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



In the Matter of:

Paxson Salt Lake City License, Inc.

v.

Sonic Cable Television of Utah

Request for Mandatory Carriage
of Television Station KOOG-TV
Ogden, UT

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CSR-5192-M



                    ORDER ON RECONSIDERATION

     Adopted:  April 24, 2000           Released:  April 26, 2000

By the Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau:

     I.   introduction
1.     Paxson Salt Lake City License, Inc. ("Paxson" or "Paxson Salt Lake"), licensee of commercial
television station KUWB(TV), located in Ogden, Utah filed a Petition for Reconsideration ("Petition")
requesting that the Cable Services Bureau's Order ("Bureau Order") denying must carry status to television
broadcast station KUWB(TV) ("KUWB" or the "Station") be reversed.  Paxson requests that the Bureau
grant KUWB mandatory carriage and order Sonic Cable Television of Utah ("Sonic") to cooperate with
KUWB so that the Station can provide a good quality signal to Sonic's Logan, Utah headend.  Charter
Communications Properties, LLC ("Charter") filed an opposition to the petition.
     II.  background
3.     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,
Broadcast Signal Carriage Issues, ("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 Nielsen Media Research. 
A DMA is a geographic market designation that defines each television market exclusively of others, based
on measured viewing patterns.  Essentially, each county in the United States is allocated to a market based
on which home-market stations receive the preponderance of total viewing hours in the county.  For
purposes of this calculation, both the over-the-air and cable television viewing are included.
4.     In its initial filing in this proceeding, Paxson filed a must carry complaint against Sonic for its
failure to carry KUWB on its system serving Logan, Utah and surrounding communities.  In opposition,
Sonic argued that KUWB could not deliver a good quality signal to its Logan headend as required by statute
and Commission rules.  Sonic noted that because of the mountainous terrain of the area it serves, it uses a
"receive site" at Clarkston Ridge, Utah, to receive the network affiliates' signal originating in Salt Lake
City.  Then, from the receive site, Sonic transmits those signals via fiber optic cable to its Logan headend. 
In reply, Paxson conceded that the Station did not provide a good quality over-the-air signal to Sonic's
Logan headend, but argued that KUWB should be allowed deliver its signal to Sonic's receive site at
Clarkston Ridge, Utah, instead.  In its decision, the Bureau noted that Paxson understood the statutory
requirement and Commission rule that a station seeking mandatory carriage on a cable system must deliver
a good quality signal to that system's principal headend.   The Bureau held that KUWB would be entitled
to mandatory carriage if it provided a good quality signal to the Logan headend.  The Bureau, however,
concluded that allowing KUWB to deliver its signal to a location other than Sonic's principal headend
would not be in compliance with the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992
or the Commission's rules.  
     V.   discussion
6.     In its Petition, Paxson contends that the Bureau misconstrued Paxson's argument regarding
Charter's failure to fulfill its duty as required by Congress and the Commission to cooperate with the
station's efforts to provide a good quality signal to the principal headend of [Charter's] system.  Paxson
reiterates its earlier arguments.  It contends that Charter is not giving KUWB that cooperation. Paxson
points out that the Commission has stated that it expects cable operators to cooperate fully with broadcast
stations seeking mandatory carriage to avoid depriving them of their statutorily mandated must-carry
rights.  Thus, according to Paxson, Charter must allow KUWB the use of the receive site to deliver its
signal rather than to Charter's Logan headend.  In support, Paxson cites Kralowec Children's Family Trust
v. Time Warner Cable ("Kralowec") where the Bureau stated: "[i]n instances where it has been shown that
the cable operator is not receiving a good quality signal at its headend   we expect the system and the
station to attempt to resolve any potential problems together."  Thus, Paxson asserts that Charter "is
obligated to make its existing cable plant and the method of reception it routinely utilizes for other similarly
situated broadcast stations available to Paxson."
7.     In opposition, Charter argues that the instant Petition is procedurally and substantively
defective.  Charter contends that it is procedurally defective because Paxson offers neither new facts or
evidence not previously before the Commission nor shows material error or omission in the Bureau's
original decision.  Charter contends that it is substantively defective because Paxson alleges that the
Bureau erred in not requiring Charter to provide KUWB access to Charter's receive site and transportation
of the KUWB signal to the Logan headend from Charter's Clarkston Ridge facilities.  Charter maintains
that Paxson choose to ignore a case cited in the Bureau Order, in which the Bureau stated:
     [W]hile [the Station] relies heavily on the Clarification Order's requirement that currently
     non-carried stations be measured to the extent possible using equipment currently used to
     receive similar signals, it should be noted that this same order specifies that 'cable
     operators need not employ extraordinary measures or specialized equipment when making
     measurement for stations that are not currently carried.'  The use of separate reception and
     microwave transmission equipment would fall within this category of extraordinary
     measures."
6.     Charter maintains that while it is obligated to cooperate with the television station's efforts to
provide a good quality signal to its principal headend, such obligation does not include giving KUWB
access to Charter's receive site to deliver its signal and then allowing Charter to transport KUWB's signal
to the Logan headend.  Charter notes that although a cable operator may be willing to provide
"extraordinary" measures to a licensee seeking mandatory carriage, it is not required to do so.  Charter
points out that its decision to allow the use of the Clarkston Ridge facility to only the stations it voluntarily
carries pursuant to retransmission consent agreements is discretionary, but not discriminatory.  Charter
notes further that the only must carry station it carries delivers a good quality signal to the Logan headend.

7.     The allegations previously raised by the parties and our discussion and analysis of the issues
raised are fully addressed in the Bureau Order and need not be discussed here.  Paxson, however, asserts
that the Bureau Order erred by insisting that it deliver a good quality signal to the Logan headend and by
not requiring Charter to make available its Clarkston Ridge facility to KUWB for the delivery and
transportation of its signal to the Logan headend.  Our review of the record, however, indicates that the
Bureau's initial findings and conclusions were correct.

8.     Paxson notes that Charter has a duty to cooperate with the Station so that it can deliver a good
quality signal to the operator's principal headend.  Paxson insists that the only way Charter can fulfill its
duty to cooperate is if it allows KWUB to use the Clarkston Ridge receive site as the delivery point of its
signal and then transport the signal to the Logan headend.  According to Paxson, the duty to cooperate that
Charter has pursuant to the statute and the Commission's rules would sanction the delivery of the KWUB
signal to the Clarkston Ridge facility rather than to the operator's Logan headed. Thus, Paxson requests that
the Commission order Charter to provide KWUB access to the Clarkston Ridge facility and to transport the
KWUB signal to the Logan headend.  We disagree with Paxson's interpretation of the statute and the
Commission's rules.  We also disagree with Paxson's interpretation of the manner in which Charter can
fulfill its duty to cooperate.  First, the Commission has held that the concept of delivery of a good quality
signal to a cable operator's principal headend is statutorily-mandated and is, therefore, not something which
can be arbitrarily changed at either the discretion of the cable operator or the Commission.

9.          Second, although we agree that cable operators have a duty to cooperate with broadcast
television stations seeking must carry status, we note that a cable operator is required to render such
cooperation when the issue is the delivery of a good quality signal to a cable operator's principal headend. 
The Bureau Order noted that Paxson unquestionably understands that the statute as well as the
Commission's rules require that a commercial broadcast station seeking mandatory carriage in a cable
television system must deliver a good quality signal to the cable system's principal headend, not anywhere
else.   Paxson's understanding of the statute and the rules is also evidenced in this Petition. As noted
above, Paxson states that it is "a licensee seeking to provide a good quality signal to the System's principal
headend."  In addition, Paxson cites the Kralowec case where the Commission noted that a commercial
station seeking mandatory carriage should place a good quality signal at a cable system's headend. The
cooperation expected of a cable operator, however, is not required when the cable operator has to employ
extraordinary measures to measure signal strength.  Or where, as in the instant case, the broadcast
television station wants to deliver its signal to a location other than the statutorily-mandated principal
headend.  A cable operator's cooperation in cases requiring extraordinary measures, as in this case, is
discretionary, not mandatory.  Thus, whether or not KUWB is allowed the use of the Clarkston Ridge
facility is solely within Charter's discretion.  Neither the statute nor the Commission's rules require Charter
to afford such access nor do they sanction the delivery of a station's signal to a location other than the cable
operator's principal headend.  The Commission has been clear on this point.  In its Clarification Order the
Commission stated: "[a]s the statute specifies that a broadcast station must deliver a good quality signal to
the principal headend of the cable system to be entitled to must-carry rights, we clarify that the designated
principal headend is the appropriate location for such measurement."  We therefore deny the instant
Petition.

     X.   ordering clauses
11.    Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the Petition for Reconsideration filed by Paxson Salt Lake
City License, Inc., licensee of station KWUB(TV), in CSR 5192-M IS DENIED.
12.    This action is taken pursuant to authority delegated by Section 0.321 of the Commission's
rules.
                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION



                         William H. Johnson            
                         Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau