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For purposes of this calculation, both overtheair and cable television  S -viewing are included.'Z Л yO>'- xԍ Because of the topography involved, certain counties are divided into more than one sampling unit. Also, in  xcertain circumstances, a station may have its home county assigned to an ADI even though it receives less than a  {O(- xpreponderance of the audience in that county. For a more complete description of how counties are allocated, see"(,))("  {O-Arbitron's Description of Methodology.'" Z,))ZZ)""Ԍ S- ` ~ԙx3.` ` Under the Act, however, the Commission is also directed to consider changes in market areas. Section 614(h)(1)(C) provides that the Commission may: xwith respect to a particular television broadcast station, include additional xcommunities within its television market or exclude communities from such xstation's television market to better effectuate the purposes of this section. In considering such requests, the Act provides that: xthe Commission shall afford particular attention to the value of localism by xtaking into account such factors as x(I) whether the station, or other stations located in the same area, have xbeen historically carried on the cable system or systems within such xcommunity; x(II) whether the television station provides coverage or other local service xto such community; x(III) whether any other television station that is eligible to be carried by a cable xsystem in such community in fulfillment of the requirements of this section xprovides new coverage of issues of concern to such community or provides xcarriage or coverage of sporting and other events of interest to the community; xand x(IV) evidence of viewing patterns in cable and noncable households within the  S-xareas served by the cable system or systems in such community.Z yO-ԍ Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 614(h)(1)(C)(ii), 47 U.S.C. 534(h)(1)(C)(ii).  S-x4. ` ` The legislative history of this provision indicates that: xwhere the presumption in favor of ADI carriage would result in cable subscribers xlosing access to local stations because they are outside the ADI in which a local xcable system operates, the FCC may make an adjustment to include or exclude xparticular communities from a television station's market consistent with Congress' xobjective to ensure that television stations be carried in the areas in which they xserve and which form their economic market.  S8-X` hp x (#%'0*,.8135@8: X yO-ԍ 47 C.F.R. 76.59.>  S-  S- MODIFICATION ARGUMENTS ă  S8- ` nx8. ` ` The communities here in question are located in Plymouth County, Massachusetts and are  xLconsidered to be part of the Boston, Massachusetts ADI. Derry, New Hampshire, the city of license of  xWNDS, is also part of the same ADI. WNDS is located approximately 56 miles from the nearest of the communities served by Harron.  Sp- ` x9. ` ` In support of its request, Harron argues that WNDS should be excluded from carriage on  xits system because it fails to meet any of the criteria for market stations. First, Harron states that there  xis no history of carriage of WNDS on any of its systems. Although Harron states that it has recently  xreceived requests for carriage from WNDS for its systems serving Pembroke and Rockland, it maintains  x[that WNDS' attempts to secure mandatory carriage would be contrary to the purposes of the must carry  xrules. Moreover, Harron argues that forcing it to add WNDS to its systems could require it to remove  xexisting programming which is responsive to its subscribers' needs. Secondly, Harron points out that not  xonly does WNDS' Grade B contour not encompass any of the communities at issue, but the station is  xMgeographically remote as well. Harron states that the closest community, Rockland, is 56 miles from  S- xWNDS' city of license while the farthest, Plympton, is 69 miles away.  yO- xԍ The distances for the other communities involved are: Halifax 66 miles; Abington 57 miles; and Pembroke 62 miles. It maintains that these distances  x are even farther away than those cited in two previous modification requests where the Commission  S- xkgranted the requests of two cable systems to exclude WNDS from their system communities.X \@ {O- xԍ See AR Cable Services, Inc., DA 962015 (released December 5, 1996), and Cablevision Systems Corp., DA  {Ob- x,97455 (released March 3, 1997). Harron points out, for instance, that the distances in the Cablevision item range from 46 to 48 miles.X Third,  xHarron indicates that WNDS provides no programming covering issues of specific concern to its  xsubscribers. Indeed, it states that a good portion of its programming seems to be geared to New  S@- xHampshire residents. @d  yOD-ԍ Harron cites as examples programs entitled "Granite State Duck Race" and "First Night NH." Finally, Harron stresses that issues of concern to its subscribers are more than  S-adequately covered by the local stations it currently carries on its systems.c X  yO!- x,ԍ Harron states that it currently carries, among others, the following stations on its systems: WBZTV (NBC);  x;WCVBTV (ABC); WLNE (CBS); WFXT (FOX); WHDHTV (NBC); WNACTV (FOX); WJAR (NBC); WPRITV (CBS); WLVITV (Ind.); WSBKTV (Ind.); WGBHTV (PBS); WGBX (Ind.); and WUNI (Ind.).c  S- ` Sx10. ` ` In its opposition, WNDS argues that Harron's showing with respect to the four  xmodification factors is weak and insufficient to overcome the legislative presumption in favor of  xmandatory carriage. WNDS points out that the Commission has previously stated in exclusion cases that"x ,-(-(ZZ"  S- x=lack of historic carriage "should not be given great weight."b {Oh-ԍ See Time Warner Cable, 10 FCC Rcd 936, 938 (1995).b In any event, WNDS states that until 1994  S- xand the passage of the Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1994aZ yO-ԍ Pub. L. 103369 3B (amending 17 U.S.C. 111(f)).a it was considered, for copyright purposes, a  x"distant signal" for Harron's systems which precluded carriage. WNDS states further that despite its lack  xof Grade B coverage, it provides a sufficiently good quality signal to be entitled to must carry status in  xHarron's communities. Moreover, since Congress specified an economic market approach rather than a  xGrade B standard for must carry, WNDS argues that it should be entitled to carriage throughout the  x/market. In addition, WNDS states that it is immaterial that Harron carries other local stations which  xprovide local programming to its subscribers. It indicates that the Commission has previously held that  xk"[W]e do not believe Congress intended the third criterion to operate as a bar to a station's ADI claim  S- xwhenever other stations could also be shown to serve the communities at issue." {O$ - xZԍ See Act III Broadcasting of Nashville, 8 FCC Rcd at 8546; and Greater Worcester Cablevision, 10 FCC Rcd at 12573 n. 23. Finally, WNDS argues  Sr- xthat its lack of viewership is unimportant and, as stated by the Bureau in Greater Worcester Cablevision,  SL -supra," its lack of carriage could explain why its ratings are low in the relevant communities. . . ."  S - ` $x11. ` ` In its reply,?X D yO- xyԍ Harron filed an associated motion to strike WNDS' latefiled opposition due to the fact that it opposed  xWNDS' request for extension of time to do so. However, in the interests of a complete record, we will deny Harron's request in this matter. ? Harron argues that WNDS does not offer any factual or legal support to  xrebut the showing made in its modification request nor does it introduce any evidence or factual  xMinformation in support of its contentions. Although WNDS seeks to downplay the value of the four  xmodification factors, Harron notes that the Commission has stated that in order to "ensure that television  S^- x=stations be carried in the areas in which they serve and which form their economic market"\^d  yOb-ԍ H.R. Rep. No. 628, 102d Cong., 2d Sess. 97 (1992).\ it must pay  xparticular attention to the value of localism by considering these four factors. Under these factors, Harron concludes that its petition should be granted.   S- (DISCUSSION ă  Sn- ` x12.` ` Based on the four statutory and other relevant factors, Harron's petition will be granted.  xAs an initial matter, we note that, according to the legislative history of the 1992 Cable Act, the use of  xyADI market areas is intended "to ensure that television stations be carried in the areas which they service  x\and which form their economic market." Changes may be sought and granted by the Commission "to  xybetter effectuate the purposes" of the mandatory carriage requirements. The ADI market change process  xincorporated into the Communications Act, however, is not intended to be a process whereby cable  xoperators may seek relief from the mandatory signal carriage obligations apart from the question of  xwhether a change in the market area involved is warranted. When viewed against this backdrop, and  xconsidering all of the relevant factual circumstances in the record, we believe that the operator's deletion  xpetition appears to be a legitimate request to redraw ADI boundaries to make them congruous with market  xrealities. Harron's actions do not reflect an intention to skirt its signal carriage responsibilities under the" ,-(-(ZZL"  xCommunications Act and the Commission's Rules nor do they evidence a pattern of discriminatory  xkconduct against the station subject to deletion. Based on the geography and the statutory factors, we  xzbelieve that the communities in question are sufficiently removed from WNDS that they ought not be  xdeemed part of the station's market for mandatory carriage purposes. We believe Congress enacted  xMSection 614(h) with a deletion provision so that market anomalies such as this one could be properly rectified through the special relief process.  S- ` x13.` ` At the outset, the evidence suggests that WNDS does not provide local service to the  x communities in question. WNDS does not place either a Grade A or Grade B contour over the cable  S- xcommunities. yO - xԍ We have held that the local service requirement is satisfied if the station's Grade B contour covers the  {O -community. See 8 FCC Rcd at 2981. In addition, we do not believe that it has been shown that WNDS carries programming  xof specific local interest or import for cable viewers in the instant communities. The WNDS programming  xinformation provided to us indicates programming of potential general interest but without specific ties to the communities at issue in this matter.  S - ` x14.` ` We also believe that Harron's carriage of other local television stations provides support  xLfor the requested action. Where a cable operator is seeking to delete a station's mandatory carriage rights  x in certain communities within its ADI, the issue of local coverage by other stations becomes a factor  xwhich we will give greater weight than in cases where a party is seeking to add communities. In this case,  xMthere are several television stations carried by Harron which have a nexus to the system communities herein.  S- ` ~x15.` ` Harron also demonstrates that WNDS has no historical carriage on the cable systems in  x<question, despite 13 years of operation, and has no reported audience in Plymouth County, where the cable  xsystems are located. We note that these facts are not determinative, in and of themselves, of the  x/relationship between the cable communities and the market of the television station, nor should their  xabsence permit a cable operator to undermine the objectives of the mandatory carriage requirement.  xHowever, we also note in this instance, that Derry, New Hampshire, WNDS' city of license, is located  x>from 56 to 69 miles from Harron's various headends. The distances involved in this situation further  xattenuates the local ties that the station might have to the cable communities and helps explain why the  x.station's viewership is too low to be reported. Thus, we conclude that the lack of historical carriage and  x/the dearth of audience is of evidentiary significance when linked with other information regarding the  xmarket and the particular distances involved, particularly where a station has been broadcasting since 1983 and has no reportable audience share in the relevant community.  S- ` ~x16.` ` This is not a situation where the carriage pattern suggests that a station is logically part  xof the market for carriage purposes, but has not been carried for competitive reasons. Nor do we believe  xthat the operator has impermissibly singled out WNDS from among other similarly situated stations as the sole station it has declined to carry. " ",-(-(ZZu!"Ԍ S-1  #s   #s ORDERING CLAUSES  S-  S- ` 1x17.` ` Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED , pursuant to 614(h) of the Communications Act of 1934,  xas amended, 47 U.S.C. 534, and 76.59 of the Commission's Rules, 47 C.F.R. 76.59, that the petition  xfor special relief, filed March 26, 1997, on behalf of Harron Cablevision of Massachusetts d/b/a Harron  S8-Communications Corp. IS GRANTED .  S-x18.` ` This action is taken pursuant to authority delegated by 0.321 of the Commission's Rules. x` `  hh@FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION  x` `  hh@William H. Johnson x` `  hh@Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau  X-#Xj\  P6G;+XP#T #&a\  P6G;0&P#у