FOR FCC RECORD ONLY $//Ventura County Cablevision, Moorpark, CA, MO&O, DA 95-693//$ $/76.922 Rates for Cable Programming Service tiers/$ $/benchmark cable rates/$ Before the FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20554 DA 95-693 In the matter of ) Ventura County Cablevision ) CUID No. CA0313, Moorpark, CA ) Benchmark Filing to Support ) Cable Programming Service Price ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Adopted: March 31, 1995 Released: April 6, 1995 By the Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau: 1. Here we consider a complaint about the price Ventura County Cablevision ("Operator") was charging for its cable programming service ("CPS") tier in the community designated above. Operator has chosen to attempt to justify its price through a benchmark showing on FCC Form 393. This Order addresses the reasonableness of Operator's price only through May 14, 1994. At a later date we will issue a separate order addressing the reasonableness of the price after that date. 2. Under the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, and our rules implementing it, 47 C.F.R. Part 76, Subpart N, the Commission must review CPS prices upon the filing of a valid complaint. The filing of a valid complaint triggers an obligation on behalf of the cable operator to file a justification of its CPS prices. Under our rules, an operator may attempt to justify its prices through either a benchmark showing or a cost-of-service showing. In either case, the operator has the burden of demonstrating that its CPS prices are not unreasonable. 3. The Commission's original rate regulations took effect on September 1, 1993. The Commission subsequently revised its rate regulations effective May 15, 1994. Operators with valid CPS complaints filed against them prior to May 15, 1994 must demonstrate that their CPS prices were in compliance with the Commission's initial rules from the time the complaint was filed through May 14, 1994, and that their prices were in compliance with the revised rules from May 15, 1994 forward. Operators attempting to justify their prices for the period prior to May 15, 1994 through a benchmark showing must complete and file FCC Form 393. Generally, to justify their prices for the period beginning May 15, 1994 through a benchmark showing, operators must use the FCC Form 1200 series. 4. The first valid CPS complaint in the franchise area which is the subject of this Order was completed and served on Operator and received by the Commission on the date set forth on Appendix A. Operator filed an FCC Form 393 submission in response to this rate complaint; Operator has also filed amended and supplemental Form 393 filings, most recently on February 7, 1995. 5. On March 28, 1994, Operator filed a motion to dismiss this complaint because the complainant failed to list the channels included in the CPS tier or otherwise describe the cable programming service at issue. Complainant filed its complaint on a revised FCC Form 329, released by the Commission in January 1994, that does not require an itemization of the channels in the CPS tier. Operator argues that the revised FCC Form 329 is deficient because it does not request "a description of the cable programming service or associated equipment involved and, if applicable, how the service or associated equipment has changed." Operator's argument does not persuade us that the complaint is invalid or should be dismissed. The Commission revised Form 329 because experience had shown that the prior Form 329 requested unnecessary information and was confusing to many complainants. Form 329 was therefore revised consistent with the congressional mandate to avoid imposing unnecessarily "technical or complicated" pleading requirements on complainants. In general, we will find valid any complaint that states a claim on which relief can be granted and provides adequate information to allow us to process the complaint. This complaint taken as a whole clearly relates to Operator's price for the CPS tier. We therefore find the complaint valid and deny Operator's motion to dismiss. 6. Operator asserts that its monthly CPS tier price is justified by its benchmark filing because its price is lower than or equal to the maximum permitted charge as calculated in the filing. Upon review of Operator's Form 393 filing, we have found that it has not correctly calculated its maximum permitted price, and it is therefore appropriate to make the following adjustments to Operator's calculations in Form 393: a. In Line 3 of Step A of Part III of its FCC Form 393, Operator did not correctly calculate its customer equipment and installation costs using the percentage of total maintenance and installation costs stated on Line 2. We therefore adjusted Line 3 to equal the percentage stated on Line 2 of the total costs entered on Line 1, and adjusted subsequent steps accordingly. b. In response to the Commission's rate regulations, on September 1, 1993, Operator restructured its rates. This restructuring, however, is not reflected on Line 101 of Worksheet 1 of Part II of Operator's FCC Form 393. Instead of entering its currently effective tier prices, as required by the directions for Line 101, Operator entered its previously effective tier prices. Accordingly, Worksheet 1 was adjusted to reflect current tier charge information. c. Operator's Form 393, Worksheet 1, Line 104 entry does not represent its current monthly equipment revenue as of the initial date of regulation. Since Operator restructured its rates, including its equipment rates, on September 1, 1993, in an attempt to comply with the Commission's regulations, the monthly equipment cost figure it entered on Line 34 of Step G of Part III should have been close or identical to its Line 104 entry. However, Operator's entry on Line 104 differed substantially from its entry on Line 34. We therefore adjusted Line 104 to equal the amount entered on Line 34, as adjusted pursuant to paragraph 5a, supra. 7. Because of these errors, we conclude that Operator has failed to demonstrate that its price for the CPS tier was not unreasonable. We will therefore set a price for this tier, incorporating the adjustments discussed above. In doing so, we must also recalculate the Inflation Adjustment Factor in Form 393, Part II, Worksheet 1, on the basis of the most accurate data currently available for the date for which Operator filed. On its Form 393, Operator entered 17 months on Line 124, indicating that it calculated the Inflation Adjustment Factor through February 1994. On July 29, 1994, the U.S. Department of Commerce released corrected inflation data including Gross National Product Price Index (GNP-PI) figures of 122.3 for the third quarter of 1992 and 126.5 for the fourth quarter of 1993. Using these GNP-PI figures, we calculate an Inflation Adjustment Factor through February 1994, the base date Operator used in justifying its rates, of 1.039. 8. Upon review of the record herein, and having incorporated the adjustments discussed above, we conclude that Operator's showing supports the maximum reasonable CPS tier price shown on Appendix B (plus franchise fee) for the period from the filing of the earliest complaint (as set forth in Appendix A) to May 14, 1994. However, we further determine that the refund at issue is such a de minimis amount that it would not serve the public interest to order a refund. 9. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to Section 0.321 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  0.321, that the complaint referred to in Appendix A against the cable programming service price charged by Operator in the area referenced above and at Appendix A herein IS GRANTED TO THE EXTENT INDICATED HEREIN AND DENIED TO THE EXTENT INDICATED HEREIN. 10. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the benchmark filing submitted by Operator justifies the maximum reasonable price set forth in Appendix B (plus franchise fee) for Operator's cable programming service tier. 11. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Section 76.922(b)(4)(C) of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  76.922(b)(4)(C), that Operator shall, within 30 days of the release of this Order, revise its Form 1200 filing with respect to the community listed herein, for the period beginning May 15, 1994, to reduce the monthly charge per tier as of March 31, 1994 for Tier 2 (Line A6b) to equal the maximum price set forth in Appendix B (plus franchise fee). 12. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Operator shall place into effect, within 30 days after its submission of the revised Form 1200 filing required above, a price that reflects the reduction in the CPS rate determined in this Order. 13. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, pursuant to Section 76.960 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R.  76.960, that Operator shall not be required to obtain advance approval of adjustments to its CPS price in the franchise area addressed herein for one year following the release of this Order, due to Operator's having submitted in good faith an optional supplemental filing in response to our Public Notice. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Gregory J. Vogt Deputy Chief, Cable Services Bureau Appendix A CUID No. Date First Complaint Date Complaint Filed with FCC Served CA0313 2/25/94 2/25/94 Appendix B CUID No. Actual Rates Maximum Permitted Rates CA0313 $9.05 $8.93