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                            Before the
                Federal Communications Commission
                      Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of:               )
                                )
WRNN-TV Associates Limited      )       CSR-5392-A
Partnership                     )
                                )
For Modification of the New York,)
New York ADI Market             )


                  MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

        Adopted:  August 13, 1999              Released:  August 19, 1999

I.  INTRODUCTION

     1.   WRNN-TV Associates Limited Partnership, licensee of Station WRNN-TV (Ch. 62),
Kingston, New York ("WRNN-TV"), has filed the above-captioned petition which seeks to include 219
communities located in the counties of Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schoharie, Greene, Columbia,
Montgomery, Fulton, Schenectady, Washington, Hamilton, and Warren, New York; Berkshire, Massachusetts;
and Bennington, Vermont.  Oppositions to this request have been filed by the following:  1) Better T.V., Inc.
of Bennington and Mountain Cable Company, both d/b/a Adelphia Cable Communications ("Adelphia"),
operator of a cable system serving 23 of the communities listed in WRNN-TV's request; 2) Harron
Communications of New York, Inc. ("Harron"), operator of a system serving 27 of the communities listed in
WRNN-TV's request; 3) Century Communications and TCI of New York, Inc. ("Century/TCI"), operators
of cable systems serving 25 of the communities listed in WRNN-TV's 
request; 4) Time Warner Cable ("Time Warner"), operator of eight cable systems serving a total of 85 of the
communities listed in WRNN-TV's request; 5) the Town of Day, New York; 6) the Town of Stockbridge,
Massachusetts; 7) the Town of Sheffield, Massachusetts; 8) the Town of Lee, Massachusetts; 9) Christopher
Hodgkins, State Representative for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; 10) the Town of Great Barrington,
Massachusetts; 11) the Town of Lenox, Massachusetts; 12) Hearst-Argyle Stations, Inc., licensee of Stations
WNNE-TV (NBC, Ch. 31), Hartford, Vermont, and WPTZ (NBC, Ch. 5), North Pole, New York ("Hearst-
Argyle"); 13) Freedom Broadcasting of New York, Inc., licensee of Station WRGB (NBC, Ch. 6),
Schenectady, New York ("WRGB"); 14) Young Broadcasting of Albany, Inc., licensee of Stations WTEN
(ABC, Ch. 10), Albany, New York, and WCDC (CBS, Ch. 19), Adams, Massachusetts ("Young"); and 15)
Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc., licensee of Station WNYT (CBS, Ch. 13), Albany, New York ("WNYT"). 
WRNN-TV has filed a consolidated reply to all of the oppositions.

II.  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.  A station's
market for this purpose is its "area of dominant influence," or ADI, as defined by the Arbitron audience
research organization.  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 to a market based on which home-market stations receive a preponderance of total viewing hours in
the County.  For purposes of this calculation, both over-the-air and cable television viewing are included.

     3.   Under the Act, however, the Commission is also directed to consider changes in market areas. 
Section 614(h)(1)(C) provides that the Commission may:

          with respect to a particular television broadcast station, include additional communities 
     within its television market or exclude communities from such station's television market to
     better effectuate the purposes of this section.

In considering such requests, the 1992 Cable Act provides that:

          the Commission shall afford particular attention to the value of localism by taking into
     account such factors as--

          (I) whether the station, or other stations located in the same area, have been historically
     carried on the cable system or systems within such community;

          (II) whether the television station provides coverage or other local service to such community;

          (III) whether any other television station that is eligible to be carried by a cable system in such
     community in fulfillment of the requirements of this section provides news coverage of issues
     of concern to such community or provides carriage or coverage of sporting and other events
     of interest to the community; and

          (IV) evidence of viewing patterns in cable and noncable households within the areas served
     by the cable system or systems in such community.

     4.   The legislative history of this provision indicates that:

          where the presumption in favor of ADI carriage would result in cable subscribers losing
     access to local stations because they are outside the ADI in which a local cable system
     operates, the FCC may make an adjustment to include or exclude particular communities from
     a television station's market consistent with Congress' objective to ensure that television
     stations be carried in the areas which they serve and which form their economic market.

                                          *        *        *         *          *
          [This subsection] establishes certain criteria which the Commission shall consider in acting
     on requests to modify the geographic area in which stations have signal carriage rights.  These
     factors are not intended to be exclusive, but may be used to demonstrate that a community is
     part of a particular station's market.

     5.   The Commission provided guidance in its Must Carry Order to aid decision- making in these
matters, as follows:

          For example, the historical carriage of the station could be illustrated by the submission of
     documents listing the cable system's channel line-up (e.g., rate cards) for a period of years. 
     To show that the station provides coverage or other local service to the cable community
     (factor 2), parties may demonstrate that the station places at least a Grade B coverage contour
     over the cable community or is located close to the community in terms of mileage.  Coverage
     of news or other programming of interest to the community could be demonstrated by program
     logs or other descriptions of local program offerings.  The final factor concerns viewing
     patterns in the cable community in cable and noncable homes.  Audience data clearly provide
     appropriate evidence about this factor.  In this regard, we note that surveys such as those used
     to demonstrate significantly viewed status could be useful.  However, since this factor requires
     us to evaluate viewing on a community basis for cable and noncable homes, and significantly
     viewed surveys typically measure viewing only in noncable households, such surveys may
     need to be supplemented with additional data concerning viewing in cable homes.

     6.   In adopting rules to implement this provision, the Commission indicated that requested changes
should be considered on a community-by-community basis rather than on a county-by-county basis, and that
they should be treated as specific to particular stations rather than applicable in common to all stations in the
market.  The rules further provide, in accordance with the requirements of the Act, that a station not be
deleted from carriage during the pendency of an ADI change request.
          
III.  THE PLEADINGS

     7.   WRNN-TV is located within the New York, New York ADI.  The counties of Albany,
Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren,
and Washington, New York, Berkshire, Massachusetts, and Bennington, Vermont, are all located in the
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York, ADI.  

     8.   In support of its request, WRNN-TV states that it is a commercial television station licensed
to Kingston, New York.  Although its city of license is located within the New York ADI market, WRNN-TV
states that the Commission has granted a number of market modification petitions which have adversely
impacted WRNN-TV by eliminating its mandatory carriage rights on cable systems serving close to 70 percent
of the New York ADI.  Indeed, WRNN-TV points out that in several of these decisions, the Commission
recognized WRNN-TV's proximity to the Albany ADI and commented that WRNN-TV may "more aptly serve
Albany and its environs."  As a result, WRNN-TV states that, despite its opposition to the Commission's New
York ADI decisions, it is now compelled to seek other carriage rights to mitigate the substantial loss of must
carry rights and economic interests occasioned by those rulings.

     9.   WRNN-TV argues that it satisfies the relevant market criteria which the Commission
considers for adding communities to a station's local market for must carry purposes.  First, WRNN-TV states
that it has historical carriage on five cable systems operating in the counties of Albany, Columbia, Greene and
Schoharie, New York.  WRNN-TV points out that the Commission has held that carriage by a local cable
operator is "probative as to the scope of the market involved and is convincing evidence that the station's
programming is of particular interest to viewers in the area."  Second, WRNN-TV maintains that its Grade
B contour extends as far north as Schenectady County in New York, west into Delaware and Sullivan Counties,
New York, and east into Bennington County, Vermont, and Hampshire and Hampden Counties, Massachusetts. 
WRNN-TV states that not only are all of the subject cable communities located within, on the fringe, or in
close proximity to its Grade B contour, but the majority are located within its Grade A contour.  WRNN-TV
states that the Commission has concluded that a station which demonstrates "that [it] places at least a Grade
B coverage contour over the cable communit[ies]" satisfies the second criterion for market modification.  

     10.  Further, WRNN-TV argues that its all-news format provides a unique service to the Albany
area by providing approximately 70 hours per week of original news programming centered, in part, on
Albany-wide regional news issues.  WRNN-TV points out that it follows local school closings, and airs news
stories on issues regarding local high school students, weather, sports and politics.  WRNN-TV asserts that
this type of local news coverage is consistent with Congress' "primary objective" in enacting the must carry
rules of promoting the local origination of broadcast programming.  Finally, WRNN-TV argues that it is
"significantly viewed" in several of the counties in the which the cable communities are located.  WRNN-TV
maintains that this is proof that it has, for years, enjoyed a substantial following within communities in the
Albany ADI.  Moreover, WRNN-TV states that not only is it listed in the television program guides of at least
five newspapers serving the cable communities, but from 1996 to 1998, it received over $680,000 in revenue
from advertisers located in the Albany area.  
     11.  There are fifteen opposing petitions.  Six individual Massachusetts towns (Day, Stockbridge,
Sheffield, Lee, Great Barrington and Lenox), and one Massachusetts state representative all object to WRNN-
TV's petition on the sole basis that WRNN-TV's programming is of no interest to their residents.  As they raise
no further argument, they are not included in the summary below. The remaining eight opposing parties, four
cable operators (Adelphia, Harron, Century/TCI, and Time Warner), and four full power television stations
(WNNE-TV/WPTZ ("Hearst-Argyle"), WRGB, WTEN/WCDC ("Young"), and WNYT), have basically
similar objections to WRNN-TV's modification request.  All the parties argue that the Commission is mandated
by Congress to take into account the four criteria set forth in Section 614(h)(C)(ii) of the Communications Act
of 1934, as amended, in any analysis of market modification requests and any party seeking such modification
must provide sufficient evidence to satisfy those factors.  All parties agree that WRNN-TV has failed to
demonstrate that it meets any of the criteria necessary to justify grant of its request in this instance.

A.  Historic Carriage

     12.  The opposing cable operators all point out that WRNN-TV has never been carried on their
respective cable systems.  Time Warner states that the small amount of historic carriage that WRNN-TV can
claim in Greene and Columbia Counties involves only five cable systems serving 37 communities.  Time
Warner argues that such a limited showing falls far short of establishing carriage rights on the remainder of
the cable systems in the Albany market.  Moreover, both Time Warner and Adelphia state that WRNN-TV
has not shown that it is carried on any other cable systems in close proximity.  WRGB points out that Greene
and Columbia Counties are the southernmost counties in the Albany market and the communities in those
counties where WRNN-TV has historic carriage are not only in the southernmost portions of those counties,
but are located adjacent to WRNN-TV's transmitter site.  WNYT asserts that evidence of historic carriage,
standing alone, is not determinative.  Hearst-Argyle maintains that WRNN-TV's contention that lack of
historical carriage is immaterial is in error.  It argues that the Commission always considers historical carriage
in modification petitions seeking addition of communities.  

B.  Viewership

     13.        All the parties note that WRNN-TV has no reportable viewership in the majority of the
counties where the communities requested for inclusion are located.  Young states that it commissioned two
separate studies from Nielsen Media Research ("Nielsen") -- one to examine county-wide viewership patterns
in the Albany market in both cable and noncable homes for February 1999 and the other to examine only
noncable households for November 1998 and February 1999.  Young points out that these studies indicate
no viewership for WRNN-TV in any of the counties except for Columbia and Greene and even for those
counties the reported viewership is minimal when compared to its own station, WTEN.  Both Adelphia and
Century/TCI state that studies produced by Media Strategies indicate that WRNN-TV has no viewership in
the respective counties in which their cable systems operate.

     14.  All of the parties argue that WRNN-TV's reliance on its significantly viewed status in
Columbia and Greene counties and its listing in several local newspapers has no overall relevance to the market
as a whole.  Time Warner asserts that WRNN-TV has failed to show any specific viewership data to satisfy
the fourth modification factor.  A number of parties point out that the newspapers in which WRNN-TV is listed
are small papers which circulate only in Columbia nd Greene counties.  WNYT states that while the
Commission has accepted listings in local newspapers and publications as one additional factor, it has never
accepted such listings in place of concrete audience data.  Moreover, WNYT and Young point to the fact that
half of the newspaper listings provided by WRNN-TV identify the station by its former call letters, WTZA,
which raises the question of whether WRNN-TV is still listed or if there is a lack of interest.  Time Warner
states that WRNN-TV is completely absent from the Albany market's three largest daily newspapers: The Time
Union (Albany),  The Daily Gazette (Schenectady), and The Record (Troy).  Century/TCI indicates that
WRNN-TV is not listed in the western Massachusetts and Albany editions of TV Guide.

C.  Grade B Coverage

     15.  All of the parties contest WRNN-TV's assertion that it provides Grade B coverage to a
majority of the subject communities.  Harron states that WRNN-TV generalizes the extent of its Grade B
coverage and Century/TCI argues that WRNN-TV's Grade B contour does not accurately reflect the station's
local signal quality, which is far from ideal. Harron and Century/TCI states that all of the communities they
serve are outside of WRNN-TV's predicted Grade B contour.  Time Warner, Adelphia and Hearst-Argyle argue
that although some of the communities they serve fall within WRNN-TV's Grade B contour, this factor alone
is insufficient grounds to grant WRNN-TV's request.  Indeed, Adelphia states that legislative history
governing the modification process shows that ADI boundaries, and not Grade B contours, define markets. 
Young points out that approximately 61 percent of the requested communities are not within WRNN-TV's
Grade B contour.  Young maintains that absence of Grade B coverage militates against grant of WRNN-TV's
request.   

     16.  A majority of the parties raise geographic distance factors in support of their oppositions. 
WRGB states that over 130 of the requested communities are between 45-165 miles distant from Kingston,
WRNN-TV's city of license, and that these distances were sufficient for the Commission to deny other similar
requests.  Young states that at least 116 of the communities are located farther than 50 miles from Kingston. 
Harron, Adelphia, Century/TCI and Time Warner all cite geographic distances as a major factor in WRNN-
TV's failure to have a nexus with their system communities.

     17.  One party, WNYT, argues that WRNN-TV's predicted service area using the Longley-Rice
method is substantially less than the station's calculated Grade B contour.  WNYT asserts that hilly
topography precludes off-air reception of WRNN-TV in much of the area in which it seeks carriage.  Indeed,
WNYT maintains that the Albany region's topography prevents WRNN-TV from being received at least 99
percent of the communities.  WNYT states that in Costa de Oro, Inc., the Commission based its partial denial
of the requested modification on the fact that opponents to the petition had provided evidence that there was
no viewable over-the-air signal within the applicant's predicted Grade B contour.

D.  Local Programming

     18.  At least half of the parties state that WRNN-TV provides no evidence of relevant local
programming, while the remainder state that any programming that WRNN-TV does provide is minimal at
best, and in general, of more wide-spread than specific interest.  For instance, Century/TCI states that the two
news items WRNN-TV attributes to Scotia, New York, do not target specific TCI communities.  Harron states
that WRNN-TV lists only one news story involving only one out of 28 Harron system communities.  Adelphia
points out that WRNN-TV's own exhibit reveals that in over 3 years, WRNN-TV has carried only one story
about Adelphia communities.  Adelphia states that in Home Link Communications of Princeton, the
Commission concluded that WRNN-TV's claim to "seven to eight substantial news stories per day" was
insufficient to prevent it from being excluded from the cable communities that were within its ADI.  Hearst-
Argyle states that there are only 3 news stories cited that even remotely relate to its system communities. 
WNYT states that the bulk of the program listing provided by WRNN-TV is targeted to the Catskill area,
which includes the areas closest to WRNN-TV and where it is already carried.  WRGB points out that half
of the 87 news reports claimed to be Albany-based are issues of state-wide interest involving state politics or
professional sports while the remaining 79, for areas outside Greene and Columbia counties, relate to only 16
of the total communities.  Young concludes that the programming information provided by WRNN-TV has
gaping holes in its asserted local coverage and many of the core market communities, such as Schenectady and
Troy, have never been provided any local coverage.

E.  Coverage by Other Local Stations

     19.  Many of the parties argue that the instant communities already receive ample local
programming from the stations they currently receive.  Adelphia states that it carries seven must carry stations,
all licensed to communities closer than Kingston, which provide its subscribers with more focused local
programming.  Harron states that it carries 13 stations licensed to communities closer than Kingston, seven
of which provide daily local coverage.  WRGB states that not only is WRNN-TV's absence of local
programming in stark contrast to the presentation made by other stations, but it makes no claim that other
stations fail to provide local programming.  WNYT argues that WRNN-TV is wrong in its assertion that
programming by other stations is irrelevant.  WNYT states that while the Commission has interpreted this
provision as an "enhancement factor," petitioners still bear the burden of persuasion in demonstrating why the
Commission should redraw established boundaries.  WNYT concludes that WRNN-TV's failure to do so
demonstrates that it has not met its burden of persuasion.

F.  Other Arguments

     20.  Several of the parties object to WRNN-TV's request because, if granted, WRNN-TV will be
carried in the core of the Albany market.  This they maintain would eliminate the existence of two different
markets rather than represent a modification as contemplated by the rules.  Time Warner states that WRNN-
TV seeks to invade the heart and fringes of the adjacent Albany ADI.  Indeed, Time Warner points out,
WRNN-TV's request encompasses all 14 counties comprising the Albany market.  WRGB asserts that there
is no basis for granting WRNN-TV such broad must carry rights outside its market, simply because it has lost
ground in its market, particularly when it has made no effort to serve the requested area.  Adelphia maintains
that, in essence, WRNN-TV is asking the Commission to extend its market beyond the over 2 million
households it is currently eligible to serve because its Grade B encompasses some of the subject communities. 
However, Adelphia argues that a grant of WRNN-TV's request would be tantamount to a complete redrawing
of the New York and Albany ADI boundaries, something the Commission has made clear is well beyond its
intended bounds.  Adelphia points out further that WRNN-TV's claim of losing 70 percent of its market to
adverse decisions obscures the fact that in a market such as New York, with 6,749,500 TV households, a 70%
reduction still leaves WRNN-TV with 2,024,850 households.  Adelphia argues that, with the exception of
4 ADIs, a market of over 2 million homes is larger than nearly every other ADI in the country.   

     21.  Harron argues that it is ironic that WRNN-TV relies on previous Commission decisions which
imply that the station may "more aptly serve Albany and its environs" when it has always vehemently opposed
any suggestion of doing so.  Indeed, Harron points out, in Home Link Communications of Princeton, L.P.
and ComVideo Systems, Inc., WRNN-TV argued the opposite when it "urge[d] that this . . . statement was
incorrect and that the Commission wrongly stated that Nielsen has assigned WRNN to the Albany DMA." 
In any event, WRGB argues that the quote WRNN-TV relies on herein about serving the Albany market was
taken out of context and is misleading.   WRGB states that in the case from which it was cited, WRNN-TV
lost "must carry" rights in New Jersey cable communities served by Comcast Cablevision.  WRGB indicates
that the basis for comparison appears to have been Comcast's pleading, in which it claimed that WRNN-TV
"provides coverage of importance to its local viewers in the upstate New York counties of Ulster and Dutchess,
instead of providing local service and coverage of the New York City area."

     22.  A majority of the parties point out that the advertising revenue information provided by
WRNN-TV is inadequate to measure the station's importance in the Albany market.  Time Warner states that
WRNN-TV does not indicate the relative importance of the advertising revenue it receives from the Albany
market in relation to its overall advertising sales.  WRGB argues, therefore, that there is no basis for
comparison with the advertising revenues from WRNN-TV's home market.  Moreover, Time Warner argues
that all or a substantial percentage of the Albany market revenue of WRNN-TV could be attributed solely to
advertisers located in Greene and Columbia counties.  Century/TCI, WRGB, and Harron argue that WRNN-
TV fails to break down the advertising revenue by community or county and it is too general to demonstrate
any nexus to the communities.  WNYT states that the revenue data reveals nothing about WRNN-TV's
audience and that it reflects the fact that some businesses in the Albany market also have businesses in the
Kingston area.  Finally, both Time Warner and WNYT point out that the total advertising revenues reported
by WRNN-TV dropped significantly from 1997 to 1998, suggesting a decline in WRNN-TV's status.

     23.  Finally, Adelphia argues that since all of its affected cable systems are channel-locked, grant
of WRNN-TV's petition would result in the deletion of popular cable programming valued by its subscribers. 
Since its subscribers already receive Albany must carry stations and a New York City station via
retransmission consent, Adelphia maintains that a grant of the instant request would undermine the
Commission's long-standing policy of increasing program diversity.

     24.  In a consolidated reply, WRNN-TV maintains that it meets the four statutory factors and that
grant of its petition is warranted.  WRNN-TV states that not only is it historically carried on several cable
systems serving communities in Albany, Columbia, Greene and Schoharie counties, but several Albany ADI
stations are carried on cable systems near Kingston and other communities in the New York market.  Indeed,
WRNN-TV points out that the Grade B coverage contours of Albany stations WTEN, WRGB, WNYT and
WMHT reach well into the New York ADI from their respective communities of license.  Therefore, WRNN-
TV argues, these stations are direct competitors who have the advantage in that they qualify for carriage
throughout the Albany ADI.  Since the arguments of WTEN, WRGB and WNYT directly contradict their
current carriage outside the Albany market, WRNN-TV asserts that these arguments should be disregarded. 
Further, while Adelphia and WRGB criticize WRNN-TV for its lack of widespread cable carriage in the
Albany market, despite being licensed since 1985, WRNN-TV points out that it only acquired its current
owners in December 1994 and its current format in October 1995.  WRNN-TV maintains that its voluntary
carriage on several Albany-based cable system is "convincing evidence that the [S]tation's programming is of
particular interest to viewers in the area."

     25.  WRNN-TV argues that it has satisfied the second statutory factor because many of the
requested communities are located within the station's City Grade, Grade A and Grade B contours.  Moreover,
WRNN-TV states that the Commission has also concluded that cable communities that lie on the fringe of the
Grade B contour of a given station or close to the station in terms of mileage may be appropriately included
within a station's local market.  WRNN-TV states that several of the communities are located on the fringe
or in close proximity to the Grade B contour in terms of mileage, including Schenectady, which is within a mile
of the Grade B and Bennington which is partially within the Grade B.  In addition, despite the assertions of
several parties, WRNN-TV states that recently performed signal strength tests indicate that a good quality
signal is delivered to test points in Albany, Troy, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Bennington, Pittsfield, Lee, and the
Fly Summit Mountain, New York area.  WRNN-TV maintains that there are no natural barriers to prevent
it from providing coverage to the subject communities.  Indeed, it asserts that the Hudson Valley, which runs
north-south within its coverage area from Kingston to Albany and beyond, provides a natural geographic tie
between the station and the communities.  

     26.  In addition to the programming examples it submitted in its petition, WRNN-TV states that
it includes Albany traffic and weather reports, which are updated every ten minutes, in each daily newscast. 
WRNN-TV states that it also has Albany news listed on its website.  While WRNN-TV admits that for any
station located near a state capital it is to be expected that many of the stories aired will be of interest to
residents throughout the state, it disputes the contention raised in the oppositions that its programming is more
general in nature and not community-specific.  WRNN-TV states that its commitment to providing local service
to the Albany market is shown by the establishment of a separate news bureau to serve that area.  WRNN-TV
states that it is also arranging to provide live news programming for carriage on the New York Network/State
University of New York's ("NYN") "Capital Network."  It points out that no other Albany television station's
news is carried on NYN or provides the amount of regional news, public affairs or community interest
programming that WRNN-TV provides.

     27.       WRNN-TV reargues that the third statutory factor regarding coverage by other stations is
inapplicable to this proceeding and it urges that the relevant arguments raised by the opposing parties  should
be disregarded.  Further, despite the claims of the opposing parties, WRNN-TV asserts that it has measurable
viewer ratings in the Albany market, as evidenced by the February 1999 Nielsen report.  WRNN-TV states
that, assuming that the 7.4% cume rating attributed by Young's opposition to WRNN-TV in Columbia is
correct, it is interesting to note that comparable ratings for CNN, MSNBC and FOX News for the same period
are significantly lower.  WRNN-TV continues that since nearly three quarters, or 74 percent, of the Albany
market households subscribe to cable, they cannot for all practical purposes receive its signal over-the-air. 
Therefore, WRNN-TV argues, unless it receives cable carriage, the vast majority of viewers in the Albany ADI
are not able to watch its station even if they would like to do so.  Indeed, WRNN-TV states that in situations
where a station has gained cable carriage in a heavily-cabled market, it has generated measurable ratings.  For
this reason, WRNN-TV states that the Commission should not penalize it for lower ratings in the heavily-
cabled Albany market.

     28.  While WRGB denounces the 1989 finding of WRNN-TV as significantly viewed in Columbia
and Greene counties as outdated and irrelevant, WRNN-TV maintains that  the information remains accurate
and an important consideration in the modification proceeding.  If nothing else, WRNN-TV argues that
WRNN-TV's significantly viewed status in Greene and Columbia counties favors the addition of at least the
communities within those counties.  Further, WRNN-TV states that it is not only listed in the "On TV" guide
provided by the Times Union, but also the Albany edition of TV Guide, which is available in the Albany market
for all viewers. WRNN-TV argues that these listings indicate that Albany area viewers value its presence in
their market.  With regard to advertising revenues, WRNN-TV states that because several oppositions
criticized it failure to break down the businesses that advertised on its station, it has provided a list herein that
does so.

     29.  Finally, WRNN-TV states that WNYT's cite to Channel 39, Inc., urging the Commission to
deny the instant request because it encroaches on the core of the Albany market is misplaced and out of
context.  WRNN-TV states that a  review of the Channel 39 decision indicates that if the Commission had
granted Miami station WBZL's request to expand into the West Palm Beach ADI, it would have had to grant
the inevitable requests filed by the seven other Miami stations broadcasting from the same antenna farm north
of Miami.  Such a result would have altered the West Palm Beach ADI by essentially merging it with the
Miami ADI, an outcome not intended by Congress.  In contrast, WRNN-TV argues that the addition of one
independent station, isolated from the core of its own ADI, to the core of the Albany ADI will hardly impact,
much less alter the basic structure of that market.  WRNN-TV contends that, despite its inclusion in the New
York ADI, it is tied to the Albany market in several important ways:  a) the Hudson River creates a natural
valley which connects Kingston with Albany; b) commuters and residents routinely travel between the two
areas via Interstate 87 and the Taconic State Parkway; c) businesses in the Hudson Valley area near Kingston
routinely advertise through Albany-market media and vice versa; and d) Albany market stations are carried on
several cable systems located near Kingston.  Given these facts, WRNN-TV concludes that the Commission
should grant its request.

IV.  DISCUSSION

     30.  WRNN-TV is seeking to add 219 communities located in 14 counties in New York,
Massachusetts and Vermont to its New York ADI.  WRNN-TV argues that it sufficiently meets the criteria
with regard to local service and local programming to be considered a local station for the communities in
question.  The opposing parties deny this.  Based on our analysis of the evidence relating to the four statutory
and other relevant factors, WRNN-TV's petition will be granted in part and denied in part.

     31.  New York is the nation's most populous television market.  Geographically, the market
encompasses some 29 counties in four states.  It is roughly 170 miles long and 150 miles wide, stretching
north into Ulster County and the Catskill Mountains and down to the New Jersey coastal counties of Monmouth
and Ocean in the south; Pike County, Pennsylvania is at the westernmost edge of the market which then extends
eastward to include Fairfield County, CT and all of Long Island, NY.  WRNN-TV, licensed to Kingston, New
York, signed on-the-air in 1985 as WTZA, and broadcasts on channel 62 from a transmitter located on
Overlook Mountain in Woodstock, New York.  Albany, the market in which all of the requested communities
are located, is, in terms of population and size, less than half that of New York, encompassing only 14 counties
in three states.  The requested communities range, on average, anywhere from 14 to 129 miles away from
Kingston, WRNN-TV's city of license.  The relationship of many of the requested communities is affected by
such natural barriers as the Catskill Mountains.  

     32.  Historic Carriage.  While WRNN-TV does have a history of carriage on five cable systems
serving communities located in Columbia, Greene, Albany and Schoharie counties, there is no evidence that
it is carried on nearby cable systems serving the remainder of the requested communities.  While carriage on
nearby cable systems is not a factor specified in the statute, such carriage has been considered as demonstrating
that the station at issue has a nexus with other nearby communities.  In this instance, nearby carriage has not
been demonstrated.  It should also be noted that WRNN-TV appears to be listed only in general distribution
newspapers serving Greene and Columbia Counties, the Albany edition of TV Guide and the "On TV" guide
provided by Albany's Time Union newspaper.  

     33.  Viewership.   WRNN-TV has been operating as a full-power television station since 1985. 
It was able to achieve significantly viewed status in Columbia and Greene counties based on viewership levels
it achieved within its first three years of operation.  WRNN-TV is not considered to be significantly viewed
in any of the other instant counties nor, except for Columbia County, does it achieve any ratings in the subject
counties.  We note that, due to its all-news format, WRNN-TV may have less opportunity to attract
viewership than a typical commercial station.

     34.  Local Programming.  WRNN-TV contends that its all news program format provides
valuable programming services to the instant communities.  However, we are not convinced that such
programming, while of potential general interest, is the kind that suggests that the requested communities, in
total, are a particular focus of the station or are in any sense served in a manner that establishes a specific
market connection.      

     35.  Coverage by Other Stations.  In general, in instances where other stations eligible to be
carried serve the communities in question, we do not believe that Congress intended this criterion to operate
as a bar to a station's ADI claim whenever other stations could also be shown to serve the communities at issue. 
Rather, we believe that this criterion was intended to enhance a station's claim where it could be shown that
other stations do not serve the communities at issue.

     36.  Station Coverage of Communities.  With respect to coverage, the Commission stated in its
Must Carry Order, supra, that "to show that the station provides coverage or other local service to the cable
communities, parties may demonstrate that the station places at least a Grade B coverage contour over the cable
communities or is located close to the community in terms of mileage."  WRNN-TV claims that its predicted
Grade B contour encompasses the majority of the requested communities.  Our review, however, indicates that
less than half of the subject communities either lie within or are on the  fringe of WRNN-TV's Grade B
contour.  Moreover, we note that a Longley-Rice propagation study submitted by WNYT indicates that even
within its predicted Grade B contour, WRNN-TV's signal provides spotty coverage in some areas and virtually
no signal is provided in areas outside the station's Grade B contour. 

V.  CONCLUSION
     
     37.  In reaching our conclusion, we have considered the statutory factors as well as other relevant
information.  WRNN-TV has limited historic carriage in 36 of the 219 communities in question (factor I),
provides little specifically-directed local programming to the communities (factor II), and has measured
audience in only one of the counties in which the communities are located.  Given the statutory directive, weight
must be given to these factors, but that must be done bearing in mind that the objective of the Section 614(h)
process is to "better effectuate the purposes" of the broadcast signal carriage scheme.  Thus, with respect to
the question of historical carriage patterns, attention must be paid to the circumstances from which such
patterns developed.  Some stations have not had the opportunity to build a record of historical carriage for
specific reasons that do not necessarily reflect a judgment as to the geography of the market involved.  Given
the age of WRNN-TV and the terrain involved, however, that does not appear to be the circumstance here.  

     38.  Given the difficulties of relying exclusively and explicitly on the statutory factors of historical
carriage and viewing patterns, which in certain circumstances could severely narrow the carriage rights of
stations even within what is undeniably their local market area, we have found it helpful to focus also on factors
that are less influenced by the type of station involved or historical carriage, especially in instances such as here
when the station had a specialty format.  The scope of a local station's market may be measured through
geographic means by examining the distance between the station and the cable communities subject to the
request and by taking into account natural phenomena such as waterways, mountains, and valleys that may tend
to separate communities and define natural markets -- basic geographic, demographic and political features
that provide the best available evidence of the market boundaries of the stations involved.  In the absence of
other information, station service contours also provide at least one objective measure of the scope of a station's
local market.   In the case herein, we find that, in view of the natural barriers inherent in the region in which
the requested communities are located, WRNN-TV's predicted Grade B contour alone cannot be relied on as
an accurate representation of the station's actual over-the-air coverage or the scope of its market.  Longley-Rice
propagation studies, however, take such factors as terrain into account and can be of help in determining a
station's actual service area.  Moreover, since such studies have been used in a variery of contexts, including
both analog and digital television, and are generally useful in demonstrating the effects of irregular terrain, we
find their use of probative value in modification cases.  We therefore accept WNYT's Longley-Rice submission
as supporting evidence in this case. 

     39.  Upon review, we do not agree with WRNN-TV that it provides a Grade B or better signal to
a majority of the communities.  Relying solely on WRNN-TV's Grade B coverage, it is evident that only five
of the 14 counties are encompassed by the station's Grade B contour, either wholly or in major part.  In
addition, small portions of two other counties lie just within the Grade B contour.  That leaves 7 counties,
and the majority of two others, completely outside WRNN-TV's Grade B contour.  If one looks at the Longley-
Rice propagation study presented, WRNN-TV's coverage shrinks even further.  Outside of Columbia County
and portions of Greene and Rensselaer County, WRNN-TV's coverage appears spotty at best, while the
majority of counties appear to receive no Grade B service at all.  Such spotty coverage is a clear indication that
the natural barriers found in a majority of the region precludes over-the-air reception of WRNN-TV's signal
in all but a few instances. Adding this factor to WRNN-TV's lack of historic carriage in a majority of the
communities, and its general lack of specific programming and viewership, we conclude that it cannot be used
to justify grant of WRNN-TV's request for communities located in the counties of Rennselaer, Saratoga,
Schoharie, Albany, Montgomery, Fulton, Schenectady, Washington, Hamilton, and Warren, New York;
Berkshire, Massachusetts; and Bennington, Vermont.  For communities in the counties of Greene and
Columbia, New York, however, the factors weigh in favor of a grant, particulary given the close geographic
distance and historic carriage.  Moreover, WRNN-TV appears to provide a consistent over-the-air signal to
this region.  In addition, while we decline to grant WRNN-TV its request relative to all of the requested
communities in the counties of Schoharie and Albany, New York, we grant WRNN-TV's request with regard
to the six communities in these two counties in which it is historically carried.  Those communities are
Bethlehem, Coeymans, Ravena Village and Westerlo in Albany County, and Summit and Jefferson in Schoharie
County.  In general, we find that the areas we grant today, where WRNN-TV is historically carried, defines
the limit of their market to the southernmost portion of the Albany ADI.  Because the counties of Greene and
Columbia and the six specified communities cannot be said to constitute the core of the Albany market, there
is little danger that the limited grant of must carry rights to WRNN-TV will pose serious harm to the structure
of the Albany market as a whole.  

VI.  ORDERING CLAUSES

     40.  Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to 614(h) of the Communications Act of 1934,
as amended, 47 U.S.C. 534(h) and 76.59 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. 76.59, that the petition for
special relief (CSR-5392-A) filed on behalf of WRNN-TV Associates Limited Partnership IS GRANTED IN
PART with respect to the communities of Bethlehem, Coeymans, Ravena Village Westerlo, Summit, Jefferson,
Durham, Athens Village, Athens, Cairo, Catskill Village, Catskill, Coxsackie Village, Coxsackie, Greenville,
New Baltimore, Tannersville Village, Hunter, Hunter Village, Jewett, Lexington, Claverack, Gallatin,
Greenport, Hudson, Livingston, Philmont Village, Stockport, Clermont, Germantown, Ancram, Chatham
Village, Chatham, Austerlitz, Canaan, Hillsdale, Ghent, Copake, New Lebanon, Kinderhook Village,
Stuyvesant Village, Valatie Village, and Kinderhook, New York, and IS OTHERWISE DENIED.

     41.  This action is taken pursuant to authority delegated by Section 0.321 of the Commission's
Rules.

                         FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION




                         William H. Johnson
                         Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau
                         
                                
                                
                                
                                
                                
                           APPENDIX 

The communities listed in WRNN-TV's petition are the following:

                                             Distance  
                                             to        
Community           County         CUID      Kingston^ 

Albany              Albany, NY          NY0338    52                  
Altamont Village         " "            NY1172    54              
Berne (Town)             " "            NY1567    48              
Cohoes              " "            NY0582    60                           
Colonie (Town)      " "            NY0336    55              
Colonie Village          " "            NY0335    55                  
Green Island Village          " "            NY0670    59              
Guilderland (Town)       " "            NY0337    54              
Knox (Town)              " "            NY1566    52              
Menands Village          " "            NY0339    54              
Watervliet               " "            NY0340    57              
Rensselaerville (Town)        " "            NY1546    41              
Bethlehem (Town)         " "            NY1188    --               
Coeymans (Town)          " "            NY0677    39               
Ravena Village      " "            NY1191    39                
Westerlo (Town)          " "            NY1584    40               
Latham**            " "            NY0644    58              
New Scotland**      " "            NY0980    48              
Loudonville#**      " "                 --   55              

Brunswick (Town)         Rensselaer, NY NY0509    60              
East Greenbush (Town)    " "            NY0596    48              
Pittstown (Town)         " "            NY1534    68              
Schaghticoke (Town)      " "            NY0796    70                     
Schaghticoke Village          " "            NY0996    70                     
Troy                " "            NY0352    58              
Valley Falls Village          " "            NY1167    71                     
Berlin (Town)            " "            NY1583    62              
Hoosick Falls Village         " "            NY1118    75                     
Hoosick (Town)      " "            NY1117    73                           
N. Hoosick (area)        " "            NY1270    77                     
Rensselaer               " "            NY0639    51              
North Greenbush          " "            NY0616    --              

Clifton Park (Town)      Saratoga, NY        NY0668    65                     
Halfmoon (Town)          " "            NY0742    64                     
Mechanicville            " "            NY0643    69                     
Stillwater (Town)        " "            NY0836    73                     
Stillwater Village       " "            NY0837    73                     
Waterford (Town)         " "            NY0589    62                           
Waterford Village        " "            NY0588    62                           
Galway (Town)       " "            NY1595    75                     
Galway Village      " "            NY1630    75                     
Corinth Village          " "            NY0698    91                     
Corinth (Town)      " "            NY0957    91                     
Hadley (Town)       " "            NY1322    96                     
Moreau (Town)       " "            NY0540    --                     
Day (Town)               " "            NY1562    --                     
Edinburg (Town)          " "            NY1561    89                     
Ballston (Town)          " "            NY0800    --                     
Charlton (Town)          " "            NY0928    69                     
Ballston Spa Village          " "            NY0689    75                     
Greenfield (Town)        " "            NY0686    81                     
Malta (Town)             " "            NY0852    73                     
Milton (Town)            " "            NY0650    --                     
Round Lake Village       " "            NY0853    70                     
Saratoga Springs         " "            NY0397    79                     
Wilton (Town)            " "            NY0688    87                     
S. Glen Falls Village         " "            NY0388    --                     
Northumberland (Town)    " "            NY1376    85                     
Saratoga (Town)          " "            NY1168    --                     
Schuylerville Village         " "            NY0993    84                     
     
Victory Mills Village         " "            NY0994    83                     

Wright (Town)            Schoharie, NY       NY1586    --              
Blenheim (Town)          " "            NY1663    --              
Broome (Town)       " "            NY1664    41              
Fulton (Town)*      " "            NY1665/   --              
                                   NY1234    
Middleburgh (Town)*      " "            NY1666/   49                  
     
                                   MY1238
Schoharie (Town)*        " "            NY1668/   53              
                                   NY0984
Schoharie Village*       " "            NY1669/   53              
                                   NY0985
Summit (Town)*      " "            NY1670/   54                      
                                   NY1517
Cobleskill Village       " "            NY0987    57                     
Cobleskill (Town)        " "            NY0986    57                     
Esperance Village        " "            NY1303    59                           
Esperance (Town)         " "            NY1233    59                           
Middleburgh Village      " "            NY0069    49              
Richmondville Village         " "            NY0988    57                     
Richmondville (Town)          " "            NY0989    57                     
Schoharie Village        " "            NY0985    53              
Seward (Town)       " "            NY1235    63                     
Sharon Springs Village   " "            NY1237    68                     
Jefferson (Town)         " "            NY1548    49                      

Durham (Town)       Greene, NY          NY1545    34              
Athens Village           " "            NY0344    25               
Athens (Town)            " "            NY0345    25               
Cairo (Town)             " "            NY1190    26               
Catskill Village         " "            NY0342    21              
Catskill (Town)          " "            NY0341    21                
Coxsackie Village        " "            NY1192    31              
Coxsackie (Town)         " "            NY0817    31              
Greenville (Town)        " "            NY1264    34              
New Baltimore            " "            NY0712    37              
Tannersville Village          " "            NY0697    20              
Hunter (Town)            " "            NY0698    22             
Hunter Village           " "            NY0699    22              
Jewett (Town)            " "            NY1450    28              
Lexington (Town)*        " "            NY1649/   29             
                                        NY0919/
                                   NY0298

Claverack (Town)         Columbia, NY        NY1189    24              
Gallatin (Town)          " "            NY1661    18              
Greenport (Town)         " "            NY0569    --              
Hudson              " "            NY0343    25              
Livingston (Town)        " "            NY1469    18              
Philmont Village         " "            NY0818    28              
Stockport (Town)         " "            NY0820    29              
Clermont (Town)          " "            NY1487    14              
Germantown (Town)        " "            NY1204    15              
Ancram (Town)       " "            NY1568    20              
Chatham Village          " "            NY1569    36              
Chatham (Town)      " "            NY1570    36              
Austerlitz (Town)        " "            NY1571    38              
Canaan (Town)       " "            NY1572    44              
Hillsdale (Town)         " "            NY1573    30              
Ghent (Town)             " "            NY1574    34              
Copake (Town)       " "            NY1575    26              
New Lebanon (Town)       " "            NY1582    48              
Kinderhook Village       " "            NY1658    --              
Stuyvesant Village       " "            NY1659    34              
Valatie Village               " "            NY1660    37              
Kinderhook (Town)        " "            NY1681    35              

Amsterdam           Montgomery,         NYNY0355  71                     
Amsterdam (Town)         " "            NY0879    --                     
Florida (Town)      " "            NY0770    --                     
Fonda Village            " "            NY0696    73                     
Fort Johnson Village          " "            NY0455    72                     
Fultonville Village      " "            NY0695    73                     
Glen (Town)              " "            NY1609    69                     
Hagaman Vaillage         " "            NY0456    73                     
Mohawk (Town)       " "            NY0678    --                     
Root (Town)*             " "            NY1594    --                     
                                   NY1646
Canajoharie (Town)       " "            NY1498    73                     
Canajoharie Village      " "            NY0253    73                     
Fort Plain Village       " "            NY0254    76                     
Minden (Town)       " "            NY1496    82                     
Nelliston Village        " "            NY0255    76                     
Palatine Bridge Village  " "            NY0257    74                     
Palatine (Town)          " "            NY1497    74                     
St. Johns (Town)         " "            NY1499    --                     
St. Johnsville Village        " "            NY0258    82                     

Broadalbin Village       Fulton, NY          NY0754    79                     
Broadalbin (Town)        " "            NY0926    79                     
Mayfield (Town)*         " "            NY0755/   82                     
                                   NY0935
Perth (Town)             " "            NY0746    76                     
Gloversville             " "            NY0429    79                     
Johnstown                " "            NY0428    77                     
Johnstown (Town)         " "            NY0934    --                     
Mayfield Village         " "            NY0936    82                     
Northville Village       " "            NY0971    90                     
Northampton (Town)       " "            NY1098    --                     

Niskayuna (Town)         Schenectady,        NYNY0410  61                     
Rotterdam (Town)         " "            NY0411    59                     
Scotia Village                " "            NY0412    62                     
Schenectady              " "            NY0407    60                     
Glenville (Town)         " "            NY0409    69                     
Delanson Village         " "            NY1304    57              
Duanesburg (Town)        " "            NY1305    58                     

Argyle Village           Washington, NY NY1613    94                     
Argyle (Town)            " "            NY1614    94                     
Granville Village        " "            NY0279    109                    
Middle Granville (Town)  " "            NY0280    110                    
Fort Ann (Town)          " "            NY1357    106                    
Fort Edward Village      " "            NY0541    95                     
Fort Edward (Town)       " "            NY0536    95                     
Hudson Falls Village          " "            NY0537    97                     
Kingsbury (Town)         " "            NY0535    102                    
Whitehall Village        " "            NY0098    116                    
Whitehall (Town)         " "            NY1539    116                    
Fort Ann Village         " "            NY1020    106                    
Cambridge Village        " "            NY0992    82                     
Cambridge (Town)         " "            NY1106    82                     
Easton (Town)            " "            NY1093    77                     
Greenwich Village        " "            NY0995    84                     
Greenwich (Town)         " "            NY1026    84                     
Jackson (Town)      " "            NY1073    --                     
Salem Village            " "            NY0091    92                     
Salem (Town)             " "            NY1072    92                     

Long Lake           Hamilton, NY        NY0229    143                    
Wells (Town)             " "            NY1273    102                    
Lake Pleasant (Town)          " "            NY1279    108                    
Speculator Village       " "            NY1353    116                    
Indian Lake (Town)       " "            NY1467    129                    
Johnsburg                " "            NY1468    --                     

Lake Luzerne (Town)      Warren, NY          NY0694    96                     
Queensbury (Town)        " "            NY0534    102                    
Bolton (Town)            " "            NY0898    112                    
Chester (Town)      " "            NY1249    --                     
Glen Falls               " "            NY0322    --                     
Horicon (Town)      " "            NY1250    --                     
Lake George Village      " "            NY0386    104                    
Lake George (Town)       " "            NY0387    104                    
Warrensburg (Town)       " "            NY0389    109                    

Adams (Town)             Berkshire, MA       MA0001    66              
Cheshire (Town)          " "            MA0002    61              
Clarksburg (Town)        " "            MA0003    --              
North Adams              " "            MA0004    69              
Williamstown (Town)      " "            MA0005    67              
Great Barrington (Town)  " "            MA0008    38              
Lee (Town)               " "            MA0009    46              
Lenox (Town)             " "            MA0010    47              
Stockbridge (Town)       " "            MA0011    43              
Sheffield (Town)         " "            MA0346    35              
Dalton (Town)            " "            MA0027    57              
Pittsfield               " "            MA0028    52              
Richmond (Town)          " "            MA0096    44              
West Stockbridge (Town)  " "            MA0311    43              
Lanesborough (Town)      " "            MA0300    57              

Bennington (Town)        Bennington,         VTVT0025  77                     
N. Bennington Village         " "            VT0092    79                     
Old Bennington Village   " "            VT0091    77                     
Pownal (Town)       " "            VT0156    70              
Shaftsbury (Town)        " "            VT0026    85                     
Woodford            " "            VT0157    81                     
Arlington (Town)         " "            VT0033    90                     
East Arlington           " "            VT0186    89                     
East Dorset              " "            VT0136    103                    
Manchester (Town)*       " "            VT0036/   97                     
                                   VT0187
South Dorset             " "            VT0185    101                    
Sunderland (Town)        " "            VT0159    94                     
West Arlington           " "            VT0169    90                     
Winhall (Town)      " "            VT0065    --                     
Readsboro           " "            VT0075    79                     


*These communities were listed more than once in the list provided by WRNN-TV, but with different CUID
numbers.  Since they are apparently the same community in each case, but served by more than one cable
system, as evidenced by the separate CUID number, there is no need to count the community more than once
for the purposes of this order.  In addition, we noted 22 duplications of communities with the same CUID
number on WRNN-TV's list.  Those duplications have been eliminated herein.

**WRNN-TV indicated in its reply that these 2 communities, served by A-R Cablevision, were located in
Renssalaer County.  Our records indicate, however, that they are located in Albany County.  Since A-R
Cablevision apparently serves communities located in Renssalaer, Albany and Columbia Counties, these
communities are likely to be those referenced by WRNN-TV.

#There was no CUID number listed for this community.  Apparently, it has never been registered.

^where known