FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 
WASHINGTON 
O FFI C E OF 
THE C H A IRMAN 
The Honorable Steve Southerland II 
U.S. House of Representatives 
1129 Longworth House Office Building 
Washington, D.C. 20515 
Dear Congressman Southerland: 
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. · 
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 developed. 
I hope this information is helpful, and I appreciate your interest in this matter. 
Sincerely, 
Tom Wheeler