WPC_ 2MB%RK<3|XTimes New RomanTimes New Roman BoldP\  P6Q9XP#"i~'^09CSS999S]+9+/SSSSSSSSSS//]]]Ixnnxg]xx9?xgxx]xn]gxxxxg9/9MS9ISISI9SS//S/SSSS9?/SSxSSIP!PZ9+ZM999+99999999S/xIxIxIxIxIlnIgIgIgIgI9/9/9/9/xSxSxSxSxSxSxSxSxSxSxIxSxRxSxSxS]SxIxIxInInInZnIxigIgIgIgIxSxSxSxZxSxZxS9/9S999Su]ZZxSg/gCg9g9g/xSbxSxSxSxSxn9n9n9]?]?]?]ZgFg/gMxSxSxSxSxSxSxxZgIgIgIxSg9xS]?g9xSi+SS88WuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxN/>/>/>/x]SSSSx]x]x]x]xSxSx]SSxSxSf]xSxSxSxIxIxWxIx{nInInInISSSWS]a?/?]?9?]]WW]n/nKn9nCn/x]xx]x]SSxxIxIxI]?]?]?]WnUn9nax]x]x]x]x]x]xxWnInInIx]n9x]]?n9xSz+SS8-8WuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxN(-((((((((((---#J:55:2-:::2F::-:5-2::K::2%(#(#(#(((>((((((:((#&&++%(:#:#:#:#:#F45#2#2#2#2#:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:#:(:':(:(:(-(:#:#:#5#5#5+5#:22#2#2#2#:(:(:(:+:(:+:(((8-++:(22 222:(/:(:(:(:(F:555----+2"22%:(:(:(:(:(:(K::+2#2#2#:(2:(-2:(2((W888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxN00%(#((((M(==(==(=##(P0P((N1=PP00/CC--P#(CP"5555==JPP(=P0.+(-N00P("i~'^09FSS999Sq+9+/SSSSSSSSSS99qqqSggnxggxx9In]nxgxgS]xgg]]?/?FS9SSISI/SS//I/xSSSS??/SInII?C/CZ9+ZF999+999999S9S/gSgSgSgSgSnnIgIgIgIgI9/9/9/9/nSxSxSxSxSxSxSxSxS]IgSxSxSxS]IxSgSgSgSgSnInInZnIxdgIgIgIgIxSxSxSxZxSxZxS9/9S999SSZZnI]/]<]9]5]/nSanSnSxSxSng?g?g?S?S?S?ZZ]<]/]FxSxSxSxSxSxSn]Z]?]?]?xS]9nSS?]9]Sd+SS8%8WuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddNcontends that the Commission should delete the Communities from WFMZTV's market. It  X7- xjargues that the relevant facts reveal that WFMZTV in Allentown, Pennsylvania is not local to  xthe three New Jersey Communities. Based in the criteria established by Congress and the"  ,N(N(ZZ"  xxCommission, Comcast argues that its petition present a compelling case for redrawing the relevant boundaries to exclude the Communities from WFMZTV's television market .   x8. Maranatha opposes the proposed modification of WFMZTV's market. Addressing the  xfirst of four market modification factors listed in Section 614(h)(1)(C)(ii) (historic carriage),  xMaranatha concedes that WFMZTV has not been carried on Comcast's cable system, asserting  xthat lack of carriage of WFMZTV is no reason for concluding that WFMZTV should not now  xbe carried on Comcast's system. Maranatha states that, within the last year, WFMZTV has  xadded more than 500,000 cable homes, including homes served by Comcast's system serving  x=Trenton, New Jersey. Maranatha states that WFMZTV is now listed in the channel reference  X - xpages of the Philadelphia metropolitan edition of TV Guide, whose editors have informed it that  X -WFMZTV's programming will be listed commencing June 1997.   2x9. Maranatha contends that Comcast's cable system is located in the heart of the  xPhiladelphia ADI and that it is therefore seeking carriage of WFMZTV in the core of its ADI  xjin communities adjacent to Trenton where WFMZTV is already carried by Comcast and not at  xthe opposite end of the Philadelphia market as Comcast claims. Maranatha states that Comcast's  xcharacterizations of WFMZTV's programming is inaccurate and misleading. Maranatha states  xythat WFMZTV provides five live daily newscasts Monday through Friday totalling two hours  xLand fortyfive minutes (as well as a halfhour tape rebroadcast at 1:00 am), and also a halfhour  xilocal newscast at 5:00 pm Saturday and Sunday, each of which include substantial news coverage  xjof issues of direct concern to New Jersey residents in general, and to residents of New Jersey,  xincluding Mercer county where the Communities are located. Maranatha provided scripts of 28  xxnews stories claimed to be of statewide importance to New Jersey that were broadcast by WFMZ xTV during 1996 and early 1997. It says eleven of these stories refer specifically to the Mercer  x=County. Maranatha also points to a set of public affairs programs presented weekdays at 8:00  X- xKp.m. on WFMZTV, and states that one of these programs, Law Journal, included attorneys from Mercer County on ten occasions.   x10. Maranatha asserts that Comcast offered no showing that the programming of other  xstations carried on its system provides news or other coverage of specific concern or interest to  xthe Communities. For that reason, Maranatha argues that carriage of such stations does not  x>support the petition and that the Commission may not merely assume such programming is  xcarried by those stations or that those stations provide more local coverage than WFMZTV does.  X- x Maranatha questions the reliability of the Media Strategies report relied on by Comcast to  xdemonstrate absence of WFMZTV viewing in the Communities, noting that the report does not  xindicate whether both broadcast and cable viewing were measured. Maranatha asserts that if only  x=cable viewing was measured, the absence of WFMZTV viewing would be reflective merely of  xComcast's failure to carry the station. Maranatha also faults the report for not indicating a base  X#- xof diaries broad enough to measure noncable viewing accurately. Maranatha submitted results"# ,N(N(ZZG""  xof a special Nielsen study of its own indicating that WFMZTV achieves circulation in the  X-Philadelphia ADI comparable to that achieved by three of the stations carried by Comcast. "B yOb- xxԍBased on diaries in 1,300 households located across the entire ADI, the study shows that WFMZTV reached  x120,000 households during the noonmidnight, Monday through Friday time slots, compared with 178,000 homes  {O- xfor WGTG, 51,000 for WYBE, and 12,000 for WRGI. See Opposition, p. 9. A copy of the study report was not provided for the record.   ^x11. Maranatha claims the burden of making a case for market modification to delete a  xcommunity from a station's market rests on the cable operator and that Comcast has not met that  x[burden here. The absence of Grade B signal coverage is not an absolute measure of the scope  xof a station's market and is not by itself dispositive, argues Maranatha, because Congress adopted  X_- x-ADIs as the statutory standard rather than Grade B signal contours._B {O - xԍMaranatha cites Ventura County Cablevision, 10 FCC Rcd 9474 (CSB 1995) and Time Warner Cable, 11 FCC Rcd 2902 (CSB 1995). Maranatha also notes that  xjit has an application pending before the Commission for an upgrade of the facilities of WFMZ xTV, which when constructed will extend WFMZTV's Grade B signal contour to the fringe of  xthe communities served by Comcast. In any event, Maranatha contends the absence of WFMZ xjTV Grade B signal over the Communities in this case pales when weighed against WFMZTV's record of programming of direct interest to Mercer County.   x12. In reply, Comcast argues that Congress never intended ADI assignments to be the  xfinal definition of a television station's market, as Maranatha suggests. Instead, the Commission  xwas authorized to modify ADI's by adding or deleting communities in order to reflect a station's  xtrue marketplace. Comcast claims it demonstrated that WFMZTV's true market does not include  xthe Communities served by its cable system and that Maranatha offered no persuasive rebuttal  xevidence. Comcast points out that other stations carried on its system all place at least Grade B  xsignal contours over the Communities in contrast to WFMZTV which does not. Comcast does  xnot deny that its systems may be near the heart of the Philadelphia ADI, but argues that the  x=significant and relevant fact is that WFMZTV is geographically remote from the Communities  xserved by its cable system. Comcast contends further that the news programming scripts  x[submitted by Maranatha warrant skepticism concerning the extent of WFMZTV programming  xdirected specifically to the Communities, noting that the scripts indicate nothing more than that  X- xthe news reports included references to New Jersey. Comcast points out that the Media Strategies  xreport on WFMZTV viewing looked at total viewing and in fact was based on a diary count  X~- x more that five times that needed to produce stable viewing data. Comcast claims it already  Xg- x.carries the Law Journal program relied on by Maranatha as programming specifically directed  XR- xMtoward the Communities and further argues that the Law Journal program, while of general interest, is not tailored to meet the needs of specific communities. "& ,N(N(ZZ\"Ԍ X- wDISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS ă   x13. Based on our analysis of the evidence relating to the four statutory and other relevant  x.factors, Comcast's petition will be denied. Philadelphia is the nation's fourth largest television  xmarket in terms of population. It is a large market in terms of geographic area, stretching from  xLNorthampton County to the north, to Atlantic City to the east, and into Delaware to the south.  xAllentown is some 45 miles to the north of Philadelphia, the core city of the market. The cable  x-communities involved are in Mercer County, New Jersey, located along the opposite shore of the  xzDelaware River northeast of Philadelphia. WFMZTV, licensed to Allentown, Pennsylvania  xjbegan operation in 1976 and broadcasts on channel 69 from a transmitter located in Allentown. The cable communities are approximately 54 miles from the station.  X - xA. Historic Signal Carriage  X -   x15. Statutory factor one is "whether the station, or other stations located in the same area,  xhave been historically carried on the cable system or systems within such community." WFMZ xTV has no history of carriage in the cable communities in question. Nor are other stations  xcarried from the same general area (Allentown) to which this stations is licensed. WFMZTV is not a station of recent origin, having commenced operations more than 20 years ago.   !x16. Carriage on nearby cable systems is not a factor specified in the statute, but it does  xseem likely, depending on the specific circumstances involved, that carriage on nearby systems  X- x[could serve as evidence to define the logical scope of a station's market.pB {O-ԍFouce Amusement Enterprises, Inc., 10 FCC Rcd 668, 671 (CSB, 1995)p Such carriage could  xserve to demonstrate the belief of both the television station and cable systems involved that there  xis a market nexus between the broadcast station and the communities where the station is carried  xand thus provide evidence as to the scope of a station's market. The signal of WFMZTV is  xcarried in Trenton, also located in Mercer County, and in Philadelphia, which is also relatively close to the cable Communities.  Xe-x B. Station Coverage of Communities  XN-   >x17. Statutory factor two is "whether the television station provides coverage or other local  xjservice to such community." This factor incorporates both technical service and programming  X - x<service. With respect to technical service coverage, the Commission has stated in its Report and  X- xOrder in MM Docket 92259 that "to show that the station provides coverage or other local  xservice to the cable communities, parties may demonstrate that the station places at least a Grade  X - x=B coverage contour over the cable community or is located close to the community in terms of  X!- xmileage."g!ZB yO%-#X\  P6G;P#э 8 FCC Rcd at 29762977.g WFMZTV does not currently provide Grade B service to the cable communities. "!,N(N(ZZ "  xAn application is pending, however, that will extend the station's Grade B service area so that the communities involved will be at the fringe of the contour.   |x18. With respect to programming service, Comcast alleges that there is no significant  xamount of programming from the station that is specifically targeted to the cable communities  xZinvolved. There is evidence from the station, however, that it broadcasts material directed toward  Xv-New Jersey viewers, including stories specific to Mercer County.CvB {O-ԍSee Opposition, p. 6.C  XH-  Mx C. Coverage of News, Sporting Events, or Other Events of Interest by Other  X1-Stations Entitled to Carriage   x19. Statutory factor three is "whether any other television station that is eligible to be  xcarried by a cable system in such community in fulfillment of the requirements of this section  xprovides news coverage of issues of concern to such community or provides carriage or coverage  x-of sporting and other events of interest to the community." In this instance Comcast alleges that  x-it provides carriage to numerous stations licensed in Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York that  xprovide local service to its subscribers. These include KYWTV, WPHILTV, WGBSTV,  x=WTGITV, WTXFTV, and WCAUTV from Philadelphia; WCBSTV, WNBCTV, WNYWTV,  xWABCTV, WWORTV, WPIXTV, WNETTV and WBISTV from New York; and WNJNTV  xand WXTVTV from New Jersey. Maranatha states, however, that one of these stations carries  xLonly a single nightly newscast at 10:00 p.m. Moreover, a number of these stations (those from  xthe New York market) are clearly not "eligible to be carried" pursuant to the mandatory carriage rules.  X- xD. Station Audience in Communities Served by Cable System   x20. Statutory factor four is "evidence of viewing patterns in cable and noncable  xhouseholds within the areas served by the cable system or systems in such community."  x\Although Maranatha challenges the quality of the evidence provided by Comcast as to the  xKviewing it receives in the cable communities, there does not appear to be any serious dispute that  x=the station has no significant audience in the cable communities, either in cable or in noncable  xhouseholds. Nielsen data for Mercer County reflects no viewing of WFMZTV, which is entirely  xconsistent with the lack of Grade B service to the communities. We note, however, that this  x<evidence must be considered in light of the existing lack of carriage and the heavily cabled nature  X-( "G 82 percent cable penetration) of Mercer County.ZB {O"- xhԍSee The Chronicle Publishing Company d/b/a Ventura County Cablevision, 10 FCC Rcd 9474, 94819482 (CSB 1995). ",N(N(ZZ"Ԍ X- "G  "G x E. Other Considerations   {x21. The factors specified in Section 614(h) do not purport to be exclusive and thus other  xLevidence may be considered that is helpful in defining the scope of the markets of the stations  x "G  "G involved. One such additional factor involves whether local newspaper or other listings of station  xkprogramming that have circulation in the cable communities include the programming of the  xLstations in question. Maranatha has been assured that the programming of WFMZTV will be  X_-listed in the Philadelphia metropolitan edition of TV Guide commencing in June of 1997.  X3-x F. Summary   ]x22. The cable television mandatory broadcast signal carriage rules were adopted as part  xof the 1992 Cable Act. According to the legislative history of that Act, the use of ADI market  xareas is intended "to ensure that television stations be carried in the areas which they serve and  X - xwhich form their economic market."\ B yO9-ԍ H.R. Rep. 102628, 102d Cong., 2d Sess. 97 (1992).\ The Act specifically provided that the Commission was  x{to consider adding additional communities or excluding communities from the markets of  X- xtelevision stations "to better effectuate the purposes" of the mandatory carriage requirements.?XB yO-ԍ 47 U.S.C. 534(h).?  xIn acting on such requests the Commission was instructed to "afford particular attention to the  xvalue of localism, taking into account four specified statutory factors." These factors, however,  XM- xwere "not intended to be exclusive."\MB yO-ԍ H.R. Rep. 102628, 102d Cong., 2d Sess. 97 (1992).\ The market modification provisions of Section 614(h) are  x[said, in the legislative history, to "reflect a recognition that the Commission may conclude that  xa community within a station's ADI may be so far removed from the station that it cannot be  X- xdeemed part of the station's market."3xB {O1-ԍ Id.3 We do not believe that the requested exclusion of the  x/communities served by Comcast's cable systems from the markets of WFMZTV will better effectuate the purposes of the mustcarry statutory provisions.   x23. In reaching this conclusion, we have considered the statutory factors as well as other  xyrelevant information. WFMZTV has never been carried in the communities in question (factor  xLI), provides no overtheair television broadcast service to the communities (factor II), and has  xno measured audience in the communities (factor IV). Other stations that are entitled to carriage  xLdo provide news and other information regarding issues of concern to the communities (factor  xIII). Given the statutory directive, weight must be given to these factors, but that must be done  xbearing in mind that the objective of the Section 614(h) process is to "better effectuate the  xpurposes" of the broadcast signal carriage scheme. Thus, with respect to the question of historical  xcarriage patterns, attention must be paid to the circumstances from which such patterns developed.  x.Some stations have not had the opportunity to build a record of historical carriage for specific" ,N(N(ZZ;"  xLreasons that do not necessarily reflect a judgment as to the geography of the market involved.  xLThus, these factors to the extent they are reflective of circumstances outside of the shape of  X- xythe market are not by themselves controlling in circumstances where such an implementation  xof the 1992 Cable Act would, in effect, prevent weaker stations like WFMZTV, that cable systems had previously declined to carry, from ever obtaining carriage rights.   lx24. Another factor to consider is the availability of other broadcasters in the market that  xZare eligible for carriage and provide coverage of news, sporting events, or other events of interest  x=to the communities at issue. We have stated, however, that where a cable operator is seeking  xto delete a station's mandatory carriage rights in certain communities within its ADI and it is  xclear that the station is not providing local service to those communities, the issue of local  xjcoverage by other stations becomes a factor to which we will give greater weight than in cases  X - xwhere a party is seeking to add communities.u B {Oe -ԍ Nationwide Communications, Inc., 10 FCC Rcd 13050, 13053 n.22 (1995).u Carriage of other local stations may be used as  xan enhancement factor to support a cable operator's deletion request when there is other evidence  X - xLin the record that the communities at issue are outside of the station's market. ZB {O-ԍ TCI of Illinois, DA 971002, para. 26, 1997 WL 241995 (F.C.C.) (CSB released May 12, 1997). In the present  xcase, Comcast carries numerous other stations licensed to communities in the Philadelphia ADI  xthat are closer to the cable communities and provide coverage of local news and events. There is, however, also evidence that WFMZTV provides service to the cable communities.   !x25. Given the difficulties of relying exclusively and explicitly on the statutory factors of  x/historical carriage and viewing patterns, which could severely narrow the carriage rights of  xstations even within what is undeniably their local market area, we have found it necessary to  xfocus more heavily on factors that are not influenced by the type or age of the stations involved  X- xor historical carriage.UB {O-ԍ See Cablevision Systems Corp., supra.U The scope of a local station's market may be measured through  xgeographic means by examining the distance between the station and the cable community subject  xto the deletion request and by taking into account natural phenomena such as waterways,  x<mountains, and valleys that may tend to separate communities and define natural markets basic  xgeographic, demographic, and political features that provide the best available alternative evidence  xjof the market boundaries of the stations involved. In this regard the Commission has explicitly  Xe- xnoted the relevance of Grade B contours.We~B yO!- xԍ As a general matter, Grade B coverage demonstrates service to cable communities and serves as a measure  {O\"- xof a station's natural economic market. See MM Docket No. 92259, 8 FCC Rcd at 2977. See also Amendment of  {O&#- xSection 76.51 (OrlandoDaytona Beach, Melbourne, and Cocoa, Florida), 102 FCC 2d 1062, 1070 (1984)("We  xLbelieve that television stations actually do or logically can rely on the area within their Grade B contours for economic support.").W In the absence of other information, station service  xcontours provide at least one objective measure of the scope of a stations local market. Here we  xLnote that WFMZTV does not presently provide Grade B service to the cable communities but  xis in the process of improving its facilities so that they will be on the edge of its service area. "  2 ,N(N(ZZ"  xThe communities are also geographically separated from WFMZTV's city of license in terms  x|of mileage by approximately 55 miles, are on the other side of the Delaware River from Allentown, and are in a different state.   x26. Weighing against the grant of the petition is evidence relating to cable carriage in  xjother adjoining communities, including in Trenton, also located in Mercer County, and the fact  xthat the station has demonstrated some efforts to provide programming targeted to New Jersey,  xzincluding Mercer and nearby Burlington and Gloucester Counties. These two factors are of  xjsignificance in our analysis of this petition and persuade us, along with other facts concerning  xthe station's broadcast service area and the distances and geography involved, that exclusion of  xthese communities from the market of WFMZTV is not warranted. We recognize that a number  x<of the other factors weigh in Comcast's favor, including in particular the absence of any historical  xcarriage in the areas in question after many years of operation. The station's facilities were  ximproved in 1993 and a further improvement has been applied for, so that the lack of historical  xcarriage is based in large part upon circumstances that no longer exist. The listing of the station  xand its schedule in TV listings relevant to these communities also provides further evidence that  xthe market regards this area to be within the station's economic market and service area. The  xdistances and geography involved are not so great as to suggest that no market nexus with the  xcommunities exists. Virtually all of the communities in question are clustered together just  x.adjacent to Trenton, where the signal is already being carried. While these cable communities  xare at the fringe of WFMZTV's Grade B signal contour, the information provided by Comcast  xdoes not permit us to conclude that these communities should be excluded from WFMZTV's market.   {x27. We have carefully considered each statutory and other relevant factor in the context  X- xof the circumstances presented here and, on balance,cB {O:- xJԍ We are under no obligation to give particular weight to any particular one of the several statutory factors. See  {O- xTime Warner Entertainment Co. v. FCC, 56 F.3d 151, 175 (D.C. Cir. 1995); accord, Omnipoint Corp. v. FCC, 78  xF.3d 620, 633634 (D.C. Cir. 1996) (When Congress directs an agency to consider certain factors, the agency simply  x"must reach an express and considered conclusion about the bearing of a factor, but is not required to give any specific weight to it.").c we find that Comcast has not demonstrated  X- xkthat the communities it serves lack a sufficient nexus with WFMZTV to warrant deletion of  X-these communities from the station's Market.Z|B {O- xԍIn Complaint of Maranatha Broadcasting Company, Inc. against Comcast Cablevision, DA 97708, Cable Serv.  xxBur., released April 11, 1997), Comcast was ordered to commence carriage of WFMZTV within sixty days from the date equipment necessary to receive a good quality signal at Comcast's headend was provided by Maranatha. "| ,N(N(ZZ"  X- "G   ORDERING CLAUSES TP  X- ` 2x28.` ` Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED , that the petition for special relief (CSR4934A)  X-filed January 28, 1997 by Comcast of Central New Jersey IS DENIED .  X- ` px29.` ` This action is taken pursuant to authority delegated by Section 0.321 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. Section 0.321. x` `  hh@FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION x` `  hh@William H. Johnson x` `  hh@Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau