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File how2ftp (.txt & .wp) is in directory \pub\Public_Notices\Miscellaneous. ***************************************************************** ******** $//Telerama, Inc., Pepper Pike, OH, MO&O, DA 95-1503//$ $/76.922 Rates for Cable Programming Service tiers/$ $/benchmark cable rates/$ Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 DA 95-1503 In the Matter of ) ) Telerama, Inc. ) CUID No. OH1062 (Pepper Pike) ) Benchmark Filing to Support ) Cable Programming Service Price ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Adopted: July 5, 1995 Released: July 12, 1995 By the Chief, Financial Analysis and Compliance Division, Cable Services Bureau: 1. Here we consider a complaint about the price the above-captioned operator ("Operator") was charging for its cable programming service ("CPS") tier in the community referenced above. Operator has chosen to attempt to justify its price through a benchmark showing on FCC Form 393. This Order addresses the reasonableness of Operator's price only through May 14, 1994. At a later time we will issue a separate order addressing the reasonableness of the price after that date. 2. Under the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, and our rules implementing it, 47 C.F.R. Part 76, Subpart N, the Commission must review CPS prices upon the filing of a complete and timely complaint. The filing of a complete and timely complaint triggers an obligation on behalf of the cable operator to file a justification of its CPS prices. Under our rules, an operator may attempt to justify its prices through either a benchmark showing or a cost-of-service showing. In either case, the operator has the burden of demonstrating that its CPS prices are not unreasonable. 3. The Commission's original rate regulations took effect on September 1, 1993. The Commission subsequently revised its rate regulations effective May 15, 1994. Operators with complete and timely CPS complaints filed against them prior to May 15, 1994 must demonstrate that their CPS prices were in compliance with the Commission's initial rules from the time the complaint was filed through May 14, 1994, and that their prices were in compliance with the revised rules from May 15, 1994 forward. Operators attempting to justify their prices for the period prior to May 15, 1994 through a benchmark showing must complete and file FCC Form 393. Generally, to justify their prices for the period beginning May 15, 1994 through a benchmark showing, operators must use the FCC Form 1200 series. 4. Operator asserts that its monthly CPS price is justified by its benchmark filing, but its actual price is higher than the maximum permitted charge as calculated in the filing. Upon review of Operator's Form 393 filing, we have found that it has not correctly calculated its maximum permitted price, and it is therefore appropriate to make the following adjustments to Operator's calculations on Form 393: a. Operator's calculations for its rate-regulated package as of the initial date of regulation (Form 393, Part I, and Form 393, Part II, Worksheet 1) reflect 10 basic tier channels and 21 CPS tier channels. However, these calculations were based on a channel line-up effective prior to the initial date of regulation. Based on the channel line-up which was effective on February 28, 1994, the initial date of regulation, there were 11 basic tier channels and 20 CPS tier channels. We have therefore changed Part II, Worksheet 1, Line 102A from 10 to 11 and changed Part II, Line 102B from 21 to 20. This has the effect of reducing the number of channels on the CPS tier in Part I. b. In its Form 393 filing, Operator calculated the Inflation Adjustment Factor (line 127, Worksheet 1, Part II) as of the end of May 1994 using data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce on March 31, 1994. However, Operator's use of May 1994 as the date through which it calculated the inflation adjustment is impermissible. Operator was required to file a justification of its CPS price no later than March 30, 1994. If Operator had filed its justification in a timely fashion, the instructions to Form 393 would have required it to calculate the inflation adjustment only through February 1994. Operator cannot be permitted to claim an additional inflation adjustment simply because it filed Form 393 late. We must therefore recalculate the Inflation Adjustment Factor on the basis of the most accurate data currently available for the date on which Operator should have filed. On July 29, 1994, the Department of Commerce released corrected inflation data including Gross National Product Price Index ("GNP-PI") figures of 122.3 for the third quarter of 1992 and 126.5 for the fourth quarter of 1993. Using these GNP-PI figures, we calculate 1.043 as the Inflation Adjustment Factor through February 1994, the base date Operator should have used. 5. After making these adjustments, we find that Operator's actual price did not exceed its maximum permitted CPS price. 6. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to Section 0.321 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.321, that the complaint referenced herein against the cable programming service price charged by Operator in the community referenced above IS DENIED TO THE EXTENT INDICATED HEREIN. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION JoAnn Lucanik Chief, Financial Analysis and Compliance Division Cable Services Bureau