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If you need the complete document, download the WordPerfect version or Adobe Acrobat version, if available. ***************************************************************** Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In re: ) ) Complaint of United Broadcast Group II, Inc.)CSR-4957-M against Northland Cable Properties Five Limited) Partnership; Northland Cable Television, Inc.; and) Northland Cable Properties, Inc. ) ) Request for Carriage ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Adopted: July 17, 1997 Released: July 21, 1997 By the Chief, Consumer Protection and Competition Division, Cable Services Bureau: INTRODUCTION 1.United Broadcast Group II, Inc., licensee of Television Broadcast Station KINZ(TV), Arlington, Texas, has filed a must-carry complaint requesting that the Commission order Northland, operator of cable television systems serving the communities listed below to commence carriage of KINZ(TV). Northland has opposed United's complaint, and United has replied. BACKGROUND 2.Pursuant to Section 614 of the Communications Act and implementing rules adopted by the Commission in its Report and Order in MM Docket 92-259, commercial television broadcast stations are entitled to assert mandatory carriage rights on cable systems located within the station's market. A station's market for this purpose is its "area of dominant influence," or ADI, as defined by the Arbitron audience research organization. An ADI is a geographic market designation that defines each television market exclusive of others, based on measured viewing. ARGUMENT OF THE PARTIES 3.United states that on December 11, 1996 Northland was notified that United was conducting on-air program tests on KINZ(TV), that it intended to commence broadcasting in the near future, and that it intended to elect must-carry status in lieu of retransmission consent. United states further that after commencing operations on December 17, 1996, it requested on January 6, 1997, and again on January 15, 1997, a commitment from Northland in writing to carry KINZ(TV)'s signal. United asserts that Northland did not respond in writing to any of these requests, although United concedes that a Northland representative informed United's counsel by phone that Northland refused to respond in any way to United's request. United filed its must-carry complaint with the Commission on March 10, 1997. United asserts that KINZ(TV) is a for-profit full-power broadcast facility entitled to must-carry status on Northland's cable systems serving the relevant communities. 4.In opposition, Northland submitted the results of signal strength studies for the purpose of showing that KINZ(TV) fails to deliver a good quality signal to the headend of all of the cable systems, with the exception of the system serving Kaufman, Texas, which commenced carrying KINZ(TV) on March 10, 1997. Northland also provided information about the test equipment used to measure the signal strength of KINZ(TV) at the system headends and the procedures followed in conducting the test. 5.In reply, United claims that Northland failed to show that the signal strength studies were conducted in accordance with sound engineering practices as required by Commission rules. In any event, irrespective of whether the tests were properly conducted, United made a commitment in its reply "to provide Northland with any specialized equipment necessary to upgrade its signal," and asserted that "the Station is a 'qualified local commercial television station' entitled to carriage under the Commission's rules." United argues that because it offers to provide, at its own expense, any equipment necessary to deliver a good quality signal to Northland's facilities, the results of the signal strength measurements lack legal significance, and that its commitment warrants grant of the complaint. DISCUSSION 6.Under the Commission's must-carry rules, cable operators have the burden of showing that a commercial station that is located in the same television market is not entitled to carriage. One method of doing so is for a cable operator to establish that a subject television station's signal, which would otherwise be entitled to carriage, does not provide a good quality signal to a cable system's principal headend. Should a station fail to provide the requisite over-the-air signal quality to a cable system's principal headend, its carriage nevertheless may not be foreclosed, because under our rules, a station may provide a cable operator with specialized equipment, at the station's expense, which will improve the station's signal to an acceptable quality at a cable system's principal headend. 7.The signal strength test reports provided by Northland show that United does not provide an off-air signal of -45 dBm or better to the headends of Northland's cable systems serving Corsicana, Teague-Fairfield, Hillsboro, Kerens, and Wortham, Texas. On the other hand, the signal strength tests reports provided by Northland show that the test equipment had not been calibrated within a year prior, as recommended by the test equipment manufacturers, for the tests for the cable systems serving Berryville, Chandler, Dublin, Gun Barrel, Hico, Jackson's Landing, Malakoff, Red Ackers, and Stephenville, Texas. For that reason, Northland failed to establish by means of signal tests following good engineering practices that KINZ(TV) does not provide an off-air signal of -45 dBm or better to the headends of Northland's cable systems serving the communities of Berryville, Chandler, Dublin, Gun Barrel, Hico, Jackson's Landing, Malakoff, Red Ackers, and Stephenville, Texas. 8.We will grant United's complaint. United has made a commitment on this record to deliver an adequate signal to all of Northland's cable systems serving those communities at issue here and to pay any associated costs, in accordance with 614(h)(1)(B)(iii) of the Communications Act of 1934. With respect to the Northland systems serving Corsicana, Teague-Fairfield, Hillsboro, Kerens, and Wortham, Texas, where Northland established that KINZ-TV failed to provide a good quality signal to these systems' headends, we will direct Northland to carry KINZ-TV within sixty (60) days after United provides a good quality signal to the principal headends of Northland's cable systems. With respect to the Northland systems serving Berryville, Chandler, Dublin, Gun Barrel, Hico, Jackson's Landing, Malakoff, Red Ackers, and Stephenville, Texas, where Northland failed to meet its burden of establishing, by means of tests conducted in accordance with good engineering practices, that KINZ-TV does not provide a good quality signal to these systems' headends, we will direct Northland to commence carriage of KINZ-TV within sixty (60) days of the release date of this order. ORDERING CLAUSES 9.Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to Section 614 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47 U.S.C. 534), that the petition filed by Complaint of United Broadcast Group II, Inc. ("United") IS GRANTED. Northland Cable Properties Five Limited Partnership, Northland Cable Television, Inc., and Northland Cable Properties, Inc. ("Northland") ARE ORDERED to commence carriage of television station KINZ(TV) on their cable systems serving Corsicana, Teague-Fairfield, Hillsboro, Kerens, and Wortham, Texas within sixty (60) days after United installs the equipment necessary to provide a good quality signal to Northland's headends of those systems, and on their cable systems serving Berryville, Chandler, Dublin, Gun Barrel, Hico, Jackson's Landing, Malakoff, Red Ackers, and Stephenville, Texas within sixty (60) days of the release date of this Order. 10.This action is taken pursuant to authority delegated under 0.321 of the Commission's Rules. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Gary M. Laden, Chief Consumer Protection and Competition Division Cable Services Bureau