Federal Communications Commission



Before the

Federal Communications Commission

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20554

|In the Matter of: |) | |

| |) | |

|Comcast Cablevision of New Mexico, Inc. |) | |

| |) |CSR-5508-A |

|For Modification of the Albuquerque-Santa Fe, New Mexico DMA |) |CSR-5486-M |

| |) | |

|Prime Time Christian Broadcasting, Inc. v. Comcast Cablevision of New|) | |

|Mexico, Inc. |) | |

| |) | |

|Request for Carriage |) | |

| |) | |

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ADOPTED: MAY 4, 2000 RELEASED: MAY 9, 2000

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

INTRODUCTION

Comcast Cablevision of New Mexico, Inc. (“Comcast”) filed the above-captioned petition for special relief seeking to modify the Albuquerque-Santa Fe, New Mexico DMA relative to Television Broadcast Station KRPV (Ch. 27), Roswell, New Mexico. Specifically, Comcast requests that KRPV be excluded, for purposes of the cable television mandatory broadcast signal carriage rules, from the communities served by five of its cable systems.[1] An opposition to this petition was filed on behalf of Prime Time Christian Broadcasting, Inc., licensee of Station KRPV to which Comcast has replied. In addition, KRPV has filed a must carry complaint against Comcast for its failure to carry its signal on three of its cable systems – Albuquerque, Grants and Socorro, New Mexico. Comcast has filed an opposition to this complaint and KRPV has replied. We are consolidating these cases in order to determine the signal carriage rights of KRPV in the communities served by Comcast.

BACKGROUND

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”),[2] 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.[3] A DMA is a geographic market designation that defines each television market exclusive 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 a preponderance of total viewing hours in the county. For purposes of this calculation, both over-the-air and cable television viewing are included.[4]

Under the Act, however, the Commission is also directed to consider changes in market areas. Section 614(h)(1)(C) provides that the Commission may:

with respect to a particular television broadcast station, include additional

communities within its television market or exclude communities from such

station’s television market to better effectuate the purposes of this section.[5]

In considering such requests, the 1992 Cable Act provides that:

the Commission shall afford particular attention to the value of localism

by taking into account such factors as -

I) whether the station, or other stations located in the same area, have

been historically carried on the cable system or systems within such community;

II) whether the television station provides coverage or other local

service to such community;

III) whether any other television station that is eligible to be carried by a

cable system in such community in fulfillment of the requirements of this

section provides new coverage of issues of concern to such community or

provides carriage or coverage of sporting and other events of interest to the

community;

IV) evidence of viewing patterns in cable and noncable households within

the areas served by the cable system or systems in such community.[6]

The legislative history of the provision states that:

where the presumption in favor of [DMA] carriage would result in cable

subscribers losing access to local stations because they are outside the

[DMA] in which a local cable system operates, the FCC may make an

adjustment to include or exclude particular communities from a television

station’s market consistent with Congress’ objective to ensure that

television stations be carried in the area in which they serve and which

form their economic market.

* * * *

[This subsection] establishes certain criteria which the Commission shall

consider in acting on requests to modify the geographic area in which

stations have signal carriage rights. These factors are not intended to be

exclusive, but may be used to demonstrate that a community is part of a

particular station’s market.[7]

Recently, in the Modification Final Report and Order, the Commission, in an effort to promote administrative efficiency, adopted a standardized evidence approach for modification petitions that requires the following evidence be submitted:

A) A map or maps illustrating the relevant community locations and

geographic features, station transmitter sites, cable system headend locations,

terrain features that would affect station reception, mileage between the

community and the television station transmitter site, transportation routes

and any other evidence contributing to the scope of the market.

B) Grade B contour maps delineating the station’s technical service

area and showing the location of the cable system headends and communities

in relating to the service areas.

Note: Service area maps using Longley-Rice (version 1.2.2) propagation

curves may also be included to support a technical service exhibit.[8]

C) Available data on shopping and labor patterns in the local

market.

D) Television station programming information derived from station

logs or the local edition of the television guide.

E) Cable system channel line-up cards or other exhibits establishing

historic carriage, such as television guide listings.

F) Published audience data for the relevant station showing its

average all day audience (i.e., the reported audience averaged over

Sunday-Saturday, 7 a.m., or an equivalent time period) for both cable and

noncable households or other specific audience indicia, such as station

advertising and sales data or viewer contribution records.[9]

Petitions for special relief to modify television markets that do not include the above evidence shall be dismissed without prejudice and may be re-filed at a later date with the appropriate filing fee. Parties may continue to submit whatever additional evidence they deem appropriate and relevant.

With respect to deletions of communities from a station’s market, the legislative history of the provision states that:

The provisions of [this subsection] reflect a recognition that the Commission

may conclude that a community within a station’s [DMA] may be so far

removed from the station that it cannot be deemed part of the station’s

market. It is not the Committee’s intention that these provisions be used by

cable systems to manipulate their carriage obligations to avoid compliance

with the objectives of this section. Further, this section is not intended to

permit a cable system to discriminate among several stations licensed to the

same community. Unless a cable system can point to particularized evidence

that its community is not part of one station’s market, it should not be

permitted to single out individual stations serving the same area and request

that the cable system’s community be deleted from the station’s television

market.[10]

In adopting rules to implement this provision, the Commission indicated that requested changes should be considered on a community-by-community basis rather than on a county-by-county basis, and that they should be treated as specific to particular stations rather than applicable in common to all stations in the market.[11] The rules further provide, in accordance with the requirements of the 1992 Cable Act, that a station not be deleted from carriage during the pendency of a modification request.[12]

DISCUSSION

1 Market Modification

The issue before us is whether to grant Comcast’s request to exclude Roswell television station KRPV from mandatory carriage in its cable system communities. Comcast’s communities are located in the New Mexico counties of Bernalillo, Sandoval, Valencia, Cibola and Santa Fe, which are deemed to be part of the Albuquerque-Santa Fe DMA. KRPV is licensed to Roswell, New Mexico, which is also considered to be part of the Albuquerque DMA. The market change process incorporated into the Communications Act is not intended to be a process whereby cable operators may seek relief from the mandatory signal carriage obligations apart from the question of whether a change in the market area is warranted. When viewed against this backdrop, and considering all of the relevant factual circumstances in the record, we believe that Media General’s deletion petition appears to be a legitimate request to redraw DMA boundaries to make them congruous with market realities.

In support of its request, Comcast argues that the Albuquerque-Santa Fe DMA, in which both its cable systems and KRPV are located, encompasses most of the state of New Mexico, as well as portions of Arizona, Colorado and Texas, and covers nearly 500 miles.[13] Comcast states that its systems are located roughly in the center of the market, while KRPV’s city of license is located in the southeastern portion. Comcast asserts, therefore, that because KRPV does not operate in the natural market for its cable communities, those communities should be excluded from the must carry requirements with regard to KRPV. Comcast points out that KRPV has no history of carriage in the instant communities nor has any neighboring cable systems ever carried the station.[14] Moreover, Comcast states that, to its knowledge, no cable systems in its area carry any other television station licensed to Roswell. Comcast states further that KRPV is geographically remote as Roswell is located approximately 200 miles away from its cable system communities.[15] Comcast argues that in previous decisions the Commission has considered stations and communities as close as 63 kilometers apart to be different markets.[16] In addition, Comcast indicates that not only does KRPV’s Grade B contour fail to encompass any of the communities, but the station does not provide any programming that has a distinct nexus to the communities in question.[17] Comcast maintains that KRPV’s failure to provide local programming is not mitigated by the fact that it provides a “specialized” format. It points out that the Cable Services Bureau has explained that “[t]he fact that a station is of specialized appeal does not mean that its logical market area is without limits or that it should be exempt from the Section 614(h) market modification process.”[18]

In any event, Comcast argues that its cable communities already receive ample local programming addressing their interests and concerns from stations which it currently carries. In addition, Comcast states that many of the programs broadcast by KRPV are currently available to its cable subscribers via local broadcast stations the systems carry.[19] Further, Comcast states that while it has not commissioned an audience survey for KRPV in its cable communities, there is little hope that the station has any appreciable viewership. Moreover, Comcast points out that it is not listed in the area’s main newspaper, the Albuquerque Journal/Tribune, or the local edition of TV Guide.[20] Comcast states that in this instance, Albuquerque forms a distinct and separate market from that of Roswell. For instance, Comcast indicates that, apart from being known for the 1947 Roswell Incident, Roswell itself boasts a thriving cuultural and economic identity with over 100 churches, 260 civic clubs, five museums, 28 parks, two libraries, two colleges and community theater.[21] In addition, Comcast states that there are three full-power television stations licensed to Roswell, ten radio stations, and the circulation of its local daily paper, the Roswell Record, dwarfs that of the Albuquerque Journal/Tribune.[22] Comcast indicates also that Rand McNally’s Basic Trading Area (“BTA”) system, its Ranally Metropolitan Area (“RMA”) standard, and its Principal Business Center (“PBC”) classifications all place Roswell and Albuquerque as separate entities.[23] Finally, Comcast states that the U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s (“OMB”) Metropolitan Statistical Areas (“MSAs”) classification, which analyzes commuting trends between communities, concludes that the instant cable communities properly belong to the Albuquerque MSA. Roswell itself is not assigned to any MSA. In view of the above, Comcast requests that its petition for exclusion be granted.

In opposition, KRPV argues that Comcast’s justifications for its request for exclusion are either irrelevant or incorrect in weighing KRPV’s mandatory carriage rights in the instant communities. KRPV points out that the Commission has long held that a station’s inability to establish historical carriage is not entitled to great weight, especially, as here, where a religious “specialty” station is involved.[24] KRPV requests that the Commission take note that as a station which went on-the-air in 1986, it is presumptively entitled to mandatory carriage in the instant cable communities because of the must carry rules adopted by the Commission in 1993 and qualifies as a “religious” station in view of its programming schedule.[25] Under these circumstances, KRPV urges the Commission to give no weight to the historical carriage criterion and ignore the discriminatory non-carriage of its signal by Comcast by presuming for purposes of this proceeding that KRPV has been carried during the last 6 ½ years.

In addition, while Comcast notes KRPV’s lack of Grade B coverage, KRPV states that it ignores the fact that KRPV’s signal will be available to Comcast’s headends via satellite transmission and has provided, at its own expense, any equipment necessary to ensure a good quality signal at the various system headends. KRPV asserts that the fact that it does not provide an off-air Grade B signal to the instant communities should not be deemed relevant when satellite relay delivery will provide a better than 64 dBu signal. Moreover, KRPV points out that it is well-established that a broadcast station can satisfy the “good quality signal” requirement by the use of “improved antennas, increased tower height, microwave relay equipment, [or] amplification equipment.”[26] KRPV maintains that the Commission’s listing of delivery mechanisms is not intended to be exclusive and should therefore include satellite feeds such as it proposes. KRPV believes that such delivery can supercede the Commission’s historical view that “[a]s a general matter, Grade B coverage demonstrates service to cable communities and serves as a measure of a station’s natural economic market.”[27] KRPV maintains that this view is also supported by the “local-into-local” provisions of the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act of 1999 (“SHVIA”).[28] KRPV states that in evaluating the “local signal” criterion, the Commission should conclude that KRPV should be treated as if it placed an off-air Grade B contour over the communities.

KRPV argues that Comcast mistakenly attempts to minimize the significance of its station’s religious programming by asserting that none of the programming is specifically targeted to the cable communities and that other currently carried stations provide local programming. KRPV maintains, however, that its 24-hour religious format specially fulfills an important community programming need in the instant communities; a need which is not met by Comcast’s carriage of the other stations it cites.[29] While KRPV concedes that its programming does not originate in any of the cable communities at issue or specifically target them, the Commission has established that the purpose of the “local programming” criterion is not to serve as a bar to a station’s carriage claim whenever other stations could also be shown to serve the communities at issue.[30] In this instance, KRPV asserts that because its religious programming is much more comprehensive that what is otherwise available from any other local station which Comcast carries and uniquely fills an important local programming need, KRPV should be treated as offering a “local programming service” to the communities herein.

Finally, KRPV states that Comcast erroneously asks the Commission to declare that Roswell is a separate market that is not part of the Albuquerque DMA. KRPV points out that the Modification Report and Order designated DMAs in controlling market modification adjudications and that Nielsen has decreed that Roswell stations are part of the Albuquerque DMA for this purpose.[31] Granting Comcast’s request, argues KRPV, would not only amount to placing all three Roswell stations in an undefined Roswell DMA, an action which the Commission lacks authority to make, but potentially deny must carry rights to KRPV in other New Mexico counties not part of this proceeding.

Comcast argues that KRPV fails to challenge any of the factual showings presented in its petition, but instead essentially requests that the Bureau disregard the statutory factors and case law governing market modification proceedings so that it may receive its entitlement to carriage.[32] Comcast maintains that such arguments are without merit and appear to result from KRPV’s failure to distinguish between Commission decisions resolving must carry complaints and those resolving market modification petitions. For instance, Comcast points out that the question of signal quality is not applicable in a market modification proceeding where the issue is whether a station’s carriage would better effectuate Congress’ intent that stations be carried in “the areas which they serve and which form their economic market.”[33] Comcast states that in market modification cases, the Bureau frequently uses a station’s licensed service area (as measured by its Grade B contour) as a tool to adjust the station’s must carry boundaries. As such, Comcast argues, the lack of a Grade B is relevant and the station’s delivery via satellite legally irrelevant in the context of this proceeding. Moreover, despite KRPV’s assertions, Comcast points out that the Bureau has explained that “[t]he fact that a station is of specialized appeal does not mean that its logical market area is without limits or that it should be exempt from the Section 614(h) market modification process.”[34] Comcast concludes that the record herein conclusively establishes that Comcast has satisfied the market modification criteria and therefore its request should be granted.

With respect to the mandatory statutory criteria, we have carefully reviewed the information provided by Comcast in the context of its request. An analysis of this evidence, as it relates to each factor, is provided below.

Historic Carriage. KRPV began operation in September 1986. Despite being on-the-air for 14 years, the station has no history of carriage on Comcast’s cable systems. Given the statutory directive, consideration must be given to this factor, bearing in mind that the objective of the Section 614(h) process is to “better effectuate the purposes” of the broadcast signal carriage scheme. Thus, with respect to the question of historical carriage patterns, attention must be paid to the circumstances from which such patterns developed. Some stations have not had the opportunity to build a record of historical carriage for specific reasons that do not necessarily reflect a judgment as to the geography of the market involved. Therefore, the historical carriage factor – to the extent such lack of carriage is reflective of factors outside of the shape of the market – is not by itself controlling in these circumstances because such an implementation of the 1992 Cable Act would, in effect, prevent weaker stations, that cable systems had previously declined to carry, from ever obtaining carriage rights. In this instance, we note that, along with KRPV, no other station licensed to Roswell has ever been carried on Comcast’s cable systems, nor, apparently, on any other nearby cable systems. Comcast’s failure to carry other similarly-situated stations demonstrates a lack of nexus between KRPV and the subject cable communities.

Grade B Coverage/Local Service. A station’s local service to cable communities is one of the relevant factors to consider in this particular case. It is not influenced by the type or age of the station involved or historical carriage. Service may be measured through geographic means: by examining the distance between the station and the cable communities subject to the deletion request and taking into account natural phenomena such as waterways, mountains and valleys which tend to separate communities. A station’s broadcast of local programming, which has a distinct nexus to the cable communities, is also evidence of local service. Finally, a station’s Grade A or Grade B contour coverage is an additional indicator of local service and we will weigh the presence or absence of such technical coverage accordingly.[35] In the instant proceeding, KRPV does not satisfy any of the local coverage elements we find important in the market modification analysis. In this case, KRPV cites no examples of any programming specifically directed to the subject communities, but instead contends that its 24-hour religious format provides valuable programming services to the communities. We are not convinced that such programming, while of potential general interest, is the kind that suggests that the subject communities, in total, are a particular focus of the station or are in any sense served in a manner that establishes a specific market connection. Further, the cable communities in question lie outside of KRPV’s predicted Grade B contour and are, on average, approximately 200 miles from KRPV’s city of license. While KRPV has argued that its ability to deliver a good quality signal via satellite should countermand its lack of Grade B coverage, we note that a station’s ability or lack of ability to deliver an adequate signal is not an issue which is relevant in a modification proceeding.[36]

Carriage of Other Stations. We also believe that Comcast’s carriage of other local television stations provides support for the action requested. Where a cable operator is seeking to delete a station’s mandatory carriage rights in certain communities, the issue of local coverage by other stations becomes a factor to which we will give greater weight than in cases where a party is seeking to add communities. In this case, we find that the Albuquerque stations carried by Comcast have a closer nexus to the cable systems herein than does KRPV. These market facts, coupled with the distance between the cable system and KRPV, support Comcast’s modification request under the third factor.

Viewership. Nielsen’s 1997 County/Coverage Study fails to indicate any viewership for KRPV in the counties in which the subject cable communities are located. This dearth of viewership is of evidentiary significance when tied with the lack of historical carriage and Grade B coverage.

After carefully considering each statutory factor in the context of the circumstances presented here, as well as other relevant information, we grant Comcast’s modification request. Based on geography, we believe that the cable communities herein are sufficiently removed from KRPV that they ought not be deemed part of KRPV’s market for mandatory carriage purposes.[37] According to the legislative history of the 1992 Cable Act, the use of DMA market areas is intended “to ensure that television stations be carried in the areas which they service and which form their economic market.”[38] Changes may be sought and granted by the Commission “to better effectuate the purposes” of the mandatory carriage requirements.”[39] Moreover, given the evidence as to the lack of Grade B coverage, the lack of viewership in the cable communities at issue, the lack of historic carriage, and the absence of evidence indicating that KRPV provides local programming, we conclude that deletion of Comcast’s cable communities from KRPV’s market for mandatory carriage purposes effectuates the purposes of Section 614 of the Communications Act.

Finally, we note that KRPV is misplaced in its contention that, due to the evidence Comcast presented delineating the differences between the Albuquerque and Roswell markets, grant of Comcast’s petition will remove the entire Roswell market from its inclusion in the Albuquerque DMA. The evidence Comcast presented was merely pursuant to the new information parameters allowed in the Modification Final Report and Order. Our action herein is specific only to KRPV and the cable communities set forth in the Order.

2 Must Carry Complaint

In view of our decision in Comcast’s modification petition set forth in paragraph 22 above, the arguments raised by Comcast and KRPV in reference to the above-described must carry complaint are now moot. As such, KRPV’s must carry complaint will be dismissed.

ORDERING CLAUSES

Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to Section 614(h) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47 U.S.C. §534) and Section 76.59 of the Commission’s rules (47 C.F.R. §76.59), that the captioned petition for special relief (CSR-5508-A), filed by Comcast Cablevision of New Mexico, Inc. IS GRANTED.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that the must carry complaint filed December 21, 1999, on behalf of Prime Time Christian Broadcasting, Inc. IS DISMISSED.

These actions are taken pursuant to authority delegated by Section 0.321 of the Commission’s rules.[40]

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Deborah Klein, Chief

Consumer Protection and Competition Division

Cable Services Bureau

-----------------------

[1]The cable system headends and the communities each serves are as follows: a) Albuquerque – Albuquerque, Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, Corrales, Kirtland AFB, and Bernalillo County; b) Bernalillo – Bernilillo and Sandoval County; c) Bosque Farms – Bosque Farms, Peralta and Valencia County; d) Grants – Grants, Milan, Cibola County, San Rafael and Bluewater; e) Placitas – Placitas; f) Socorro – Socorro; g) Thoreau – Thoreau; and h) Tijeras – Tijeras, Bernalillo County, Moriarty, Santa Fe County, Isleta, Cedar Crest, Sandia Park and Edgewood.

[2]8 FCC Rcd 2965, 2976-1977 (1993).

[3]Section 614(h)(1)(C) of the Communications Act, as amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, provides that a station’s market shall be determined by the Commission by regulation or order using, where available, commercial publications which delineate television markets based on viewing patterns. See 47 U.S.C. §534(h)(1)(C). Until January 1, 2000, Section 76.55(e) of the Commission’s rules provided that Arbitron’s “Areas of Dominant Influence,” or ADIs, published in the 1991-1992 Television Market Guide, “be used to implement the mandatory carriage rules. Effective January 1, 2000, however, Section 76.55(e) now requires that a commercial broadcast television station’s market be defined by Nielsen Media Research’s DMAs. For the must-carry/retransmission consent elections that took place on October 1, 1999, commercial television stations were required to make their elections based on DMAs. See Definition of Markets for Purposes of the Cable Television Broadcast Signal Carriage Rules, Order on Reconsideration and Second Report and Order, 14 FCC Rcd 8366 (1999)(“Modification Final Report and Order”).

[4]For a more complete description of how counties are allocated, see Nielsen Media Research’s Nielsen Station Index: Methodology Techniques and Data Interpretation.

[5]47 U.S.C. §534(h)(1)(C).

[6]Must Carry Order, 8 FCC Rcd 2965, 2976 (1993).

[7]H.R. Rep. 102-628, 102d Cong., 2d Sess. 97 (1992).

[8]The Longley-Rice model provides a more accurate representation of a station’s technical coverage area because it takes into account such factors as mountains and valleys that are not specifically reflected in a traditional Grade B contour analysis. In situations involving mountainous terrain or other unusual geographical features, Longley-Rice propagation studies can aid in determining whether or not a television station actually provides local service to a community under factor two of the market modification test.

[9]47 C.F.R. §76.59(b).

[10]H.R. Rep. 102-628, 102d Cong., 2d Sess. 97-98 (1992).

[11]Must Carry Order, 8 FCC Rcd 2965, 2977 n. 139.

[12]47 C.F.R. §76.59.

[13]Petition at Exhibit A.

[14]Id. at 3.

[15]Id. at Exhibit C.

[16]See e.g., Armstrong Utilities, Inc., 12 FCC Rcd 2498 (1997)(63-89 kilometers); A-R Cable Services, Inc., 11 FCC Rcd 21080 (1996)(77 kilometers); and Time Warner Cable, 11 FCC Rcd 13149 (1996)(72 kilometers).

[17]Petition at Exhibit C.

[18]See Rifkin/Naragansett of South Florida, CATV Limited Partnership, 11 FCC Rcd 21090, 21104 (1996).

[19]Petition at 6. Comcast points in particular to stations KCHF, KAZQ and KNAT, which together provide at least eleven programs that also air on KRPV.

[20]Id. at 7.

[21]See Roswell Chamber of Commerce @.

[22]Petition at 8 citing Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook 1999.

[23] Id., citing 1999 Commercial Atlas & Marketing Guide.

[24]See e.g., Time Warner Cable, 10 FCC Rcd 936, 938 (1995), citing Amendment of Part 76, Subparts A and D of the Commission’s Rules and Regulations Relative to Adding a New Definition for “Specialty Stations” and “Specialty Format Programming” and Amending the Appropriate Signal Carriage Rules, First Report and Order, 58 FCC 2d 442, 452 (1976), recon. denied, 60 FCC 2d 661 (1976).

[25]Opposition at 3.

[26]Implementation of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, Broadcast Signal Carriage Issues, 8 FCC Rcd 2965, 2991 (1993)(“Must Carry Clarification”).

[27]Rifkin/Narragansett South Florida, 11 FCC Rcd 21090, 21104 n.59 (1996).

[28]P.L. 106-113, §1000(9), 113 Stat. 1501 (1999).

[29]Opposition at 5. KRPV states that Comcast’s Exhibit identifies only 11 duplicated programs on KNAT, KCHF and KAZQ, which is only a small fraction of the 336 half-hour program segments KRPV broadcasts per week.

[30]See Time Warner Cable, 10 FCC Rcd 962, 964 n.15 (1995).

[31]See Definition of Markets for Purposes of the Cable Television Mandatory Television Broadcast Signal Carriage Rules, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 11 FCC Rcd 6201, 6220-6224 (1996)(“Market Determinations”).

[32]Reply at 1.

[33]H.R. Rep. No. 102-628, 102d Cong., 2d Sess. 97 (1992).

[34]Rifkin/Narragansett of South Florida, 11 FCC Rcd 21090, 21104 (1996).

[35]As a general matter, Grade B coverage demonstrates service to cable communities and serves as a measure of a station’s natural economic market. See Must Carry Order, 8 FCC Rcd at 2977. See also Amendment of Section 76.51 Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne, and Cocoa, Florida, Report and Order, 102 FCC 2d 1062, 1070 (1985)(“We believe that television stations actually do or logically can rely on the area within their Grade B contours for economic support.”)

[36]It should be noted that, in our review of the maps exhibits submitted by Comcast, we do not find that the petitioner’s submissions accurately reflect the topographical features of the area represented. Since terrrain features were not an issue in this matter, however, these exhibits are not relevant to the decision herein.

[37]H.R. Rep. 102-628, 102d Cong., 2d Sess. 97-98 (1992).

[38]Id. at 97.

[39]47 U.S.C. §534(h).

[40]47 C.F.R. §0.321.

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