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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  01-  2125 
 Before  the  Federal  Communications  Commission 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 


 In  the  Matter  of 
 Meredith  Cable 


 Petitions  for  Reconsideration 
 Application  for  Review 


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 CUID  Nos.  MN0313  (Birchwood  Village) 
 MN0314  (Dellwood) 
 MN0315  (Lake  Elmo) 
 MN0316  (Mahtomedi) 
 MN0317  (Maplewood) 
 MN0318  (North  St.  Paul) 
 MN0319  (Oakdale) 
 MN0320  (Vadnais  Heights) 
 MN0321  (White  Bear  Lake) 
 MN0322  (Willernie) 
 MN0323  (Grant) 
 MN0324  (White  Bear) 
 MN0335  (White  Bear  Lake) 
 MN0362  (Anoka) 
 MN0363  (Andover) 
 MN0364  (Champlin) 
 MN0365(  Ramsey) 
 MN0370  (Blaine) 
 MN0371  (Centerville) 
 MN0372  (Circle  Pines) 
 MN0373  (Coon  Rapids) 
 MN0374  (Ham  Lake) 
 MN0375  (Lexington) 
 MN0376  (Lino  Lakes) 
 MN0377  (Spring  Lake  Park) 
 MN0378  (Spring  Lake  Park) 


 CSR  No.  4855-  R 


 ORDER  ON  RECONSIDERATION 
 Adopted:  September  7,  2001  Released:  September  14,  2001 
 By  the  Deputy  Chief,  Cable  Services  Bureau: 
 1.  In  this  Order  we  consider  petitions  for  reconsideration  ("  Petitions"),  of  our  Orders,  DA  98-1151,  1 
 DA  98-  1311,  2  and  DA  98-  1312  3  ("  Prior  Orders").  In  our  Prior  Orders,  we  resolved  complaints 


 1  In  the  Matter  of  Meredith  Cable,  DA  98-  1151,  13  FCC  Rcd  16676  (1998). 
 2  In  the  Matter  of  Meredith  Cable,  DA  98-  1311,  13  FCC  Rcd  17409  (1998). 
 3  In  the  Matter  of  Meredith  Cable,  DA  98-  1312,  13  FCC  Rcd  17414  (1998). 
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 against  the  cable  programming  service  tier  ("  CPST")  rates  charged  by  the  above  referenced  operator 
 ("  Operator")  4  in  the  above  referenced  communities,  beginning  May  15,  1994.  In  DA  98-  1151,  we  also 
 denied  a  petition  for  special  relief  ("  PSR"),  CSR  No.  4855-  R,  in  which  Operator  requested  a  waiver  of  the 
 Commission’s  rules  preventing  Operator  from  offsetting  basic  services  tier  ("  BST")  rate  reductions  with 
 CPST  rate  increases  in  the  communities  referenced  above.  Operator  filed  an  application  for  review 
 ("  Application")  of  that  part  of  DA  98-  1151  that  rejected  the  PSR  along  with  a  petition  for  stay.  Operator 
 also  filed  refund  plans  in  response  to  our  Prior  Orders.  In  this  Order,  we  grant  Operator’s  Petitions  in 
 part,  amend  our  Prior  Orders  and  dismiss  Operator’s  Application,  petition  for  stay,  and  refund  plans  as 
 moot. 


 2.  Under  the  Communications  Act,  5  at  the  time  the  referenced  complaints  were  filed,  the 
 Federal  Communications  Commission  ("  Commission")  was  authorized  to  review  the  CPST  rates  of  cable 
 systems  not  subject  to  effective  competition  to  ensure  that  rates  charged  are  not  unreasonable.  The  Cable 
 Television  Consumer  Protection  and  Competition  Act  of  1992  6  ("  1992  Cable  Act")  required  the 
 Commission  to  review  CPST  rates  upon  the  filing  of  a  valid  complaint  by  a  subscriber  or  local 
 franchising  authority  ("  LFA").  The  filing  of  a  complete  and  timely  complaint  triggers  an  obligation  upon 
 the  cable  operator  to  file  a  justification  of  its  CPST  rates.  7  The  Operator  has  the  burden  of  demonstrating 
 that  the  CPST  rates  complained  about  are  reasonable.  8  If  the  Commission  finds  a  rate  to  be  unreasonable, 
 it  shall  determine  the  correct  rate  and  any  refund  liability.  9 


 3.  Operators  must  use  the  FCC  Form  1200  series  to  justify  rates  for  the  period  beginning 
 May  15,  1994.  10  Cable  operators  may  justify  rate  increases  on  a  quarterly  basis  using  FCC  Form  1210, 
 based  on  the  addition  and  deletion  of  channels,  changes  in  certain  external  costs  and  inflation.  11 
 Operators  may  justify  their  rates  on  an  annual  basis  using  FCC  Form  1240  to  reflect  reasonably  certain 
 and  quantifiable  changes  in  external  costs,  inflation,  and  the  number  of  regulated  channels  that  are 
 projected  for  the  twelve  months  following  the  rate  change.  12  Any  incurred  cost  that  is  not  projected  may 
 be  accrued  with  interest  and  added  to  rates  at  a  later  time.  13 


 4.  In  its  Petitions,  Operator  raises  several  issues,  only  one  of  which  is  addressed  herein.  In  our 
 Prior  Orders,  we  concluded  that  Operator  incurred  refund  liability  for  the  period  May  15,  1994  to  July  14, 
 1994,  for  overcharges  associated  with  its  FCC  Form  1200  CPST  rate  calculations,  because  Operator  had 


 4  The  term  "Operator"  includes  Operator’s  successors  and  predecessors  in  interest. 
 5  Communications  Act,  Section  623(  c),  as  amended,  47  U.  S.  C.  §543(  c)  (1996). 
 6  Pub.  L.  No.  102-  385,  106  Stat.  1460  (1992). 
 7  See  Section  76.  956  of  the  Commission's  rules,  47  C.  F.  R.  §76.  956. 
 8  Id. 
 9  See  Section  76.  957  of  the  Commission's  rules,  47  C.  F.  R.  §  76.  957. 
 10  See  Section  76.  922  of  the  Commission's  rules,  47  C.  F.  R.  §  76.  922. 
 11  Id. 
 12  Id. 
 13  Id. 
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 not  elected  to  defer  its  CPST  refund  liability  for  that  period  as  permitted  by  the  Commission’s  rules.  14  In 
 its  Petitions,  Operator  asserts  that  it  timely  filed  BST  refund  deferral  request  letters  with  the  above 
 referenced  LFAs.  15  Operator  requests  that  we  accept  these  timely  filed  BST  refund  deferral  request  letters 
 for  the  purpose  of  deferring  CPST  refund  liability.  16  Upon  review,  we  will  accept  Operator’s  BST 
 deferral  request  letters  as  evidence  of  Operator’s  deferral  election,  and  we  will  grant  Operator’s  request  to 
 defer  its  FCC  Form  1200  CPST  refund  liability  until  July  14,  1994.  Our  further  review  of  our  Prior 
 Orders  reveals  that  Operator  justified  its  actual  CPST  rates  beginning  July  14,  1994.  As  there  were  no 
 valid  complaints  received  against  Operator’s  CPST  rates  in  effect  after  that  time  period,  we  will  modify 
 our  Prior  Order  to  exclude  the  finding  of  any  refund  liability  for  any  time  periods  beginning  after  July  14, 
 1994.  Because  our  resolution  of  the  refund  deferral  issue  and  our  further  review  dispose  of  Operator’s 
 refund  liability,  we  decline  to  address  any  other  issue  raised  by  Operator  in  its  Petitions  or  Application. 
 We  will  grant  Operator’s  Petitions  in  part,  modify  our  Prior  Orders  to  reflect  no  refund  liability,  and 
 dismiss  Operator’s  Application,  petition  for  stay  and  refund  plans  as  moot. 


 5.  Accordingly,  IT  IS  ORDERED,  pursuant  to  Section  1.106  of  the  Commission's  rules,  47 
 C.  F.  R.  §  1.106  that  Operator's  Petitions  for  Reconsideration  ARE  GRANTED  IN  PART  TO  THE 
 EXTENT  INDICATED  HEREIN. 


 6.  IT  IS  FURTHER  ORDERED,  pursuant  to  Section  0.321  of  the  Commission's  rules,  47 
 C.  F.  R.  §  0.  321,  that  In  the  Matter  of  Meredith  Cable,  DA  98-  1151,  13  FCC  Rcd  16676  (1998),  In  the 
 Matter  of  Meredith  Cable,  DA  98-  1311,  13  FCC  Rcd  17409  (1998),  and  In  the  Matter  of  Meredith  Cable, 
 DA  98-  1312,  13  FCC  Rcd  17414  (1998)  ARE  MODIFIED  TO  THE  EXTENT  INDICATED  HEREIN. 


 7.  IT  IS  FURTHER  ORDERED,  pursuant  to  Section  0.321  of  the  Commission's  rules,  47 
 C.  F.  R.  §  0.  321,  that  the  CPST  rates,  charged  by  Operator  in  the  communities  referenced  above,  effective 
 May  15,  1995,  ARE  REASONABLE. 


 8.  IT  IS  FURTHER  ORDERED,  pursuant  to  Section  0.321  of  the  Commission's  rules,  47 
 C.  F.  R.  §  0.  321,  that  Operator's  Application  for  Review,  Petition  for  Stay  Pending  Review,  and  Refund 
 Plans  ARE  DISMISSED  as  moot. 


 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 


 William  H.  Johnson 
 Deputy  Chief 
 Cable  Services  Bureau 


 14  Commission's  rules  provide  for  a  refund  liability  deferral  period  beginning  May  15,  1994  and  ending  July  14, 
 1994,  if  timely  requested  by  Operator,  for  any  overcharges  resulting  from  Operator's  calculation  of  a  new  MPR  on 
 the  FCC  Form  1200.  See  47  C.  F.  R.  §  76.  922  (b)(  6)(  ii). 


 15  Operator  included  copies  of  the  letters  along  with  its  Petitions. 


 16  Operator  cites  In  the  Matter  of  Marcus  Cable  Associates,  LP,  DA  97-  2663,  13  FCC  Rcd  9012  (1998)  as  precedent 
 for  the  acceptance  of  these  letters. 
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