[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 235 (Tuesday, December 8, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67703-67704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-32536]


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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 final specialty station list.

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SUMMARY: The Copyright Office is publishing a final 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. The list shall be used to verify the specialty station status 
of those stations identified as such by cable systems on their semi-
annual statements of account.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1999.

FURTHER INFORMATION: David O. Carson, General Counsel, or Tanya M. 
Sandros, Attorney Advisor, 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 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 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).
    On October 23, 1998, the Office published a notice listing the 
forty-nine broadcast stations for which the owner or licensee of the 
station had filed the requested affidavit. 63 FR 56948 (October 23, 
1998). In the notice, the Office also requested that any party 
objecting to any claim to specialty station status submit comments to 
the Office stating his or her objections. No comments or objections 
were filed with the Office.
    Since the publication of the initial list, the Office has received 
ten additional affidavits, attesting to the specialty station status of 
the identified stations. Because these stations were not listed in the 
earlier published list, these stations have been identified with an 
asterisk (*) in the final list. Any interested party may file an 
objection to a newly listed station or to any other late-filed 
affidavit, and the objection shall be filed together with the 
corresponding affidavit. All affidavits and related comments or 
objections shall be kept on file in the Licensing Division of the 
Copyright Office.
    The final list of specialty stations, published herein, shall be 
effective January 1, 1999, for the accounting period 1999/1 and 
thereafter. 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.

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
KSTS*  San Jose, CA

[[Page 67704]]

KTMD*  Galveston, TX
KTSF (TV)  San Francisco, CA
KTVW-TV  Phoenix, AZ
KUVN-LP  Fort Worth, TX
KUVN (TV)  Garland, TX
KUVS (TV)  Modesto, CA
KVDA*  San Antonio, TX
KVEA (TV)*  Corona, 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
WDMR-LP*  Springfield, MA
WGBO-TV  Joliet, IL
WINM-TV  Angola, IN
WKAQ*  San Juan, Puerto Rico
WKBS-TV  Johnstown/Altoona, PA
WLTV(TV)  Miami, FL
WLXI-TV  Greensboro, NC
WNYB-TV  Jamestown, NY
WNJU*  Linden, NJ
WPCB-TV  Greensburg/Pittsburgh, PA
WRDM-LP*  Hartford, Connecticut
WSCV*  Fort Lauderdale, FL
WSNS-TV*  Chicago, IL
WTCT-TV  Marion IL
WTLJ-TV  Muskegon, MI
WXTV-LP  Philadelphia, PA
WXTV (TV)  Paterson, NJ

    Dated: December 2, 1998.
David O. Carson,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 98-32536 Filed 12-7-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-31-P