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File pnmc5021 (.txt & .wp) is in directory \pub\Public_Notices\Miscellaneous. ************************************************************************* Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of) ) TeleScripps Cable Company ) CUID No. KY0107 (Elizabethtown) ) Complaint Regarding ) Cable Programming Services Tier ) Rate Increase ) ORDER Adopted: June 19, 1996 Released: June 19, 1996 By the Chief, Cable Services Bureau: 1. In this Order we consider a complaint filed against the February 1, 1996 rate increase of TeleScripps Cable Company ("TeleScripps") for its cable programming services ("CPS") tier in the City of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, CUID No. KY0107 (the "City"). TeleScripps filed its response to this complaint with the Federal Communications Commission ("Commission") on April 1, 1996. This Order addresses only the reasonableness of TeleScripps' rate increase in the amount of $0.95 that became effective on February 1, 1996. The Cable Services Bureau has issued an order addressing the reasonableness of TeleScripps' CPS tier rates prior to May 14, 1994 and will issue a separate order addressing the reasonableness of TeleScripps' CPS tier rates after May 15, 1994. 2. Under the Communications Act, the Commission is authorized to review the CPS tier rates of cable systems not subject to effective competition to ensure that rates charged are not unreasonable. If the Commission finds the rate unreasonable, it shall determine the correct rate and any refund liability. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 and our rules implementing the new legislation require that complaints against the CPS tier rates be filed with the Commission by a franchising authority that has received subscriber complaints. A franchising authority may not file a CPS tier rate complaint unless, within 90 days after such increase becomes effective, it receives subscriber complaints. This standard requires more than one subscriber rate complaint. The provisions under the 1996 Act became effective upon its enactment on February 8, 1996. 3. The Commission's initial rate regulations took effect on September 1, 1993. The Commission subsequently revised its rate regulations effective May 15, 1994. To justify rates for the period beginning May 15, 1994 through a benchmark or cost of service showing, operators must use the FCC Form 1200 series. Operators are permitted to make changes to their rates on a quarterly basis using FCC Form 1210. FCC Form 1210 may be used to adjust an Operator's maximum permitted rate, which was determined either by an FCC Form 1200, a previously filed FCC Form 1210, or a cost of service showing, for increases or decreases in external costs, the addition or deletion of channels from regulated tiers, and inflation. Operators may alternatively justify adjustments to their rates on an annual basis using FCC Form 1240 to reflect reasonably certain and reasonably quantifiable changes in external costs, inflation, and the number of regulated channels that are projected for the twelve months following the rate change. In the Matter of Sections of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992: Rate Regulation, MM Docket No. 92-266, Thirteenth Order on Reconsideration. 4. On March 19, 1996, the City filed a complaint with the Commission regarding an increase in Telescripps' CPS tier rate in the above-referenced franchise area. The rate increase complained of went into effect on February 1, 1996. This complaint is subject to the requirements of the 1996 Act. The City asserts that it has received more than one complaint against TeleScripps' CPS tier rate increase, thereby triggering the Commission's jurisdiction to review this complaint. The complaint from the local franchising authority ("LFA") triggers an obligation on behalf of the cable operator to justify its CPS tier rates. 5. Telescripps' actual rate under consideration in response to the instant complaint was $12.58 per month. In response to the complaint, TeleScripps filed a FCC Form 1210 on April 1, 1996 to justify its rates. The filing reflected a maximum permitted rate calculation of only $12.37 per month--an overcharge of $0.21 per month for the CPS tier. This overcharge of $0.21 was found as a result of Telescripps' filing prior to adjustments. As a result of our review of the filing, we adjusted TeleScripps' April 1, 1996 FCC Form 1210 filing and reduced the $12.37 maximum permitted rate for the CPS tier by an additional $0.12, resulting in a maximum permitted rate of $12.25. 6. Our adjustment to the April 1, 1996 FCC Form 1210 resulted from an adjustment to a previously filed FCC Form 1210. The rates calculated on the previously filed FCC Form 1210 are required to be included on Line A1 of the next filing of that form and become the base on which additional rate adjustmests are applied. We therefore adjusted Line A1 of the April 1, 1996 FCC Form 1210 to reflect the rate reduction on the previously filed FCC Form 1210. Further, since our adjustment to the previously filed FCC Form 1210 resulted in the calculation of lower rates on that filing, the adjustment to the rates on Line A1 of the FCC Form 1210 currently under review resulted in a lower maximum permitted rate for the CPS tier rates currently under review. 7. 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 tier rate increase charged by TeleScripps in CUID No. KY0107, effective February 1, 1996 IS GRANTED. 8. Accordingly, IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Section 0.321 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.321, that TeleScripps be permitted to charge a monthly CPS tier rate not exceeding $12.25 per month (plus franchise fee) from February 1, 1996 until 30 days after it files its next FCC Form 1210 or FCC Form 1240. 9. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Section 76.961 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R.  76.961, that TeleScripps shall refund to subscribers in the franchise area referenced in the caption that portion of the amount paid for cable programming service for the period beginning February 1, 1996, which exceeded the maximum rate of $12.25 per month (plus franchise fee), plus interest to the date of the refund. 10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that TeleScripps shall promptly determine the overcharges to CPS tier subscribers for the stated period, and shall within 30 days of the release of this Order file a report with the Chief, Cable Services Bureau, stating the cumulative refund amount so determined (including franchise fees and interest), describing the calculation thereof, and describing its plan to implement the refund within 60 days of Commission approval of the plan. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Meredith J. Jones Chief, Cable Services Bureau