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$// MO&O denying KTEN carriage in Grayson Co., TX, DA 95-2372 //$ 
$/ 76.55 Definitions applicable to the must-carry rules. /$
$/ 76.56 Signal carriage obligations. /$

                                Before the
                     FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                           Washington, DC  20554

                                                                 DA 95-2372
In re:          )
     )
KTEN Television Limited Partnership    )                CSR-4599-M
Ada, Oklahoma   )
     )
Request for Declaratory Ruling   )

                       MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

     Adopted:  November 20, 1995                                   Released: December 4, 1995
By the Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau:

                               INTRODUCTION

     1.  KTEN Television Limited Partnership, licensee of Television Broadcast Station
KTEN (Fox, Channel 10), Ada, Oklahoma has filed a "Request For Declaratory Ruling"
seeking verification of its interpretation of 76.54(b)(4) of the Commission's Rules [47 CFR
76.54(b)(4)] and 614(b)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended [47 U. S. C.
534(b)(2)], pursuant to which KTEN claims that it has mandatory carriage rights on the
cable systems operated by TCI Cablevision of Texas ("TCI"), which serve the Texas
communities of Whitesboro and Gainesville, as well as on the cable system at Whitewright,
Texas, which is operated by Northland Cable ("Northland").  This request is unopposed.

                           PETITIONER'S ARGUMENT

     2.   KTEN claims (without supporting documentation or an affidavit), that Arbitron
recently ". . . modified the Sherman, Texas/Ada, Oklahoma ADI [or "area of dominant
influence"] to include Grayson County, Texas."  Since KTEN identifies itself as a ". . .
broadcast affiliate licensed to Ada, Oklahoma, which is located in the Sherman, Texas/Ada,
Oklahoma ADI," KTEN maintains that, as a result of Arbitron's recent change, it is now
entitled to carriage both by TCI and by Northland on their systems serving communities in
Grayson County, Texas.  In addition, KTEN claims that if a cable system's limited channel
capacity necessitates that, in order to add KTEN, it must delete another station which has
been entitled to mandatory carriage since the beginning of the 1993 must-carry election
period, this is a decision totally within the discretion of the cable operator, and that the
operator need not wait to make this decision until the next election period in 1996.  In support
of this claim, KTEN cites 76.56(b)(4) of the Commission's Rules and 614(b)(2) of the
Cable Act, both of which it argues are inconsistent with 76.55 of the Commission's Rules,
which it notes specifies that ADI designations will be set for a three-year period.    

                                                              
                                DISCUSSION


     3.  In addition to stating that "ADI assignments will be updated at three-year
intervals," 76.55(e)(3) of the Rules also specifies that the 1993 must-carry/retransmission
consent elections were to be premised upon the ADI assignments made by Arbitron in its
1991-1992 Television ADI Market Guide, and that the next elections in 1996 would be
premised upon Arbitron's 1994-1995 ADI list.  According to Arbitron's 1991-1992 Television
ADI Market Guide, Grayson County, Texas is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas ADI,
while KTEN is assigned to the Ardmore-Ada, Oklahoma ADI.  Therefore, pursuant to
76.55(c) of the Rules, KTEN has no mandatory carriage rights on any cable system
operating in Grayson County, Texas, and its request for declaratory ruling must be denied. 
Further, we cannot conclude from KTEN's brief argument that the rules adopted to implement
the provisions of the 1992 Cable Act were not a reasonable interpretation of the Act or that
the rules conflict with the statutory mandate.                

                                                                                                         
                             ORDERING CLAUSES


     4.  Accordingly, the "Request For Declaratory Ruling" (CSR-4599-M), filed by KTEN
Television Limited Partnership IS DENIED.

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



     FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION




     William H. Johnson
     Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau