34408 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 128 / Tuesday, July 2, 1996 / Proposed Rules

International Transcription Services,

Inc., 2100 M Street, NW., Suite 140,

Washington, DC 20037, (202) 857–3800.

Provisions of the Regulatory

Flexibility Act of l980 do not apply to

this proceeding.

Members of the public should note

that from the time a Notice of Proposed

Rule Making is issued until the matter

is no longer subject to Commission

consideration or court review, all ex

parte contacts are prohibited in

Commission proceedings, such as this

one, which involve channel allotments.

See 47 CFR 1.1204(b) for rules

governing permissible ex parte contact.

For information regarding proper

filing procedures for comments, see 47

CFR 1.415 and 1.420.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73

Radio broadcasting.

Federal Communications Commission.

John A. Karousos,

Chief, Allocations Branch, Policy and Rules

Division, Mass Media Bureau.

[FR Doc. 96–16763 Filed 7–1–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–F

47 CFR Part 76

[CS Docket No. 96–139; DA 96–1012]

Cable Television Service; List of Major

Television Markets

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Commission, through this

action, invites comments on its proposal

to amend its rules regarding the listing

of major television markets, to change

the designation of the Houston

television market to include the

communities of Baytown, Galveston,

Alvin, Rosenberg, Katy and Conroe,

Texas. This action is taken at the request

of Pray, Inc., licensee of television

station KRTW(TV), Channel 57

(presently KVVV), Baytown, Texas and

it is taken to test the proposal for market

hyphenation through the record

established based on comments filed by

interested parties.

DATES: Comments are due on or before

August 26, 1996 and reply comments

are due on or before September 16,

1996.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications

Commission, 1919 M Street, NW,

Washington, DC 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Vanessa Stallings, Cable Services

Bureau, (202) 418–7200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

synopsis of the Commission’s Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking, CS Docket 96–

139, adopted June 21, 1996 and released

June 24, 1996.

The full text of this decision is

available for inspection and copying

during normal business hours in the

FCC Reference Center (Room 239), 1919

M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20554,

and may be purchased from the

Commission’s copy contractor,

International Transcription Service,

(202) 857–3800, 1919 M Street, NW,

Washington, D.C. 20554.

Synopsis of the Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking

1. The Commission, in response to a

Petition for Rulemaking filed by the

petitioner, proposed to amend Section

76.51 of the Rules to add the

communities of Baytown, Galveston,

Alvin, Rosenberg, Katy and Conroe to

the Houston television market.

2. In evaluating past requests for

hyphenation of a market, the

Commission has considered the

following factors as relevant to its

examination: (1) the distance between

the existing designated communities

and the community proposed to be

added to the designation; (2) whether

cable carriage, if afforded to the subject

station, would extend to areas beyond

its Grade B signal coverage area; (3) the

presence of a clear showing of a

particularized need by the station

requesting the change of market

designation; and (4) an indication of

benefit to the public from the proposed

change. Each of these factors helps the

Commission to evaluate individual

market conditions consistent ‘‘with the

underlying competitive purpose of the

market hyphenation rule to delineate

areas where stations can and do, both

actually and logically, compete.’’

3. Based on the facts presented, the

Commission believes that a sufficient

case for redesignation of the subject

market has been set forth so that this

proposal should be tested through the

rule making process, including the

comments of interested parties. It

appears from the information before the

Commission that the television stations

licensed to Houston, Baytown,

Galveston, Alvin, Rosenberg, Katy and

Conroe, Texas do compete throughout

much of the proposed combined market

area, and that sufficient evidence has

been presented tending to demonstrate

commonality between the proposed

communities to be added to the market

designation and the market as a whole

that ‘‘hyphenation’’ of the market

should be proposed. Moreover, the

petitioners’ proposal appears to be

consistent with the Commission’s

policies regarding redesignation of a

hyphenated television market.

Accordingly, comment is requested on

the proposed addition of Baytown,

Galveston, Alvin, Rosenberg, Katy and

Conroe to the Houston, Texas television

market.

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

4. The Commission certifies that the

Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 does

not apply to this rulemaking proceeding

because if the proposed rule amendment

is promulgated, there will not be a

significant economic impact on a

substantial number of small business

entities, as defined by Section 601(3) of

the Regulatory Flexibility Act. A few

cable television system operators will be

affected by the proposed rule

amendment. The Secretary shall send a

copy of this Notice of Proposed

Rulemaking, including the certification,

to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the

Small Business Administration in

accordance with paragraph 603(a) of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act. Public Law

No. 96–354, 94 Stat. 1164, 5 U.S.C.

Section 601 et seq. (1981).

Ex Parte

5. This is a non-restricted notice and

comment rulemaking proceeding. Ex

parte presentations are permitted,

provided they are disclosed as provided

in the Commission’s Rules. See

generally 47 CFR §§ 1.1202, 1.1203 and

1.1206(a).

Comment Dates

6. Pursuant to applicable procedures

set forth in §§ 1.415 and 1.419 of the

Commission’s Rules, interested parties

may file comments on or before August

26, 1996 and reply comments on or

before September 16, 1996. All relevant

and timely comments will be

considered before final action is taken

in this proceeding. To file formally in

this proceeding, participants must file

an original and four copies of all

comments, reply comments, and

supporting comments. If participants

want each Commissioner to receive a

personal copy of their comments, an

original plus nine copies must be filed.

Comments and reply comments should

be sent to the Office of the Secretary,

Federal Communications Commission,

Washington, D.C. 20554. Comments and

reply comments will be available for

public inspection during regular

business hours in the FCC Reference

Center (Room 239) of the Federal

Communications Commission, 1919 M

Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20554.

7. This action is taken pursuant to

authority delegated by Section 0.321 of

the Commission’s Rules.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 128 / Tuesday, July 2, 1996 / Proposed Rules 34409

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 76

Cable television.

Federal Communications Commission.

William H. Johnson,

Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau.

[FR Doc. 96–16819 Filed 7–1–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P

47 CFR Part 76

[CS Docket No. 96–133, FCC 96–265]

Annual Assessment of the Status of

Competition in the Market for the

Delivery of Video Programming

AGENCY: Federal Communications

Commission.

ACTION: Notice of inquiry.

SUMMARY: The Commission is required

to report annually to Congress on the

status of competition in the market for

the delivery of video programming

pursuant to Section 628(g) of the

Communications Act of 1934, as

amended. On June 12, 1996, the

Commission adopted a Notice of Inquiry

to solicit information from the public for

use in preparing the competition report

that is to be submitted to Congress in

December 1996. The Notice of Inquiry

will provide parties with an opportunity

to submit comments and information to

be used in conjunction with publicly

available information and filings

submitted in relevant Commission

proceedings to assess the extent of

competition in the market for the

delivery of video programming.

DATES: Comments are due by July 19,

1996, and reply comments are due by

August 19, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Federal Communications

Commission, Washington, D.C. 20554.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Marcia Glauberman, Cable Services

Bureau, (202) 418–7200, or Jeffrey

Lanning, Office of the General Counsel,

(202) 418–1880.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a

synopsis of the Commission’s Notice of

Inquiry in CS Docket No. 96–133, FCC

96–265, adopted June 12, 1996, and

released June 13, 1996. The complete

text of this Notice of Inquiry is available

for inspection and copying during

normal business hours in the FCC

Reference Center (Room 239), 1919 M

Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20554,

and may also be purchased from the

Commission’s copy contractor,

International Transcription Service

(202) 857–3800, 1900 M Street, N.W.,

Washington, D.C. 20054.

Synopsis of the Notice of Inquiry

1. Section 628(g) of the

Communications Act of 1934, as

amended (‘‘Communications Act’’), 47

U.S.C. § 548(g), requires the

Commission to deliver an annual report

to Congress on the status of competition

in the market for the delivery of video

programming. The Commission

submitted its first two reports to

Congress in September 1994 and

December 1995, respectively.

2. The Notice of Inquiry (‘‘NOI’’ ) is

designed to solicit comments and

information that the Commission can

use to prepare its 1996 Competition

Report. Specifically, the NOI requests

information on the cable industry,

existing and potential competitors to

cable systems, barriers to entry by new

competitors, technological advances and

the effects of the 1996 Act on

competition in the market for the

delivery of video programming. The

Commission expects to use the

information that is submitted by

commenters to supplement publicly

available information and relevant

comments that have been filed in other

Commission proceedings. The NOI

highlights a wide range of competitive

issues, and offers parties an opportunity

to submit comments on these issues, as

well as any other information they

believe is relevant to an evaluation of

competition in the market for the

delivery of video programming.

3. The NOI begins with an overview

of the 1996 Act, including a summary of

the provisions that may promote

competition among multichannel video

programming distributors (‘‘MVPDs’’).

These provisions include: (1) repeal of

the cable-telco cross-ownership ban; (2)

creation of the open video system

(‘‘OVS’’) option for local exchange

carrier (‘‘LEC’’) entry into the market for

the delivery of video programming; (3)

deregulation of small cable systems; (4)

expansion of the definition of effective

competition; and (5) elimination under

a number of circumstances of the

uniform cable service rate structure

requirement for similarly situated

subscribers.

4. The NOI then seeks information

and comment on the status of the

different MVPDs that serve subscribers

in the market for the delivery of video

programming and the changes that have

occurred in the past year. The MVPDs

include cable television (including

overbuilds), multipoint multichannel

distribution service (‘‘MMDS’’ or

‘‘wireless cable’’), direct broadcast

satellites (‘‘DBS’’) and home satellite

dishes (‘‘HSDs’’), and satellite master

antenna television (‘‘SMATV’’) systems.

The Commission also seeks information

on potential rivals for incumbent cable

systems, such as open video systems

built by LECs.

5. The NOI asks a variety of questions

concerning each of these video service

providers and solicits information

regarding barriers to entry and the

nature of the services they provide. The

NOI also indicates that the Commission

intends to examine the effects on

competition of broadcast television

service, video cassette recorders

(‘‘VCRs’’) and interactive video and data

services (‘‘IVDS’’).

6. The Commission observes that

there are technological advances that

may affect the structure of the market

for the delivery of video programming.

In this regard, the NOI solicits

information on digital compression,

hybridization of different transmission

media, and developments in set-top

boxes and switched digital services.

7. In the NOI, the Commission

requests comment on the structure of

the market for the delivery of video

programming and the effect of this

structure on competition. The

Commission expects to explore the

status of horizontal concentration and

vertical integration in the cable

television industry and to analyze the

market structure conditions that may

affect competition in the market for the

delivery of video programming.

Information is requested also to help the

Commission evaluate the effects on

competition of the Commission’s

program access, program carriage,

channel occupancy, and leased

commercial access rules.

8. The NOI also requests comment on

the current effects of actual or potential

competition in local markets where

consumers have, or soon will have, a

choice between MVPDs. The

Commission further requests

information on any existing or potential

impediments to entry into the market

for the delivery of video programming.

Finally, comment is sought on the

outlook for competition in the future.

Administrative Matters

Ex Parte

9. There are no ex parte or disclosure

requirements applicable to this

proceeding pursuant to 47 CFR

§ 1.1204(a)(4).

Comment Dates

10. Pursuant to applicable procedures

set forth in Sections 1.415 and 1.419 of

the Commission’s Rules, 47 CFR

§§ 1.415 and 1.419, interested parties

may file comments on or before July 19,

1996, and reply comments on or before