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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  02-  594 
 Before  the  Federal  Communications  Commission 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 


 In  the  Matter  of: 
 Pappas  Southern  California  License,  LLC 
 v. 
 Catalina  Cable  TV 
 Request  for  Mandatory  Carriage  of  Television  Station  KAZA-  TV, 
 Avalon,  California 


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 CSR-  5822-  M 


 MEMORANDUM  OPINION  AND  ORDER 
 Adopted:  March  11,  2002  Released:  March  13,  2002 
 By  the  Chief,  Consumer  Protection  and  Competition  Division,  Cable  Services  Bureau: 


 I.  INTRODUCTION 
 1.  Pappas  Southern  California  License,  LLC  (“  Pappas”),  permittee  of  television  broadcast  station  KAZA-  TV,  Channel  54,  Avalon,  California  (“  KAZA”  or  the  “Station”)  filed  the  above-  captioned 


 must  carry  complaint  against  Catalina  Cable  TV  (“  Catalina”),  for  failing  to  carry  KAZA  on  its  cable  system  serving  Avalon,  California  (the  “cable  community”).  No  opposition  to  the  petition  was  filed. 


 II.  BACKGROUND 
 2.  Pursuant  to  Section  614  of  the  Communications  Act  and  implementing  rules  adopted  by  the  Commission  in  Implementation  of  the  Cable  Television  Consumer  Protection  and  Competition  Act  of 


 1992,  Broadcast  Signal  Carriage  Issues  (“  Must  Carry  Order”),  commercial  television  broadcast  stations  are  entitled  to  assert  mandatory  carriage  rights  on  cable  systems  located  within  the  station’s  market.  1  A 
 station’s  market  for  this  purpose  is  its  “designated  market  area,”  or  DMA,  as  defined  by  Nielsen  Media  Research.  2  A  DMA  is  a  geographic  market  designation  that  defines  each  television  market  exclusive  of 
 others,  based  on  measured  viewing  patterns. 


 1  8  FCC  Rcd  2965,  2976-  2977  (1993). 
 2  Section  614(  h)(  1)(  C)  of  the  Communications  Act,  as  amended  by  the  Telecommunications  Act  of  1996, 
 provides  that  a  station’s  market  shall  be  determined  by  the  Commission  by  regulation  or  order  using,  where  available,  commercial  publications  which  delineate  television  markets  based  on  viewing  patterns.  See  47  U.  S.  C.  § 


 534(  h)(  1)(  C).  Section  76.  55(  e)  of  the  Commission’s  rules,  47  C.  F.  R.  §  76.  55(  e),  requires  that  a  commercial  broadcast  television  station’s  market  be  defined  by  Nielsen  Media  Research’s  DMAs. 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  02-  594 
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 III.  DISCUSSION 
 3.  In  support  of  its  complaint,  KAZA  states  that  it  is  licensed  to  Avalon,  California,  which  is  in  the  Los  Angeles,  California  DMA.  It  states  further  that  Catalina  operates  a  cable  television  system  in 


 Avalon,  California,  which  is  also  in  the  Los  Angeles  DMA.  KAZA  contends  that  because  it  is  located  within  the  same  DMA  as  the  Catalina  cable  system  serving  the  cable  community,  it  is  entitled  to 
 mandatory  carriage  on  that  system.  KAZA  asserts  that  it  formally  requested  that  Catalina  commence  carriage  of  the  Station’s  signal  on  the  cable  system  at  issue.  3  KAZA  claims  that  Catalina  did  not  respond 
 to  its  request  for  mandatory  carriage  in  violation  of  Section  76.61(  a)(  2)  of  the  Commission’s  rules,  which  requires  cable  operators  to  respond  in  writing  to  requests  for  carriage  within  30  days  of  receipt  of  such 
 requests.  4  According  to  KAZA,  it  is  committed  to  do  whatever  is  needed  to  provide  Catalina  with  a  good  quality  signal.  5  KAZA  requests  that  the  Commission  order  Catalina  to  commence  carriage  of  its  signal  on 
 the  cable  system  serving  the  cable  community. 
 4.  We  will  grant  KAZA’s  petition.  Catalina  has  not  objected  to  KAZA’s  carriage  request.  6  KAZA  and  Catalina  are  located  within  the  same  DMA.  Absent  objection,  KAZA  is  entitled  to  carriage 


 on  Catalina’s  cable  system. 
 IV.  ORDERING  CLAUSES 
 5.  Accordingly,  IT  IS  ORDERED,  pursuant  to  Section  614  of  the  Communications  Act  of  1934,  as  amended  (47  U.  S.  C.  §  534),  that  the  must  carry  complaint  filed  by  Pappas  Television,  L.  L.  P., 


 permittee  of  television  broadcast  station  KAZA,  Avalon,  California  against  Catalina  Cable  TV  IS  GRANTED. 


 6.  IT  IS  FURTHER  ORDERED  that  Catalina  Cable  TV  SHALL  COMMENCE  CARRIAGE  of  the  KAZA  signal  on  its  Avalon,  California  cable  system  within  sixty  (60)  days  from  the 
 date  of  the  release  of  this  Order. 
 7.  This  action  is  taken  pursuant  to  authority  delegated  by  Section  0.321  if  the  Commission’s  rules.  7 


 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 
 Deborah  E.  Klein,  Chief  Consumer  Protection  and  Competition  Division 
 Cable  Services  Bureau 


 3  Complaint  at  2  and  Exhibit  A. 
 4  Complaint  at  3.  See  47  C.  F.  R.  §  76.  61(  a)(  2). 
 5  Complaint  at  3. 
 6  Since  no  opposition  was  filed,  there  has  been  no  allegation  that  KAZA  failed  to  provide  Catalina  with  a  good 
 quality  signal.  Morever,  KAZA  committed  to  do  whatever  is  needed  to  provide  Catalina  with  a  good  quality  signal.  Complaint  at  3. 


 7  47  C.  F.  R.  §  0.321. 
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