******************************************************** NOTICE ******************************************************** This document was converted from WordPerfect to ASCII Text format. Content from the original version of the document such as headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers will not show up in this text version. All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the original document will not show up in this text version. Features of the original document layout such as columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins will not be preserved in the text version. If you need the complete document, download the WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************************** Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ) ) CMA Cablevision Associates X, L.P. ) ) ) Small System Filing to Support ) CUID Nos. NC0320 (Davidson County) Cable Programming Services Tier Rate ) NC0671 (Town of Denton) ORDER Adopted: January 24, 1997 Released: January 29, 1997 By the Chief, Financial Analysis and Compliance Division, Cable Services Bureau: 1. In this Order we consider complaints filed with the Federal Communications Commission ("Commission") regarding the rate that CMA Cablevision Associates X, L.P. ("Tele- Media") was charging for its cable programming services tier ("CPST") in the franchise areas referenced above. In each of the above-referenced communities Tele-Media filed FCC Form 1230s, seeking to justify its CPST rate through the simplified small system cost of service procedures under the Sixth Report and Order and Eleventh Order on Reconsideration, MM Docket Nos. 92-266 & 93- 215 ("Small System Order"). In this Order we grant Tele-Media's request for small system relief under the Small System Order and, based on our review of Tele-Media's FCC Form 1230 filings, deny the pending CPST complaints and find the CPST rates to be not unreasonable. 2. Under the Communications Act and the Commission's rules, the Commission must review a cable operator's rate for its CPST upon the filing of a valid complaint. The filing of a valid complaint triggers an obligation on behalf of the cable operator to file a justification of its CPST rate. Under the Commission's rules, an operator may attempt to justify its CPST rate through a benchmark showing, a cost of service showing, or a small system cost of service showing. In any case, the operator has the burden of demonstrating that its rate is not unreasonable. 3. The Commission's original rate regulations took effect on September 1, 1993. The Commission subsequently revised its rate regulations effective May 15, 1994. In a further effort to offer small cable companies administrative relief from rate regulation, the Commission amended the definition of small cable companies and small systems and introduced a simplified form of small system rate relief in the Small System Order. Cable systems serving 15,000 or fewer subscribers, and owned by a company having 400,000 or fewer subscribers, may elect to use the small cable system rate mechanism in lieu of other Commission rate processes, provided the Commission has not reached a final resolution on the rate complaints filed against the system. Operators attempting to justify their rates through small system relief must file FCC Form 1230. FCC Form 1230 requires that the Operator Selected Per Subscriber Monthly Programming Rate Per Channel (FCC Form 1230, Line A11) not exceed the Per Subscriber, Per Channel Monthly Programming Costs (FCC Form 1230, Line A6). If the maximum rate established on FCC Form 1230 does not exceed $1.24 per channel, the rate shall be presumed reasonable. 4. On December 15, 1995, Tele-Media filed FCC Form 1230s seeking to justify its CPST rates through the simplified small system cost of service procedures under the Commission's Small System Order. We find that Tele-Media is a company with fewer than 400,000 total subscribers and that the systems in question serve fewer than 15,000 subscribers, making them eligible for small system relief. Further, Tele-Media's filings show that its actual rates per channel for regulated cable service (FCC Form 1230, Line A11) do not exceed its per subscriber, per channel monthly programming costs (FCC Form 1230, Line A6) and the Maximum Permitted Rates (FCC Form 1230, Line A10) do not exceed $1.24. We, therefore, find the rates to be not unreasonable. 5. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to Section 76.934 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  76.934, that Tele-Media 's request for small system relief IS GRANTED. 6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the CPST rates charged by Tele-Media during the period under review for the above-referenced CUID numbers ARE JUSTIFIED. 7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the complaints against the CPST rates charged by Tele-Media during the period under review with respect to the above-referenced CUID numbers ARE DENIED. 8. This action is taken pursuant to delegated authority under Section 0.321 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. 0.321. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Elizabeth W. Beaty Chief, Financial Analysis and Compliance Division Cable Services Bureau