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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  04-  2996 
 1 
 Before  the  Federal  Communications  Commission 
 Washington,  D.  C.  20554 


 In  the  Matter  of 
 Rules  and  Policies  Concerning  Attribution  of  Joint  Sales  Agreements 
 In  Local  Television  Markets 


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 MB  Docket  No.  04-  256 


 ORDER 
 Adopted:  September  15,  2004  Released:  September  16,  2004 
 Comment  Date:  October  27,  2004  Reply  Comment  Date:  November  30,  2004 


 By  the  Chief,  Media  Bureau: 
 1.  By  a  Notice  of  Proposed  Rule  Making  (“  Notice”)  released  August  2,  2004,  the  Commission  initiated  a  proceeding  seeking  comment  on  whether  to  attribute  certain  TV  Joint  Sales  Agreements 
 (“  JSAs”)  for  purposes  of  applying  the  broadcast  ownership  rules.  1  On  August  26,  2004,  a  summary  of  the  Notice  was  published  in  the  Federal  Register,  establishing  deadlines  for  the  filing  of  comments  and  reply 
 comments  of  September  27,  2004  and  October  12,  2004,  respectively. 
 2.  On  September  13,  2004,  Paxson  Communications  Corporation  (“  Paxson”)  filed  a  Request  for  Extension  of  Time  to  file  comments  and  reply  comments.  Paxson  asks  that  the  deadline  for  filing 


 comments  be  extended  to  October  27,  2004,  and  the  deadline  for  filing  reply  comments  be  extended  to  November  30,  2004.  It  asserts  that,  as  owner  and  operator  of  61  full  power  television  stations  and  owner 
 of  the  PaxTV  broadcast  network,  it  is  party  to  a  large  number  of  JSAs.  Paxson  notes  that  the  Commission  asked  parties  to  JSAs  to  gather  and  provide  information  concerning  the  terms  and  conditions  of  those 
 JSAs,  as  well  as  their  public  interest  benefits.  Paxson  says  it  needs  more  time  to  prepare  its  comments  and  respond  to  the  factual  and  legal  issues  raised  in  this  proceeding  given  the  number  of  other  open 
 Commission  proceedings  on  broadcasting  in  which  it  is  involved.  According  to  Paxson,  an  extension  will  enable  it  to  prepare  and  present  a  more  thorough  factual  record  and  analysis  of  the  legal  issues  in  this 
 proceeding.  On  September  14,  2004,  the  National  Association  of  Broadcasters  (“  NAB”)  filed  a  “Statement  in  Support  of  Request  for  Extension  of  Time”  in  support  of  Paxson’s  motion  for  the  same 
 reasons,  arguing  that  an  extension  will  serve  the  public  interest  by  allowing  for  a  more  complete  record. 


 1  In  the  Matter  of  Rules  and  Policies  Concerning  Attribution  of  Joint  Sales  Agreements  in  Local  Television 
 Markets,  MB  Docket  No.  04-  256,  FCC  04-  173  (rel.  Aug.  2,  2004). 
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 Federal  Communications  Commission  DA  04-  2996 
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 3.  We  conclude  that  Paxson  and  NAB  have  stated  good  cause  to  justify  granting  an  extension  of  the  deadlines  for  the  filing  of  comments  and  reply  comments  in  this  proceeding.  Granting  the  extensions 
 will  serve  the  public  interest  in  gathering  a  full  record  on  the  factual  and  legal  issues  raised  in  the  Notice,  including  the  information  sought  on  the  terms  and  conditions  of  existing  TV  JSAs. 


 4.  Accordingly,  IT  IS  ORDERED  that,  pursuant  to  Sections  4(  i),  4(  j)  and  5(  c  )  of  he  Communications  Act  of  1934,  as  amended,  47  U.  S.  C.  §§  154(  i),  154(  j)  and  155(  c  ),  and  Sections  0.61, 
 0.283,  and  1.46  of  the  Commission’s  rules,  47  C.  F.  R.  §§  0.6,  0.283,  and  1.46,  the  date  for  filing  comments  in  MB  Docket  No.  04-  256  is  extended  until  October  27,  2004,  and  the  date  for  filing  reply 
 comments  is  extended  to  November  30,  2004. 
 FEDERAL  COMMUNICATIONS  COMMISSION 


 W.  Kenneth  Ferree  Chief 
 Media  Bureau 
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