Before the

Federal Communications Commission

Washington, D.C. 20554

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| In the Matter of:                | * | CSR-5667-M                   |
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| Corridor Television, L.L.P.      | ) |                              |
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| Charter Communications           | * |                              |
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| Request for Mandatory Carriage   | ) |                              |
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| Television Station KBEJ(TV),     |   |                              |
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| Fredericksburg, Texas            | * |                              |
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MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

**Adopted: June 15, 2001** **Released: June 20, 2001**

By the Chief, Consumer Protection and Competition Division, Cable
Services Bureau:

# Introduction

1.  Corridor Television, L.L.P. ("Corridor"), licensee of television
    broadcast station KBEJ(TV), Fredericksburg, Texas ("KBEJ" or the
    "Station") filed the above-captioned must carry complaint against
    Charter Communications ("Charter"), for failing to carry KBEJ on its
    cable system serving Johnson City, Spicewood Beach, Mustang Ridge,
    Manor and Garfield, Texas and the surrounding areas (the "cable
    communities"). No opposition to the complaint was received.

# 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.

3.  Pursuant to the Commission's must carry rules, cable operators have
    the burden of showing that a commercial station that is located in
    the same television market is not entitled to carriage.[^3] One
    method of doing so is for a cable operator to establish that a
    subject television signal, which would otherwise be entitled to
    carriage, does not provide a good quality signal to a cable system's
    principal headend.[^4] Should a station fail to provide the required
    over-the-air signal quality to a cable system's principal headend,
    it still may obtain carriage rights because under the Commission's
    rules a television station may provide a cable operator, at the
    station's expense, with specialized equipment to improve the
    station's signal to an acceptable quality at a cable system's
    principal headend.[^5]

# discussion

4.  In support of its complaint, KBEJ states that it is licensed to
    Fredericksburg, Texas, which is in the Austin, Texas DMA. It states
    further that Charter operates a cable television system, which is
    also in the Austin DMA. KBEJ contends that because it is located
    within the same DMA as the Charter cable system, it is entitled to
    mandatory carriage on that system. KBEJ asserts that it formally
    requested Charter to commence carriage of its signal on channel 2 of
    the cable system at issue.[^6] KBEJ claims that Charter 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.[^7] According to KBEJ, it is
    committed to acquire and install any improvements and equipment
    needed to provide Charter with a good quality signal.[^8] KBEJ
    requests that we order Charter to commence carriage of its signal on
    channel 2 of the cable system serving the cable communities.

5.  Section 76.55(e) of the Commission's rules provides that commercial
    television broadcast stations, such as KBEJ, are entitled to
    carriage on cable systems located in the same DMA.[^9] Cable
    operators have the burden of showing that a commercial station that
    is located in the same television market is not entitled to
    carriage.[^10] We find that Charter has failed to meet its burden.
    Charter did not did respond within 30 days to KBEJ's letter
    requesting carriage as required by the Commission's rules nor did it
    file an opposition to KBEJ's must carry complaint.[^11] KBEJ has
    committed to acquire and install, at its own expense, any and all
    necessary improvements and equipment needed to provide Charter with
    a good quality signal. KBEJ, by committing to provide any necessary
    equipment has satisfied its obligation to bear the costs associated
    with delivering a good quality signal.[^12] Thus, we find that KBEJ
    is entitled to mandatory carriage on Charter cable system at issue.

6.  With respect to KBEJ's channel positioning request, we find that it
    has properly requested carriage on channel 2 of Charter's system,
    the same channel number on which it is broadcast over-the-air.
    Pursuant to the Commission's rules, cable operators must comply with
    the channel positioning requirements absent a compelling technical
    reason.[^13] Based on the foregoing, we grant KBEJ's complaint.

# ordering clauses

7.  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 Corridor Television, L.L.P., licensee
    of television broadcast station KBEJ, Fredericksburg, Texas against
    Charter Communications **IS GRANTED**.

8.  **IT IS FURTHER ORDERED** that Charter **SHALL COMMENCE CARRIAGE**
    of the KBEJ signal on Channel 2 of its cable system serving Johnson
    City, Spicewood Beach, Mustang Ridge, Manor and Garfield, Texas and
    surrounding areas, within sixty (60) days from the date of the
    release of this *Order*.

9.  This action is taken pursuant to authority delegated by Section
    0.321 if the Commission's rules.[^14]

    FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

    Deborah E. Klein, Chief

    Consumer Protection and Competition Division

    Cable Services Bureau

[^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) requires that a commercial broadcast television
    station's market be defined by Nielsen Media Research's DMAs.

[^3]: *See Must Carry Order*, 8 FCC Rcd at 2990.

[^4]: 47 C.F.R. § 76.55(c)(3).

[^5]: *Must Carry Order*, 8 FCC Rcd at 2991.

[^6]: Complaint at 1 and Exhibit A.

[^7]: Complaint at 1. *See* 47 C.F.R. § 76.61(a)(2).

[^8]: Complaint at Exhibit A.

[^9]: 47 C.F.R. § 76.55(e).

[^10]: *See Must Carry Order*, 8 FCC Rcd at 2990.

[^11]: 47 C.F.R. § 76.55(c)(3).

[^12]: *See Must Carry Order*, 8 FCC Rcd at 2991. *See, e.g. WMPF, Inc.*
    11 FCC Rcd 17264 (CSB 1996); *KSLS, Inc*., 11 FCC Rcd 12718 (CSB
    1996). *See also* 47 U.S.C. § 534(h)(1)(B)(iii).

[^13]: 47 C.F.R. § 76.57; *see* *Must Carry Order* at 2988.

[^14]: 47 C.F. R. § 0.321.