[Federal Register: May 17, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 95)]
[Notices]
[Page 27811-27813]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17my07-42]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[MM Docket No. 93-8; DA 07-2005]
Commission Seeks To Update the Record for a Petition for
Reconsideration Regarding Home Shopping Stations
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission seeks to update the record
for a Petition for Reconsideration filed by the Center for the Study of
Commercialism (CSC), concerning stations that air home shopping
programming and their status. The Commission seeks comment on CSC's
argument that the Commission failed to consider in its public interest
analysis the significant amount of commercial programming broadcast by
home shopping stations; on the specific issues concerning how home
shopping stations serve the people in their communities, including the
elderly and homebound; on CSC's assertion that the Commission failed to
consider information relevant to one of three statutory factors, i.e.,
competing demands for the spectrum; and on CSC's assertion that the
Cable Act requires the Commission to consider non-broadcast uses in its
analysis of competing demands for spectrum. The Commission would like
to update the record for this proceeding before ruling on the petition.
[[Page 27812]]
DATES: Comments for this proceeding are due on or before June 18, 2007;
reply comments are due on or before July 2, 2007.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by MM Docket No. 93-8,
by any of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Federal Communications Commission's Web site: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
People with Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request
reasonable accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language
interpreters, CART, etc.) by e-mail: FCC504@fcc.gov or phone: 202-418-
0530 or TTY: 202-418-0432.
For detailed instructions for submitting comments and additional
information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information on this
proceeding, contact Belinda Nixon, Belinda.Nixon@fcc.gov of the Media
Bureau, Policy Division, (202) 418-1382. Press inquiries should be
directed to Mary Diamond of the Media Bureau, (202) 418-2388. TTY:
(202) 418-7172 or (888) 835-5322.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Public
Notice, DA 07-2005 released on May 4, 2007. The full text of this
document is available for public inspection and copying during regular
business hours in the FCC Reference Center, Federal Communications
Commission, 445 12th Street, SW., CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. These
documents will also be available via ECFS (http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/).
(Documents will be available electronically in ASCII, Word 97, and/
or Adobe Acrobat.) The complete text may be purchased from the
Commission's copy contractor, 445 12th Street, SW., Room CY-B402,
Washington, DC 20554. To request this document in accessible formats
(computer diskettes, large print, audio recording, and Braille), send
an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Commission's Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432
(TTY).
Summary of the Notice
1. In this Public Notice, the Commission seeks to update the record
for a Petition for Reconsideration of its Report and Order in MM Docket
No. 93-8 (58 FR 39156-01), concerning stations that air home shopping
programming and their status under section 4(g) of the Cable Television
Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992. In the Report and
Order, the Commission concluded that television broadcast stations that
are used predominantly for the transmission of sales presentations or
program length commercials (such as home shopping stations) serve the
public interest and are therefore qualified for mandatory cable
carriage. The Center for the Study of Commercialism (CSC) filed a
petition for reconsideration of that order. We issue this Public Notice
because the Commission would like to update the record for this
proceeding before ruling on the petition.
2. On January 14, 1993, the Commission opened a proceeding to
implement section 4(g) of the Cable Act of 1992. The Cable Act requires
the Commission to determine, regardless of prior proceedings, whether
home shopping broadcast stations are serving the public interest,
convenience, and necessity. Pursuant to this provision, if the
Commission finds that these stations serve the public interest, it must
qualify them as local commercial television stations for the purposes
of mandatory cable carriage, or must-carry. If the Commission found
that one or more such stations did not serve the public interest, then
the Act required the Commission to provide them with reasonable time to
provide different programming. The Cable Act further provides that the
Commission consider three factors in making its public interest
determination: ``The viewing of home shopping stations, the level of
competing demands for the spectrum allocated to such stations, and the
role of such stations in providing competition to nonbroadcast services
offering similar programming.''
3. In the Report and Order, the Commission noted that the
overwhelming majority of commenters in the proceeding contended that
home shopping stations do serve the public interest, that their
programming format should not adversely affect their renewal
expectancy, and that they should be eligible for must-carry status.
Addressing the first of the three factors enumerated in Section 4(g),
the Commission found that home shopping stations have significant
viewership. With respect to the second factor, the Commission found
that it must consider the demands only of other television broadcasters
and not the demands of services other than broadcast television. The
Commission further found that the licensing process adequately took
into account the competing demands of television broadcasters for the
television broadcast spectrum. Finally, turning to the third factor,
the Commission found that the existence and carriage of home shopping
broadcast stations play a role in providing competition for
nonbroadcast services supplying similar programming. Thus, the
Commission found that each of the three statutory factors supported a
conclusion that home shopping stations are serving the public interest.
4. In addition, the Commission found that other factors, including
the following, supported its conclusion: (1) Home shopping stations
provide a needed and valuable service to people without the time or
ability to obtain goods outside the home, including the disabled,
elderly, and homebound; (2) home shopping stations fulfill public
interest programming obligations; (3) the role played by the Home
Shopping Network in assisting minority-controlled and other small and
marginal stations to attain financial viability; and (4) lack of
evidence that the marketplace had failed to serve television viewers
based on the then-present number and variety of home shopping services.
Accordingly, the Commission concluded that home shopping stations serve
the public interest, and it therefore qualified them as local
commercial television stations for the purposes of mandatory cable
carriage.
5. CSC argues that (1) the Commission did not consider the amount
of the commercial programming home shopping stations broadcast when it
concluded that such stations discharge their obligation to broadcast
programming that is in the public interest; and (2) the Commission did
not consider information relevant to the second of the three factors in
section 4(g) relating to competing uses for the television broadcast
spectrum.
6. In order to update our records for this proceeding, we seek
comment on the issues presented in the petition for reconsideration
filed by CSC. CSC argues that the Commission failed to consider in its
public interest analysis the significant amount of commercial
programming broadcast by home shopping stations. We seek comments on
this assertion. Additionally, in order to update the record, we're now
seeking comment on the specific issues concerning how home shopping
stations serve the people in their communities, including the elderly
and homebound.
7. We also seek comment on CSC's assertion that the Commission
failed to consider information relevant to the second statutory factor,
i.e., competing demands for the spectrum. Specifically,
[[Page 27813]]
CSC claims that the Commission failed to consider evidence regarding
Congressional intent that the Commission consider non-broadcast uses
for the television broadcast spectrum, such as those of police and fire
departments. We seek comment on CSC's assertion that the Cable Act
requires the Commission to consider non-broadcast uses in its analysis
of competing demands for spectrum.
8. Finally, given the passage of time since the Report and Order
was adopted, we seek comment on the current number of broadcast
stations that provide home shopping programs for the majority of their
broadcast day. How do home shopping stations meet their public interest
obligations? In particular, how do they comply with the requirements of
the Children's Television Act of 1990 and licensees' obligation to
provide coverage of issues facing their communities?
9. Ex Parte Rules. This proceeding will be treated as a ``permit-
but-disclose'' proceeding subject to the ``permit-but-disclose''
requirements under section 1.1206(b) of the Commission's rules. Ex
parte presentations are permissible if disclosed in accordance with
Commission rules, except during the Sunshine Agenda period when
presentations, ex parte or otherwise, are generally prohibited. Persons
making oral ex parte presentations are reminded that a memorandum
summarizing a presentation must contain a summary of the substance of
the presentation and not merely a listing of the subjects discussed.
More than a one- or two-sentence description of the views and arguments
presented is generally required. Additional rules pertaining to oral
and written presentations are set forth in section 1.1206(b).
10. Pursuant to Sections 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's rules,
interested parties may file comments and reply comments on or before
the dates indicated on the first page of this document. All filings
must be submitted in MM Docket No. 93-8. Pleadings sent via e-mail to
the Commission will be considered informal and will not be part of the
official record. Comments may be filed using: (1) The Commission's
Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), (2) the Federal Government's
eRulemaking Portal, or (3) by filing paper copies.
Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically
using the Internet by accessing the ECFS: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/ or the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Filers
should follow the instructions provided on the website for submitting
comments.
For ECFS filers, in completing the transmittal screen,
filers should include their full name, U.S. Postal service mailing
address, and the applicable docket number: MM Docket No. 93-8. Parties
may also submit an electronic comment by Internet e-mail. To get filing
instructions, filers should send an e-mail to ecfs@fcc.gov, and include
the following words in the body of the message: ``get form''. A sample
form and instructions will be sent in response.
Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must
file an original and four copies of each filing. Filings can be sent by
hand or messenger delivery, by commercial overnight courier, or by
first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail (although we continue
to experience delays in receiving U.S. Postal Service mail). All
filings must be addressed to the Commission's Secretary, Office of the
Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.
The Commission's contractor will receive hand-delivered or
messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission's Secretary at 236
Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Suite 110, Washington, DC 20002. The filing
hours at this location are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. All hand deliveries must be
held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes must be
disposed of before entering the building.
Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service
Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9300 East Hampton
Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.
U.S. Postal Service first-class mail, Express Mail, and
Priority Mail should be addressed to 445 12th Street, SW., Washington,
D.C. 20554.
People with Disabilities: To request materials in
accessible formats for persons with disabilities (Braille, large print,
electronic files, audio format), send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or
contact the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530
or (202) 418-7365 (TTY).
Copies of any filed documents in this matter are also
available for inspection in the Commission's Reference Information
Center: 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554, (202) 418-7092.
Federal Communications Commission.
Elizabeth Andrion,
Deputy Chief, Media Bureau.
[FR Doc. E7-9552 Filed 5-16-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P