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Before the
               Federal Communications Commission
                     Washington, D.C. 20554



In the Matter of:

SAH Houston License Corporation

v.

Falcon Telecable 
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CSR 5464-M



                  MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

   Adopted:  February 24, 2000                      Released:  February 28, 2000

By the Chief, Consumer Protection and Competition Division, Cable Services Bureau:

     I.   INTRODUCTION
1.     SAH Houston License Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shop At Home, Inc. ("Shop
at Home"), licensee of commercial television station KZJL-TV 61 ("KZJL" or the "Station"), Houston,
Texas filed a complaint pursuant to Sections 76.7 and 76.61 of the Commission's rules claiming mandatory
carriage rights for KZJL on Falcon Telecable's ("Falcon") cable systems serving West Columbia, Wharton,
Palacios, and Sweeny, Texas and the surrounding areas ("cable communities").  Falcon filed an opposition
to the complaint, and Shop at Home filed a reply.
     II.  BACKGROUND
3.     Pursuant to Section 614 of the Communications Act and the 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 "designated market area," or DMA, as defined by Nielson Media Research.  A DMA is a
geographic market designation that defines each television market exclusive of others, based on measured
viewing.
4.     Pursuant to 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.
     V.   DIscussion
6.     In its complaint, Shop at Home asserts that Falcon has failed to carry KZJL despite the
requirements of the must carry statutory provisions and the Commission's rules.  Shop at Home submitted
with its complaint copies of correspondence with Falcon showing that Shop at Home requested carriage of
KZJL on the cable systems serving the communities at issue here.  Shop at Home maintains that it did not
receive a response to its request for carriage and filed the instant complaint to preserve its rights under the
rules. Shop at Home's correspondence to Falcon further states that should the cable operator be unable to
receive a quality signal off-air from KZJL, it is committed to purchasing the requisite equipment necessary
to ensure the deliver a good quality signal to the cable systems.  Shop at Home asserts that KZJL and
Falcon's cable systems are all located in the Houston ADI and that carriage of KZJL will not increase
copyright liability for the cable operator.
7.     Citing its own signal measurement survey, Falcon contends that the complaint should be
dismissed because KZJL does not deliver a signal of sufficient strength to any of the four system headends
at issue in this case.  In reply, Shop at Home contends that the tests taken by Falcon are flawed and thus
do not prove that KZJL does not deliver a good quality signal to the headends.  Further, Shop at Home
restates it commitment to install any and all equipment necessary to deliver a good quality KZJL signal to
the cable systems.
8.     The complaint establishes that KZJL and the communities served by Falcon's cable systems are
located within the Houston DMA and that carriage of KZJL will not cause any increase in the cable
systems' copyright liability. Accordingly, we find that KZJL is a local television station qualified under the
provisions of 47 C.F.R.  76.55(c) for carriage on Falcon's cable systems at issue here, provided it delivers
a good quality signal to those cable system headends. 
9.     We find, however, that station KZJL fails to provide a good quality signal to the headends of
Falcon's cable systems at issue. The Commission's signal strength rules require that a UHF television 
broadcast  station  such  as  KZJL  deliver to the cable operator's principal headend a signal of  45dBm. 
The signal strength survey results provided by Falcon show an inadequate signal strength level at every
location tested.  Moreover, we do not agree with Shop at Home that this survey does not reflect good
engineering practices.  Falcon's signal strength survey states the date the equipment was calibrated.  Despite
Shop at Home's assertions otherwise, we do not require specific documentation to substantiate the
legitimacy of the equipment calibration date.  Also, the survey indicates that the antenna was oriented
properly, which we assume means that the antenna was peaked for maximum reception. With regard to
Shop at Home's claim regarding loss over the transmission line, we agree that there are different models of
transmission lines and line loss can vary.  However, the use of testing tools and equipment is at the
discretion of the cable operator, including the use of amplification, cable, and antenna, although the cable
operator is obligated to use the same type of equipment to receive signals of similar frequency range, type
or distance from the principal headend.  Shop at Home does not argue that the cable used to test KZLJ
differs from the cable used to receive other similar signals.
10.    Although KZJL fails to provide a good quality signal to the headends of Falcon's cable systems,
Shop at Home has made a commitment to acquire and install any and all improvements and equipment
necessary to deliver a good quality KZJL signal to the cable headends.  The Commission stated in the Must
Carry Order that 
     [I]t is the television station's obligation to bear the costs associated with delivering a good
     quality signal to the system's principal headend.  This may include improved antennas,
     increased tower height, microwave relay equipment, amplification equipment and tests that
     may be needed to determine whether the station's signal complies with the signal strength
     requirements. . .
Thus, we grant Shop at Home's must carry complaint against Falcon conditioned upon KZJL delivering a
good quality signal to Falcon's headends.
     XI.  ORDERING CLAUSES
12.    Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that, pursuant to Section 614 of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C.  534, and Sections 76.55(c) and 76.61 (a)(2) of the Commission's rules, 47
C.F.R.  76.55(c)(3) and 76.61(a)(2), the Petition for Special Relief [CSR-5464-M] filed by Shop At
Home, Inc. against Falcon Telecable IS GRANTED.
13.    IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Falcon Telecable SHALL COMMENCE CARRIAGE of
the signal, KZJL-TV within sixty (60) days from the date that KZJL provides a good quality signal at
Falcon's principal headends in West Columbia, Wharton, Palacios, and Texas.  KZJL shall notify Falcon in
writing of its carriage and channel position elections on Falcon's cable systems served by those principal
headends within 30 days of providing a good quality signal, 47 C.F.R.  76.56, 76.57 and 76.64(f) of the
Commission's rules.
14.    This action is taken pursuant to authority delegated by  0.321, 47 C.F.R. 0.321 of the
Commission's rules.

                         FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION



                         Deborah E. Klein, Chief
                         Consumer Protection and Competition Division
                         Cable Services Bureau