[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