Opinion ID: 2506
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Grade B Contour

Text: In its 1997 FCC Order involving Cablevision and WRNN, the Commission stated that Grade B contour coverage, in the absence of other determinative market facts (i.e.[,] ... a terrain obstacle such as a mountain range or a significant body of water), is an efficient tool to adjust market boundaries. 1997 FCC Order, 12 F.C.C.R. at 12271 ¶ 17. Cablevision contends that the Hudson River, the Long Island Sound, and the skyline of New York City constitute such terrain obstacles, and it was therefore inconsistent with the 1997 FCC Order for the FCC and the Bureau to weigh Grade B contour in WRNN's favor here. Cablevision Br. at 38. The 1997 FCC Order itself forcefully rejects this reasoning, because it explicitly endorses the use of Grade B contour as proof of market in the New York City DMA the same context in which Cablevision now contends that relying on Grade B contour is inappropriate. Because the 1997 FCC Order establishes, rather than refutes, the relevance of Grade B contour in market modifications within the New York City DMA, the FCC's decision here is consistent with its precedent.