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

In re:                          )
                                )
Complaint of McLaughlin Broadcasting,)       CSR-5181-M
Inc. against Winnsboro/Ridgeway )
Cablevision, Inc.               )
                                )
Request for Carriage            )


                  MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

   Adopted:  April 8, 1998              Released:  April 13, 1998  

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

                           INTRODUCTION

1.   McLaughlin Broadcasting, Inc., licensee of Television Broadcast Station WQHB (Channel 63),
Sumter, South Carolina, has filed a must carry complaint against Winnsboro/Ridgeway Cablevision, Inc.
("WRC"), for that system's failure to carry WQHB on its system serving Ridgeway and Winnsboro, South
Carolina.  No opposition has been filed to this complaint.

                            BACKGROUND

2.   Pursuant to Section 614 of the Communications Act and implementing rules adopted by the
Commission in its Report and Order in MM Docket 92-259, 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.
                       SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS

3.   In support of its complaint, WQHB states that, pursuant to 76.64(f)(4) of the Commission's Rules,
it advised WRC by letter dated September 12, 1997 that it was conducting on-air program tests of its signal
and would be commencing operations shortly.  At the same time, WQHB indicates that it informed WRC that
it was electing must carry status relative to WRC's cable system.  WQHB states that WRC has not responded
either to the initial notice or a follow-up letter sent by the station's counsel on October 17, 1997 in which it
advised WRC that it had failed to respond to WQHB's formal request for carriage.  WQHB states that despite
its diligent effort to obtain carriage, WRC's failure to either provide a written commitment to carry the station
or a denial with justification, as required by 76.61(a)(2) of the rules, prompts immediate action on the part
of the Commission.  WQHB therefore requests that the Commission order WRC to commence carriage of its
signal.

                            DISCUSSION

4.   Section 76.61(a)(1) of the Commission's Rules requires that a local commercial station which believes
that a cable operator has failed to meet its carriage obligations complain in writing to the operator.  Section
76.61(a)(2) of the Rules requires that the cable operator must then respond in writing to the station's complaint
within 30 days of receipt.  The operator must either commence carriage of the signal, or explain its reasons for
failing to do so.  In this instance, we find that WQHB's September 12, 1997 notification to WRC was an
election of must carry status in lieu of retransmission consent, pursuant to 76.64(f)(4) and not a formal
request for carriage pursuant to 76.61(a)(1).  However, the October 17, 1997 letter from WQHB's counsel
can be construed as a formal request for carriage pursuant to 76.61(a)(1) of the rules and we will accept it
as such.  According to 76.55(e) of the Commission's Rules, commercial television broadcast stations, such
as WQHB, are entitled to carriage on cable systems located in the same Area of Dominant Influence (or
"ADI").  WQHB is located in the Columbia, South Carolina ADI, which is also where the communities served
by WRC are located.  As a result, because WRC has not filed a response in this proceeding, we are persuaded
by the arguments set forth in the petitioner's complaint that, as a local full-power commercial television station,
WQHB is entitled to must carry status on WRC's Ridgeway and Winnsboro, South Carolina cable system.  

                         ORDERING CLAUSES

5.   Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the petition filed December 5, 1997, on behalf of McLaughlin
Broadcasting, Inc. IS GRANTED pursuant to 614 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47
U.S.C. 534).  Winnsboro/Ridgeway Cablevision, Inc. IS ORDERED to commence carriage of Station
WQHB on its cable system serving Winnsboro and Ridgeway, South Carolina sixty (60) days from the release
date of this Order.
6.   IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that WQHB shall notify WRC in writing of its carriage and channel
position elections (76.56, 76.57 and 76.64(f) of the Commission's Rules) within thirty (30 days of the
released date of this Order.

7.   This action is taken pursuant to authority delegated by 0.321 of the Commission's Rules.

                              FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION



                              Gary M. Laden, Chief
                              Consumer Protection and Competition Division
                              Cable Services Bureau