[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 205 (Friday, October 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56948-56949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-28514]
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
[Docket No. RM 98-6]
Cable Compulsory License: Specialty Station List
AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Notice of filings, request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Copyright Office is publishing a list of stations listed
in affidavits sent to the Copyright Office in which the owner or
licensee of the station attests that the station qualifies as a
specialty station in accordance with the Federal Communications
Commission's (FCC) definition of specialty station in effect on June
24, 1981. Any party may file with the Copyright Office an objection to
an owner's claim of specialty station status.
DATES: Comments must be received November 23, 1998. The effective date
of the annotated list will coincide with the beginning of the
accounting period that starts after the publication of the final list
in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: If sent by mail, submit an original and two copies to: David
O. Carson, General Counsel, Copyright GC/I&R, P.O. Box 70400, Southwest
Station, Washington, D.C. 20024. If hand delivered, bring the document
to: Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Copyright Office, James Madison
Memorial Building, Room LM-403, First and Independence Avenue, S.E.,
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David O. Carson, General Counsel, or
Tanya M. Sandros, Attorney Advisor,
[[Page 56949]]
Copyright GC/I&R, P.O. Box 70400, Southwest Station, Washington, D.C.
20024. Telephone (202) 707-8380 or Telefax (202) 707-8366.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the cable compulsory license, section
111 of the title 17, United States Code, a cable operator may carry the
signal of a television station classified as a specialty station at the
base rate rather than at the higher 3.75% rate that is usually incurred
for the carriage of a non-permitted signal. 37 CFR 256.2(c). Specialty
station status is determined by reference to the former regulations of
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which defined a specialty
station as ``a commercial television broadcast station that generally
carries foreign-language, religious, and/or automated programming in
one-third of the hours of an average broadcast week and one-third of
the weekly prime-time hours.'' 47 CFR 76.5(kk) (1981). The FCC no
longer determines whether a station qualifies as a specialty station;
however, the Copyright Office updates the list periodically, because
the list remains relevant to the cable compulsory license scheme.
The Copyright Office published its first specialty station list in
1990 under a procedure which allowed the owner of the station to file
an affidavit with the Office attesting to the fact that the station's
programming comports with the 1981 FCC definition, and hence, qualifies
it as a specialty station. 55 FR 40021 (October 1, 1990). The Office
agreed at that time to update the list approximately every three years.
Accordingly, on August 4, 1998, the Copyright Office published a
notice asking the owner, or a valid agent of the owner, to file a sworn
affidavit with the Copyright Office stating that the station's
programming satisfies the FCC's former requirements for specialty
station status. 63 FR 41599 (August 4, 1998). In response to the
notice, the Copyright Office received affidavits on behalf of forty-
nine broadcast television stations. These stations are listed below.
Any party that objects to another party's claim to specialty station
status should submit specific and factual comments as to which
station(s) he or she objects to, and why. A final annotated list of
specialty stations including references to any objections filed against
a particular station owner's claim will be published in the Federal
Register.
Copyright Office licensing examiners shall refer to the final
annotated list in examining a statement of account where a cable system
operator claims specialty station status for a particular station. If a
cable system operator claims specialty station status for a station not
on the published final list, the examiner determines whether the owner
of the station has filed an affidavit since publication of the list.
Affidavits received after the publication of the final annotated list
shall be kept on file in the Licensing Division of the Copyright
Office. Any interested party may file an objection to any such late-
filed affidavit and the objection shall be filed together with the
corresponding affidavit.
List of Specialty Stations: Call Letters and Cities of License
CBAFT Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
CBFT Montreal, Quebec, Canada
CBKFT Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
CBOFT Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
CBUFT Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
CBVT Quebec City, Quebec, Canada
CBWFT Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
CBXFT Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
CFCM-TV Quebec, Quebec, Canada
CFER-TV Rimouski, Quebec, Canada
CFTM-TV Montreal, Quebec, Canada
CHEM-TV Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Canada
CHLT-TV Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
CJPM-TV Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada
CKSH-TV Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
K30CE Austin, TX
K48AM Albuquerque, NM
K52AO Tucson, AZ
KABE-LP Bakersfield, CA
KCHF Santa Fe, NM
KDRX-LP Phoenix, AZ
KDTV-LP Santa Rosa, CA
KDTV(TV) San Francisco, CA
KFTV(TV) Hanford, CA
KLUZ-TV Albuquerque, NM
KMEX-TV Los Angeles, CA
KTSF(TV) San Francisco, CA
KTVW-TV Phoenix, AZ
KUVN-LP Fort Worth, TX
KUVN(TV) Garland, TX
KUVS(TV) Modesto, CA
KWEX-TV San Antonio, TX
KWHY-TV Los Angeles, CA
KXLN-TV Rosenberg, TX
W47AD Hartford, CT
W50BF-TV Sharon (Mercer County), PA
W63BF Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
WAQP-TV Saginaw, MI
WGBO-TV Joliet, IL
WINM-TV Angola, IN
WKBS-TV Johnstown/Altoona, PA
WLTV(TV) Miami, FL
WLXI-TV Greensboro, NC
WNYB-TV Jamestown, NY
WPCB-TV Greensburg/Pittsburgh, PA
WTCT-TV Marion, IL
WTLJ-TV Muskegon, MI
WXTV-LP Philadelphia, PA
WXTV(TV) Paterson, NJ
Dated: October 20, 1998.
David O. Carson,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 98-28514 Filed 10-22-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-31-U