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File how2ftp (.txt & .wp) is in directory /pub/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/Public_Notices/ ***************************************************************** ******** $//MO&O Grant of KTFH's must carry complaint, DA 96-349//$ $/300.534 Carriage of local commercial television signals/$ $/76.7 Must-carry complaint procedures/$ $/76.58 Notification/$ $/76.61 Disputes concerning carriage/$ Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 DA 96-349 In re: ) ) Complaint of Paxson Houston License, Inc. ) CSR-4618-M against Home Theater Cablevision ) ) Request for Carriage ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Adopted: March 11, 1996 Released: March 20, 1996 By the Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau: 1. Paxson Houston License, Inc. ("KTFH"), licensee of television station KTFH(TV) (Ch. 49, Ind.), Conroe, Texas has filed the above-captioned complaint (CSR-4618-M) requesting mandatory carriage of its signal on cable systems operated by Home Theater Cablevision ("Home Theater") serving the Northborough section of Houston, Texas and surrounding areas. The complaint is unopposed. 2. In its must-carry complaint, KTFH maintains that in June 1995, Home Theater deleted KTFH, without cause, from its system and also without notice to the station or its subscribers, in violation of the notice requirements outlined in 76.58 of the Commission's rules. KTFH contends that it meets the requirements for carriage as articulated in 76.55(c) of the Commission's rules and, therefore, the Commission should order Home Theater to resume carriage of the station. KTFH argues that Home Theater's actions violated 76.58 of the rules because the operator failed to provide 30 days notice to the station before deleting it from the system. KTFH argues further that pursuant to 76.61(a)(1) of the rules, on September 7, 1995, KTFH's vice-president and general manager sent a letter to Home Theater, notifying the operator that it had failed to comply with the notice requirements of the must-carry rules, and requesting that Home Theater resume carriage of the station. KTFH 1contends that Home Theater received this letter on September 8, 1995, but failed to respond, thereby violating 76.61(a)(2) which requires a cable operator to respond to letters requesting carriage within 30 days of receipt. 1. We will grant KTFH's carriage complaint against Home Theater. Section 614(a) of the Act states that each cable operator shall carry the signals of local commercial television stations. A local commercial television station is defined as any full power broadcast television station that is within the same television market as the cable system. A cable operator is required to carry the signals of a local commercial station unless that station fails to deliver a good quality signal to the cable system's principal headend; the station's signal substantially duplicates the signal of another local commercial station which is carried on the system; or the cable operator (with a system of more than 12 usable activated channels) has already allocated up to one-third of the aggregate number of its usable activated channels to other local commercial stations. Pursuant to the Commission's rules, cable operators must provide written notice to any broadcast television system at least 30 days prior to deleting that station from carriage. Operators must also notify subscribers to the cable system. Commission rules also require a local commercial station that believes that a cable operator has failed to meet its carriage obligations to complain in writing to the operator. The cable operator must respond in writing to the station's complaint within 30 days of receipt. The operator must either commence carriage of the signal, or explain its reasons for failing to do so. If the Commission determines that a cable operator has failed to meet its must-carry obligations, we may order an operator to resume carriage of a station and continue such carriage for at least 12 months. In this case, Home Theater deleted KTFH from carriage without explanation and without notifying the station and the system's subscribers. Moreover, Home Theater failed to respond within 30 days to KTFH's letter requesting carriage, as is required by Commission rules. ORDERING CLAUSES 2. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, That the complaint (CSR-4618-M) filed November 3, 1995 by Paxson Houston License, Inc. against Home Theater Cablevision IS GRANTED, in accordance with 614(d)(3) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended [47 U.S.C. 534(d)(3)]. 3. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, That Home Theater Cablevision SHALL COMMENCE CARRIAGE of the signal of KTFH(TV) forty-five (45) days from the release date of this Order on Home Theater Cablevision's system serving the Northborough section of Houston, Texas and surrounding areas. 4. This action is taken pursuant to authority delegated under 0.321 of the Commission's Rules. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION William H. Johnson Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau