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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 re: ) )CSR-4939-M UNITED BROADCAST GROUP II, INC. ) ) v. ) ) WILLOW PARK CABLE TV ) Aledo, Texas ) ) Request For Carriage ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Adopted: July 3, 1997Released: July 11, 1997 By the Chief, Consumer Protection and Competition Division, Cable Services Bureau: I.INTRODUCTION 1.United Broadcast Group II, Inc., licensee of broadcast television station KINZ(TV), (Channel 68) Arlington, Texas ("KINZ") has filed with the Commission a petition for mandatory carriage of its signal on the cable systems operated by Willow Park Cable TV ("Willow Cable") in the communities of Burleson, Gordon, Millsap, Palo Pinto, Perrin, River Oaks, Santo, and Willow Park, Texas (collectively, the "Communities"). Willow Cable did not file a response. II.BACKGROUND 2.Pursuant to Section 614 of the Communications Act and implementing rules adopted by the Commission in its Report and Order in MM Docket 92-259 commercial television broadcast stations are entitled to assert mandatory carriage on cable systems located within the station's market. A station's market for this purpose is its area of "dominant influence,"or ADI, as defined by the Arbitron audience research organization. Both the station and the communities are located in the Atlanta, Georgia ADI. An ADI is a geographic market designation that defines each television market exclusive of others, based on measured viewing. Essentially, each county in the United States is allocated to a market based on which home-market stations receive a prepondence of total viewing hours in the county. For purposes of this calculation, both over-the-air and cable television viewing are included. 3.A commercial television station serving a community of license that is located within the same ADI as the principal headend of a cable system has a right of carriage on that cable system. However, this right is subject to several conditions: 1) a cable system operator is generally required to devote no more than one-third of its activated channel capacity in order to comply with the mandatory signal carriage obligations; 2) the station is responsible for delivering a good quality signal to the principal headend of the system; 3) indemnification may be required for any increase in copyright liability resulting from carriage; 4) the system operator is not required to carry the signal of any station whose signal substantially duplicates the signal of any other local signal carried or the signals of more than one local station affiliated with a particular broadcast network. If, pursuant to these requirements a system operator elects to carry the signal of only a single affiliate of a broadcast network, it is obligated to carry the affiliate from within the market whose city of license is closest to the principal headend of the cable system. III.SUMMARY OF PLEADINGS 4.In its petition, KINZ notes that it is assigned to the Dallas-Fort Worth ADI, the same television market served by Willow Cable's cable systems. KINZ states that on December 11, 1996, it notified Willow Cable of the station's election of must-carry status on Willow Cable's systems serving the Communities. KINZ further states that on December 15, 1996, Willow Park responded to KINZ's request and informed KINZ that certain of the communities at issue, namely, Olsen Green Acres, Palo Pinto, Santo, Perrin and Gordon, were not within the relevant ADI. KINZ further states that Willow Park maintained that, with respect to communities located in River Oaks and Parker, Johnson and Tarrant Counties, Willow Park had already fulfilled its obligation to carry the required number of local commercial television stations. KINZ next states that it concluded from its review of Willow Cable's channel line-ups that two of Willow Cable's systems -- those serving River Oaks and Parker Counties -- had not met their obligation to carry the required number of local commercial stations. KINZ alleges that Willow Cable's River Oaks system has 38 activated channels and is therefore required to carry twelve local commercial stations but carries only eleven local commercial stations. KINZ further alleges that Willow Cable's system serving Parker County has 34 activated channels and is therefore required to carry 11 local commercial stations but carries only ten local commercial stations. KINZ states that on January 7, 1997, it informed Willow Cable of KINZ's conclusions with respect to the carriage of local commercial stations on its River Oaks and Parker County systems. KINZ asserts that Willow Park did not respond. As a result, KINZ argues that Willow Cable is required to carry KINZ on its cable systems serving River Oaks and Parker Counties pursuant to Section 76.56 of the Commission's rules. IV.DISCUSSION 5.We will grant KINZ's petition for mandatory carriage with respect to Willow Cable's cable systems serving River Oaks and Parker Counties. Section 614(a) of the Communications Act states that each cable operator shall carry the signals of local commercial television stations. A local commercial television station is defined as any full power broadcast television station that is within the same television market as the cable system. It is undisputed that KINZ and Willow Cable are located within the same ADI. A cable operator is required to carry the signals of a local commercial station unless that station fails to deliver a good quality signal to the cable system's principal headend; the station substantially duplicates the signal of another local commercial station which is carried on the system; or the cable operator (with a system of more than 12 usable activated channels) has already allocated up to one-third of the aggregate number of its usable activated channels to other local commercial stations. Commission rules also require a local commercial station that believes that a cable operator has failed to meet its obligations to complain in writing to the operator. The cable operator must respond in writing to the station's complaint within 30 days of receipt. The operator must either commence carriage of the signal, or explain its reasons for failing to do so. If the Commission determines that a cable operator has failed to meet its must-carry obligations, it may order an operator to commence carriage of a station. 6.In the instant case, Willow Cable responded to KINZ's initial request for mandatory carriage by explaining its reasons for failing to commence carriage of KINZ's signal. The record indicates that Willow Cable did not respond to KINZ's second more limited request for carriage with respect to Willow Cable's systems serving River Oaks and Parker Counties. KINZ alleged that, with respect to River Oaks and Parker County systems, Willow Cable had not allocated one-third of its usable activated channel capacity to local commercial television stations. Willow Cable did not dispute nor respond to KINZ's allegations. We find that Willow Cable's channel line-ups indicate that it carries 38 activated channels on its River Oaks system and 34 activated channels on its Parker County system. We further find that Willow Cable is required to carry 12 local commercial stations on its River Oaks system and 11 local commercial stations on its Parker County system. Accordingly, to the extent that Willow Cable had not fully allocated the required capacity to local commercial television stations at the time of KINZ's request for carriage, we order Willow Cable to commence carriage of KINZ's signal on its cable systems serving River Oaks and Parker Counties. V.ORDERING CLAUSES 7.Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the petition filed by United Broadcast Group II, Inc. against Willow Park Cable TV [CSR-4939-M] pursuant to 614 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 534 and Section 76.61(a)(2) of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. 76.61(a)(2), IS GRANTED with respect to Willow Cable's cable systems serving River Oaks and Parker County, respectively. 8.IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Willow Cable SHALL COMMENCE CARRIAGE of the signal KINZ(TV) within sixty (60) days from the release date of this Order on its cable system serving Burleson, Millsap, River Oaks and Willow Park, Texas. 9.This action is taken pursuant to authority delegated by 0.321 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. 0.321. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Gary M. Laden Chief, Consumer Protection and Competition Division Cable Services Bureau