Rule2022-26482
Update to Publication for Television Broadcast Station DMA Determinations for Cable and Satellite Carriage
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 7, 2022
Effective
January 6, 2023
Issuing agencies
Federal Communications Commission
Abstract
In this document, the Commission amends its rules to reference a new publication for use in determining a television station's designated market area (DMA) for satellite and cable carriage under the Commission's regulations. Under the Commission's current rules, television broadcasters, cable operators, and satellite carriers determine DMA for carriage election and other purposes by reference to the Nielsen Station Index Directory (Annual Station Index) in combination with the United States Television Household Estimates (Household Estimates), or a successor publication. Nielsen Media Research division will no longer publish the Annual Station Index and has replaced it with a monthly Local TV Station Information Report (Local TV Report), which is now the only publication necessary to determine a station's DMA. The Household Estimates publication is no longer in use. The Report and Order therefore revises the rules to identify the Local TV Report as that successor publication. The Report and Order also specifies the Local TV Report published in the October two years prior to each triennial carriage election as the successor publication to be used to determine a station's DMA, as well as for determining the local market of broadcast television stations more generally.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 234 (Wednesday, December 7, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 234 (Wednesday, December 7, 2022)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 74987-74988]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-26482]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Part 1
[MB Docket No. 22-239; FCC 22-89; FR ID 116204]
Update to Publication for Television Broadcast Station DMA
Determinations for Cable and Satellite Carriage
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission amends its rules to reference
a new publication for use in determining a television station's
designated market area (DMA) for satellite and cable carriage under the
Commission's regulations. Under the Commission's current rules,
television broadcasters, cable operators, and satellite carriers
determine DMA for carriage election and other purposes by reference to
the Nielsen Station Index Directory (Annual Station Index) in
combination with the United States Television Household Estimates
(Household Estimates), or a successor publication. Nielsen Media
Research division will no longer publish the Annual Station Index and
has replaced it with a monthly Local TV Station Information Report
(Local TV Report), which is now the only publication necessary to
determine a station's DMA. The Household Estimates publication is no
longer in use. The Report and Order therefore revises the rules to
identify the Local TV Report as that successor publication. The Report
and Order also specifies the Local TV Report published in the October
two years prior to each triennial carriage election as the successor
publication to be used to determine a station's DMA, as well as for
determining the local market of broadcast television stations more
generally.
DATES: This rule is effective January 6, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Kenneth Lewis,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bdf6d8d3d3d8c9d593d1d8cad4cefddbdede93dad2cb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a6edc3c8c8c3d2ce88cac3d1cfd5e6c0c5c588c1c9d0">[email protected]</span></a>, of the Media Bureau, Policy Division, (202) 418-
2622.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Report
and Order, MB Docket No. 22-239, FCC 22-89, adopted on November 17,
2022, and released on November 18, 2022. The full text of this document
is available for download at <a href="https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-22-89A1.pdf">https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-22-89A1.pdf</a>. To request materials in accessible formats (braille,
large print, computer diskettes, or audio recordings), please send an
email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ecaaafafd9dcd8ac8a8f8fc28b839a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3a7c79790f0a0e7a5c5959145d554c">[email protected]</span></a> or call the Consumer and Government Affairs
Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (VOICE), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).
Synopsis
On July 14, 2022, the Commission adopted a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM), seeking comment on referencing Nielsen's Local TV
Station Information Report (Local TV Report) for use in determining a
television station's designated market area (DMA) for satellite and
cable
[[Page 74988]]
carriage under the Commission's regulations. Pursuant to the Act, and
the implementing rules adopted by the Commission, commercial television
broadcast stations are entitled to assert mandatory carriage rights on
cable systems located within their market. Similarly, section 338 of
the Act requires satellite carriers to carry on request all local
television broadcast stations' signals in local markets in which the
satellite carrier carries at least one local television broadcast
signal pursuant to the statutory copyright license. A station's market
for cable and satellite carriage is its DMA, as defined by The Nielsen
Company's Annual Station Index and Household Estimates ``or any
successor publications.'' The implementing regulations also specify
which edition of the Annual Station Index is to be used for each
election cycle (specifically, the one published the year prior to the
election).
The Nielsen Company has notified the Commission that its Nielsen
Media Research division will no longer publish the annual Nielsen
Station Index Directory (Annual Station Index), which has been used in
combination with the Nielsen Station Index and United States Television
Household Estimates (Household Estimates), to determine a station's DMA
for local television stations seeking carriage. Nielsen has stated that
the information contained in the Annual Station Index is now in the
Local TV Report, which is published monthly. Thus, the Local TV Report
is now the only publication necessary to determine a station's DMA. The
Household Estimates publication is no longer in use.
Commenters unanimously supported amending our rules to eliminate
the references to the Annual Station Index and Household Estimates and
specify the Local TV Report as the successor publication to be used to
determine a station's DMA. Thus, the references to the Annual Station
Index and Household Estimates will be deleted and replaced with the
Local TV Report in pertinent parts.
Commenters also unanimously requested that the Commission amend the
rule to specifically reference the October Local TV Report published
two years prior to each triennial carriage election, which is
consistent with the Annual Station Index, which relied upon information
gathered in the October two years prior to each triennial carriage
election. Based upon the record support for this change, we amend the
rule to specify that DMA determinations will be based on the October
Local TV Report published two years prior to the triennial election.
This document does not contain information collection requirements
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. In
addition, therefore, it does not contain any proposed information
collection burden ``for small business concerns with fewer than 25
employees,'' pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of
2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4). The Commission has
determined, and the Administrator of the Office of Information and
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, concurs that this
rule is ``non-major'' under the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C.
804(2). The Commission will also send a copy of the Report and Order to
Congress and the Government Accountability office, pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
801(a)(1)(A).
List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 76
Carriage of Television Broadcast Signals.
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
Final Rules
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 76 as follows:
PART 76--MULTICHANNEL VIDEO AND CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE
0
1. The authority citation for part 76 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 153, 154, 301, 302, 302a, 303,
303a, 307, 308, 309, 312, 315, 317, 325, 338, 339, 340, 341, 503,
521, 522, 531, 532, 534, 535, 536, 537, 543, 544, 544a, 545, 548,
549, 552, 554, 556, 558, 560, 561, 571, 572, 573.
0
2. Section 76.55 is amended by revising paragraphs (e)(2) introductory
text and (e)(2)(i) to read as follows:
Sec. 76.55 Definitions applicable to the must-carry rules.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
(2) A commercial broadcast station's market, unless amended
pursuant to Sec. 76.59, shall be defined as its Designated Market Area
(DMA) as determined by Nielsen Media Research and published in its
Nielsen Local TV Station Information Report or any successor
publications.
(i) The applicable DMA list for the 2023 election pursuant to Sec.
76.64(f) will be the DMA assignments specified in the Nielsen October
2021 Local TV Station Information Report, and so forth using the
publications for the October two years prior to each triennial election
pursuant to Sec. 76.64(f).
* * * * *
0
3. Section 76.66 is amended by revising paragraphs (e)(2) and (3) to
read as follows:
Sec. 76.66 Satellite broadcast signal carriage.
* * * * *
(e) * * *
(2) A designated market area is the market area, as determined by
Nielsen Media Research and published in the 1999-2000 Nielsen Station
Index Directory and Nielsen Station Index United States Television
Household Estimates, the October 2021 Nielsen Local TV Station
Information Report, or any successor publication. In the case of areas
outside of any designated market area, any census area, borough, or
other area in the State of Alaska that is outside of a designated
market area, as determined by Nielsen Media Research, shall be deemed
to be part of one of the local markets in the State of Alaska.
(3) A satellite carrier shall use the October 2021 Nielsen Local TV
Station Information for the retransmission consent-mandatory carriage
election cycle commencing on January 1, 2024 and ending on December 31,
2027. The October 2024 Nielsen Local TV Station Information Report
shall be used for the retransmission consent-mandatory carriage
election cycle commencing January 1, 2028, and ending December 31,
2030, and so forth using the publications for the October two years
prior to each triennial election pursuant to this section. Provided,
however, that a county deleted from a market by Nielsen need not be
subtracted from a market in which a satellite carrier provides local-
into-local service, if that county is assigned to that market in the
1999-2000 Nielsen Station Index Directory or any subsequent issue of
that publication, or the Local TV Station Information Report commencing
with October 2021, and every three years thereafter (i.e., October
2024, October 2027, etc.). A satellite carrier may determine which
local market in the State of Alaska will be deemed to be the relevant
local market in connection with each subscriber in an area in the State
of Alaska that is outside of a designated market, as described in
paragraph (e)(2) of this section.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2022-26482 Filed 12-6-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
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