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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 the Matter of: ) ) Complaint of Adell Broadcasting Corporation ) ) v. ) CSR 5350-M ) D & P Cable ) ) for Carriage of WADL-TV, Mt. Clemens, Michigan ) in Petersburg, Michigan ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Adopted: May 28, 1999 Released: June 1, 1999 By the Chief, Consumer Protection and Competition Division, Cable Services Bureau: I. INTRODUCTION 1. Adell Broadcasting Corporation ("Adell"), licensee of WADL-TV, Mt. Clemens, Michigan, filed the captioned complaint pursuant to Section 76.7(e) of the Commission's rules for an order requiring carriage of the signal of WADL-TV on cable system of D & P serving Petersburg, Michigan. No opposition to the complaint was received by the Commission. II. BACKGROUND 2. Pursuant to Section 614 of the Communications Act and implementing rules adopted by the Commission in Implementation of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, Report and Order ("Must Carry Order"), 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. 3. 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, it still may obtain carriage rights 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. III. ALLEGATIONS OF THE COMPLAINT 4. In the complaint, Adell asserts that D & P Cable has failed to carry WADL-TV despite the requirements of the must carry statutory provisions and the Commission's rules. Adell submitted with its complaint copies of correspondence with D & P Cable during the Fall of 1998 showing that Adell requested carriage of WADL-TV on D & P Cable's cable system serving Petersburg, Michigan. Adell also informed D & P Cable that it agreed to be responsible for the costs of delivering a good quality WADL-TV signal to the cable system. Adell claims that the cable operator did not respond to the request. Adell asserts that carriage of WADL-TV will not increase copyright liability for the cable operator. Pointing to the commitment to install any and all equipment necessary to deliver a good quality WADL-TV signal to the cable systems, Adell argues that WADL-TV satisfies the requirements of 47 U.S.C.  534(h)(1)(B)(ii)-(iii) and 47 C.F.R.  76.55(c)(2)-(3) and is entitled to mandatory carriage on the cable system serving Petersburg, Michigan. IV. DISCUSSION 5. D & P Cable filed no opposition to Adell's complaint for carriage in Petersburg, Michigan. In the absence of an opposition, we accept Adell's representations that WADL-TV is a local station qualified for carriage on D & P Cable's cable system serving Petersburg and order carriage. As noted earlier, 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. Information available to the Commission confirms that WADL-TV and Petersburg, Michigan are located within the Detroit ADI. Adell's representations that carriage of WADL-TV will not cause any increase in the cable systems' copyright liability are not challenged. Accordingly, we find that WADL-TV is a local television station qualified under the provisions of 47 C.F.R.  76.55(c) for carriage on D & P Cable's cable system. V. ORDERING CLAUSES 6. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to Section 614 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.  534, that the complaint filed by Adell Broadcasting Corporation ("Adell") in File No. CSR 5350-M, IS GRANTED, and D & P Cable shall commence carriage of television station WADL-TV on its cable system serving Petersburg, Michigan, respectively, within sixty (60) days following the release date of this Order. 7. This action is taken pursuant to authority delegated under Section 0.321 of the Commission's Rules. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Deborah E. Klein, Chief Consumer Protection and Competition Division Cable Services Bureau