[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 68 (Thursday, April 9, 1998)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 17333-17334]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-9351]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 76

[CS Docket No. 96-56; FCC 98-47]


Cable Television Antitrafficking, Network Television, and MMDS/
SMATV Cross Ownership

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule; petition for reconsideration.

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SUMMARY: The Commission has denied a petition for reconsideration 
concerning its rules on television broadcast station network and cable 
television system cross ownership. On March 15, 1996, the Commission 
deleted the broadcast network/cable television ownership rule in order 
to conform the rules with statutory changes. In response to this 
decision, a petition for reconsideration was filed contending that the 
Commission was obligated to provide notice and an opportunity to 
participate in the rulemaking proceeding. In responding to this 
reconsideration petition, the Commission determined that because the 
rule changes merely conformed the rules to the statute, notice 
requirements did not apply.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Stevenson, Cable Services 
Bureau, (202) 418-7200.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a synopsis of the Commission's Order 
on

[[Page 17334]]

Reconsideration, CS Docket No. 96-56, adopted March 25, 1998, and 
released March 27, 1998. The full text of this decision is available 
for inspection and copying during normal business hours in the FCC 
Reference Center (Room 239), 1919 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20554, 
and may be purchased from the Commission's copy contractor, 
International Transcription Service, (202) 857-3800, 1231 20th Street, 
NW, Washington, D.C. 20036.

Synopsis of the Order on Reconsideration

    1. In the Order on Reconsideration, we address a petition filed by 
Network Affiliated Stations Alliance (``NASA'') with respect to the 
Commission's implementation of the television broadcast network and 
cable television cross ownership provisions of the Telecommunications 
Act of 1996 (``1996 Act'') in the Order Implementing sections 202(f), 
202(i) and 301(i) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (``Order``). In 
the Order on Reconsideration, NASA's petition is denied.
    2. Section 202(f)(1) of the 1996 Act directs the Commission to 
revise Sec. 76.501 of its regulations (47 CFR 76.501) to permit a 
person or entity to own or control a network of broadcast stations and 
a cable system. Section 202(f)(2) further provides that the Commission 
shall revise such regulations if necessary to ensure carriage, channel 
positioning, and nondiscriminatory treatment of nonaffiliated broadcast 
stations by a cable system.
    3. In the March 15, 1996 Order, 61 FR 15387, April 8, 1996, the 
Commission amended its cable television ownership rules under 
Sec. 76.501 to conform them to changes mandated by the 1996 Act. Our 
rules have been modified to allow a person or entity to own or control 
a network of broadcast stations and a cable system. Although the Order 
did not implement additional rule changes regarding safeguards for 
nonaffiliated broadcast stations, it explained that the Commission 
would monitor the response to the rule changes to determine whether 
additional rules were necessary. Because the rule changes made pursuant 
to the 1996 Act merely conformed the rules to the statute, the 
Commission determined that it had good cause for concluding that the 
notice and comment provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act 
(``APA'') were not necessary.
    4. NASA filed a petition for reconsideration of our Order. NASA 
contends that the Commission was obligated to provide notice and an 
opportunity to participate in the rulemaking proceeding.
    5. We recognize that Congress, in section 202(f)(2) of the 1996 
Act, directed the Commission to revise our rules, if necessary, to 
protect against possible anticompetitive behavior. Nothing in section 
202(f)(2) mandates that the Commission withhold implementing the 
explicit directive of the statute. Section 202(f)(1) requires the 
Commission to revise its rules to allow network-cable cross ownership. 
It does not condition the implementation of this mandate on any 
particular finding or Commission rulemaking. The Commission had no 
discretion to forgo or to postpone this legislative directive. To the 
extent NASA seeks reconsideration of our decision to conform our rules 
to the statute, its petition is denied. 6. We also reject NASA's 
assertion that the Commission is obligated under the APA to conduct a 
formal rulemaking to determine whether safeguards are necessary at this 
time. We note that the explicit language of section 202(f)(2) of the 
1996 Act calls for revision of our rules ``if necessary'' to ensure 
nondiscriminatory treatment of nonaffiliated broadcast stations by 
cable systems. The discretion to render the determination of necessity 
is placed squarely with the Commission and we have determined at this 
point that safeguards are not needed. Congress, in passing the 1996 
Act, did not conclude that safeguards were immediately necessary and, 
as the Commission merely conforms its rules to the new statute, we 
reach a similar conclusion and elect to monitor the situation rather 
than to launch a full proceeding on this issue at this time. 
Combinations between major networks and cable operators have not yet 
been formed, nor does the record reflect specific examples of potential 
problems. Accordingly, we have concluded that safeguards are not 
necessary at this time. We do not believe this conclusion violates the 
APA. Although notice and comment is required when the Commission 
promulgates rules that establish or impose new obligations on private 
parties, our decision that safeguards are unnecessary at this time does 
not impose any additional obligations.

 List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 76

    Administrative practice and procedure, Cable television.

Federal Communications Commission.
Magalie Roman Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-9351 Filed 4-8-98; 8:45 am]
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