FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
WASHINGTON 
OFFICE OF 
THE CHAIRMAN 
The Honorable Spencer Bachus 
U.S. House of Representatives 
2246 Rayburn House Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20515 
Dear Congressman Bachus: 
July 23, 2014 
Thank you for your recent letter regarding the Black Television News Channel' s 
("BTNC") waiver request. Your views will be taken into consideration, and your letter will be 
entered into the record for this proceeding. 
As you are aware, Congress has imposed certain requirements on Direct Broadcast 
Satellite (DBS) carriers, including the requirement to reserve a percentage of channel capacity 
for noncommercial educational or informational programming. Commission rules currently 
require four percent of a DBS carrier's channel capacity to be reserved exclusively for 
noncommercial programming of an educational or informational nature. 
As you note, BTNC recently filed a request for a three-year waiver from this requirement. 
On May 15, 2014, the Media Bureau released a Public Notice requesting comments on BTNC's 
waiver request. The comment periods have closed, and the Media Bureau has started its review 
of the record. 
I hope this information is helpful, and I appreciate your interest in this matter. 
rSincerely~~t~-­
AftV