED BY OMB CAREFULLY BEFORE REMITTANCE ADVICE 3060-059 PROCEEDING SPECIAL USE FORM 159 PAGE NO 1 OF 1 (1) LOCKBOX #979089 FCC USE ONLY

SECTION A - Payer Information (2) PAYER NAME (if paying by credit card, enter name exactly as it appears on your card) (3) TOTAL AMOUNT PAID (dollars and cents) Wiley Rein LLP $1550.00 (4) STREET ADDRESS LINE NO. 1 1776 K Street, N.W. (5) STREET ADDRESS LINE NO. 2

(6) CITY (7) STATE (8) ZIP CODE Washington DC 20006-2304 (9) DAYTIME TELEPHONE NUMBER (INCLUDING AREA CODE) (10) COUNTRY CODE (IF NOT IN U.S.A.) 202-7197000 x7235 US FCC REGISTRATION NUMBER (FRN) AND TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (TIN) REQUIRED (11) PAYER (FRN) (12) FCC USE ONLY 0002151744 IF PAYER NAME AND THE APPLICANT NAME ARE DIFFERENT, COMPLETE SECTION B IF MORE THAN ONE APPLICANT, USE CONTINUATION SHEETS (FORM 159-C) (13) APPLICANT NAME WRNN License Company, LLC (14) STREET ADDRESS LINE NO. 1 800 Westchester Ave (15) STREET ADDRESS LINE NO. 2 S640 (16) CITY (17) STATE (18) ZIP CODE Rye Brook NY 10573 (19) DAYTIME TELEPHONE NUMBER (INCLUDING AREA CODE) (20) COUNTRY CODE (IF NOT IN U.S.A.) 914-4172702 US FCC REGISTRATION NUMBER (FRN) AND TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER (TIN) REQUIRED (21) APPLICANT (FRN) (22) FCC USE ONLY 0010622041 COMPLETE SECTION C FOR EACH SERVICE, IF MORE BOXES ARE NEEDED, USE CONTINUATION SHEET (23A) FCC Call Sign/Other ID (24A) Payment Type Code(PTC) (25A) Quantity WRNN-TV TQC 1 (26A) Fee Due for (PTC) (27A) Total Fee FCC Use Only $1,550.00 $1550.00 (28A) FCC CODE 1 (29A) FCC CODE 2 NewRochelle,NY x

(23B) FCC Call Sign/Other ID (24B) Payment Type Code(PTC) (25B) Quantity

(26B) Fee Due for (PTC) (27B) Total Fee FCC Use Only

(28B) FCC CODE 1 (29B) FCC CODE 2

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