Federal Communications Commission
Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In re: )
)
Complaint of Guy Gannett Communications ) CSR-4924-M
agairist )
)
TCI Cablevision of Georgia, Inc. )
)
Request for Signal Carriage )
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
DA 97-1026
Adopted: May 15, 1997 Released: May 19, 1997
By the Chief, Consumer Protection and Competition Division, Cable Services Bureau:.
INTRODUCTION
1. Guy Gannett Communications, licensee of Station WTWC-TV (NBC, ChaT'nel 40),
Tallahassee, Florida, on January 22, 1997 filed the captioned signal carriage complaint ag~
TCI Cablevision of Georgia, Inc. ("TCI"), operator of cable television systems serving Brooks
County, Cairo, Grady County, Hahira, Lowndes County, Remerton, Thomas County, Thomasville,
and Valdosta, Georgia. TCI has opposed WTWC-TV' s petition, and WTWC-TV has replied.
BACKGROUND
2. Pursuant to §614 of the Communications Act1 and implementing rules adopted by
the Commission in its Report and Order in MM Docket No. 92-259,2 a commercial television
broadcast station is entitled to assert mandatory carriage rights on cable systems located within
the station's market. A station's market, for purposes of the existing rules, is its "area of
dominant influence," or ADI, as defined by the Arbitron audience research organization.3 An
ADI is a geographic market designation that defines each television market exclusive of others,
based on measured viewing patterns. Essentially, each county in the United States is allocated
I 47 U.$.C. §534.
2 8 FCC Red 2965, 2976-2977 (1993).
3 Section 76.55(e) of the Commission's Rules provides that the ADis to be used for purposes of the initial
implementation of the mandatory carriage rules are those published in Arbitron's 1991-1992 Television ADI Market
Guide.
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Federal Communications Commission DA 97-1026
to a market based on which home-market stations receive a preponderance of total viewing hours
in the county.
ARGUMENTS OF THE PARTIES
3. WTWC-TV states in its complaint that it formally demanded carriage on TCI's
systems in a letter dated November 26, 1996. After TCI failed to respond by December 26, 1996
as mandated by the Commission's rules,4 WTWC-TV filed its carriage complaint. WTWC-TV
states that its city of license and the communities TCI' s systems serve are located within the
Tallahassee, Florida--Thomasville, Georgia ADI. WTWC-TV notes that TCI's systems are
carrying only eight local commercial television stations, which is not the systems' full
complement of local signals as mandated by law. WTWC-TV asserts that it provides an adequate
quality signal, and that its carriage will not cause TCI to incur copyright liability. Accordingly,
WTWC-TV requests that the Commission order TCI to carry the station.
4. In opposition to WTWC-TV, TCI states that it is already carrying WTWC-TV on
its system serving Cairo, Grady County, Thomas County, and Thomasville, and thus the station's
complaint is moot with respect to these communities. TCI argues that the remaining communities
are served by TCI's Valdosta system, which also serves Cecil, Georgia. Because Cecil is in the
Albany, Georgia ADI, carriage of WTWC-TV i~~ Cecil would expose TCI to copyright liability.
TCI claims that WTWC-TV has not agreed to indemnify TCI for this liability. TCI maintains
in addition that WTWC-TV's complaint should be dismissed as untimely, because WTWC-1'.-V
orally requested carriage on September 13, 1996, and thus should have filed its complaint within
60 days of TCI's failure to respond by October 13, 1996.
5. In reply to TCI, WTWC-TV notes that §76.61(a)(l) of the Commission~s rules
requires a station to notify a cable system in writing of any alleged failure to meet its carriage
obligations, and that it is this written notification which is the basis for determining the timeliness
of a complaint. Accordingly, WTWC-TV notified TCI in writing on November 26, 1996. After
TCI failed to respond by December 26, 1996, WTWC-TV filed its complaint on January 22,
1997, well within WTWC-TV's 60-day time frame to file after TCI failed to respond within 30
days. Moreover, WTWC-TV states that on September 13, 1996, TCI had agreed to carry.the
station, and this agreement could not be considered to have triggered a complaint ·filing period.
WTWC-TV contends that it has never refused to indemnify TCI for copyright liability, but has
simply sought through continuing correspondence to determine the limits of that liability.
WTWC-TV affirms that it will reimburse TCI for copyright liability arising from carriage of
WTWC-TV in Cecil, Georgia.
4 47 C.F.R. §76.6l(a)(2).
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Federal Communications Commission DA 97-1026
ANALYSIS AND DECISION
6. We will grant WTWC-TV's complaint insofar as it is not moot. Section 614(a)
of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, states that each cable operator shall carry the
signals of local commercial television stations, up to certain limits. 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.5 It is undisputed that WTWC-TV and TCI are, with the exception
of a single community, located in 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's signal 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. 6 Commission rules also
require a local commercial station that believes that a cable operator has failed to meet its
carriage obligations to complain in writing to the operator. 7 The cable operator must respond in
writing to the station's complaint within 30 day~ of receipt. The operator must either commence
carriage of the signal, or explain its reasons for failing to do so. 8 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.9 In this case, TCI failed to respond within 30 days to WTWC
TV's lett~~s requesting carriage, as is required by Commission rules.
7. TCI does not deny that it is not carrying its maximum complement of local sjgnals
required by §614 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. TCI states that it is carrying
WTWC-TV in the communities of Cairo, Grady County, Thomas County, and Thomasville,
Georgia. WTWC-TV does not challenge this. Accordingly, with respect to these communities,
WTWC-TV's complaint is moot and will be dismissed. We recognize that carriage of WTWC
TV on TCI 's system in the community of Cecil, Georgia, will expose TCI to increased copyright
liability. However, we also note that WTWC-TV has promised to indemnify TCI for such
liability. Accordingly, we will grant WTWC-TV's complaint with respect to the communities
of Brooks, Hahira, Lowndes, Remerton, and Valdosta, Georgia.
5 See 47 U.S.C. §534(h)(l)(A).
6 See Clarification Order, 8 FCC Red 4142 (1993) . . See also 47 U.S.C. §§534(b)(5) and (b)(l)(B).
7 47 C.F.R. §76.6l(a)(l).
8 47 C.F.R. §76.6l(a)(2).
9 47 C.F.R. §76.6l(a)(4).
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Federal Communications Commission DA 97-1026
ORDERING CLAUSES
8. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to §614 of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended (47 U.S.C. §534), that the petition filed by Guy Gannett Communications IS
GRANTED to the extent indicated at paragraph 7, supra, and in all other respects IS
DISMISSED. TCI Cablevision of Georgia, Inc. IS ORDERED to commence carriage of
television station WTWC-TV within sixty ( 60) days from the release date of this Order on its
cabie system serving Brooks, Hahira, Lownde~, Remerton, and Valdosta, Georgia. .
9. This action is taken pursuant to authority delegated under §0.321 of the
Commission's Rules.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COM?vfISSION
Gary M. Laden, Chief
Consumer Protection and Competition Division
Cable Services Bureau
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