[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 1, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 19033-19038]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09065]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 76

[MB Docket Nos. 18-92 and 17-105; FCC 18-47]


Channel Lineup Requirements--Modernization of Media Regulation 
Initiative

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission) proposes to eliminate the requirement that cable operators 
maintain at their local office a current listing of the cable 
television channels that each cable system delivers to its subscribers. 
In addition, the Commission invites comment on whether we should also 
eliminate the requirement that certain cable operators make their 
channel lineup available via their online public inspection file. In 
response to a Public Notice launching the Commission's Modernization of 
Media Regulation Initiative, commenters asked the Commission to 
consider eliminating both of these requirements because channel lineup

[[Page 19034]]

information is available from other sources and the requirements are 
therefore unnecessary. With this proceeding, the Commission continues 
its efforts to modernize its rules and eliminate outdated and 
unnecessary regulatory burdens that can impede competition and 
innovation in the media marketplace.

DATES: Comments may be filed on or before May 31, 2018, and reply 
comments may be filed on or before June 15, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit comments and reply comments, 
identified by MB Docket Nos. 18-92 and 17-105, by any of the following 
methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Federal Communications Commission's website: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/. Follow the instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Mail: Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, 
by commercial overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. 
Postal Service mail. All filings must be addressed to the Commission's 
Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.
     People with Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request 
reasonable accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language 
interpreters, CART, etc.) by email: [email protected] or phone: (202) 418-
0530 or TTY: (202) 418-0432.
    For detailed instructions for submitting comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Matthews, Media Bureau, Policy 
Division, 202-418-2154, or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking, MB Docket Nos. 18-92 and 17-105; FCC 18-47, 
adopted and released on April 17, 2018. The full text of this document 
is available for public inspection and copying during regular business 
hours in the FCC Reference Center, Federal Communications Commission, 
445 12th Street SW, Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. The complete 
text may be purchased from the Commission's copy contractor, 445 12th 
Street SW, Room CY-B402, Washington, DC 20554. This document will also 
be available via ECFS at http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/. Documents will 
be available electronically in ASCII, Microsoft Word, and/or Adobe 
Acrobat. Alternative formats are available for people with disabilities 
(Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format) by sending an 
email to [email protected] or calling the Commission's Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432 
(TTY).

Synopsis

    1. In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), we propose to 
eliminate the requirement in Sec.  76.1705 of the Commission's rules 
that cable operators maintain at their local office a current listing 
of the cable television channels that each cable system delivers to its 
subscribers. We tentatively conclude that this requirement is 
unnecessary and outdated. In addition, we invite comment on whether we 
should also eliminate the requirement in Sec.  76.1700(a)(4) that 
certain cable operators make their channel lineup available via their 
online public inspection file. In response to a Public Notice launching 
the Commission's Modernization of Media Regulation Initiative, 
commenters asked the Commission to consider eliminating both of these 
requirements because channel lineup information is available from other 
sources and the requirements are therefore unnecessary. With this 
proceeding, we continue our efforts to modernize our rules and 
eliminate outdated and unnecessary regulatory burdens that can impede 
competition and innovation in the media marketplace.
    2. We propose to eliminate Sec.  76.1705 of our rules, which 
requires every cable operator ``to maintain at its local office a 
current listing of the cable television channels'' delivered by the 
system to its subscribers. This requirement was originally adopted in 
1972 as part of the Commission's technical standard performance rules 
for cable. Among the Commission's goals in the 1972 Cable Order was to 
ensure that the ``channels delivered to subscribers conform to the 
capability of the television broadcast receiver.'' While the Commission 
did not explain in its order exactly why it believed it was necessary 
for a system to maintain at its local office a list of the channels it 
delivers, it appears that the requirement was designed to help the 
Commission verify compliance with technical performance standards that 
applied to certain cable channels at that time.
    3. We tentatively conclude that the requirement to maintain a 
channel lineup locally is outdated, unnecessary, and inconsistent with 
the Commission's recent efforts to improve access to information about 
regulated entities by making this information available online. See 
Standardized and Enhanced Disclosure Requirements for Television 
Broadcast Licensee Public Interest Obligations, Second Report and 
Order, 77 FR 27631 (May 11, 2012) (Television Online Public File 
Order); Expansion of Online Public File Obligations to Cable and 
Satellite TV Operators and Broadcast and Satellite Radio Licensees, 
Report and Order, 81 FR 10105 (Reb. 29, 2016) (``Expanded Online Public 
File Order''). Regardless of the original purpose of the rule, 
information about the channel lineups of individual cable operators is 
now available through other sources, including, in many cases, the 
websites of the operator, on-screen electronic program guides, paper 
guides, and the Commission-hosted online public inspection file (OPIF). 
We therefore believe that few, if any, consumers interested in channel 
lineup information currently access this information by visiting an 
operator's local office as other sources of channel lineup information 
can be viewed far more quickly and easily.
    4. We invite comment on our tentative conclusion. How often do 
consumers visit a cable operator's local office to view its channel 
lineup? Is Commission regulation in this area unnecessary because cable 
operators have the economic incentive to ensure that customers and 
prospective customers are able to find out which channels they deliver? 
Is there any benefit to retaining the requirement in Sec.  76.1705 that 
we should consider? For example, is there any benefit to regulators, 
including local franchising authorities, to having this information 
continue to be available locally, or can regulators easily access this 
information from other sources, including directly from the cable 
operator, without Sec.  76.1705? Commenters who advocate in favor of or 
against retaining this rule should discuss whether and how the benefits 
of doing so outweigh any costs.
    5. We also invite comment on whether we should eliminate the 
requirement that cable operators make channel lineup information 
available for public inspection pursuant to Sec.  76.1700(a)(4) through 
the online public file. In the Expanded Online Public File Order, the 
Commission expanded to cable operators of systems with at least 1,000 
subscribers, as well as broadcast and satellite radio licensees and DBS 
providers, the requirement that public inspection files be posted to 
the Commission-hosted online public file database. In that order, the 
Commission also required cable operators subject to the new online file 
requirements to

[[Page 19035]]

comply with Sec.  76.1700(a)(4) either by uploading to the online 
public file information regarding their current channel lineup, and 
keeping this information up-to-date, or providing a link in the online 
file to the channel lineup maintained by the operator at another online 
location. While the Commission recognized that cable operators may 
provide channel lineup information to subscribers in other ways, and 
that they have an incentive to present this information on their own 
websites, it declined to exclude this information from the list of 
material cable operators were required to include in the online public 
file as advocated by cable commenters. In doing so, the Commission 
noted that its focus in the Expanded Online Public File proceeding was 
on adapting its existing public file requirements to an online format 
rather than considering substantive changes to the public file rules.
    6. Several commenters in the Media Modernization proceeding have 
asked the Commission to eliminate the channel lineup public file 
requirement on the ground that consumers have multiple other sources of 
information about a cable system's current channel lineup, including 
cable operator and third-party websites, on-screen electronic 
programming guides, and copies of lineups provided by cable operators. 
NCTA argues that ``[t]here is no indication in the record or elsewhere 
that consumers find the channel lineups in public inspection files to 
be useful at all, or that they would look to the Commission's website 
to locate such information.'' NCTA also notes that the Commission does 
not require channel lineup information to be included in the public 
files of DBS providers, who provide video programming options similar 
to cable operators.
    7. We seek comment on whether there are sufficient other sources of 
information, apart from the online public file, available to consumers 
regarding cable channel lineups. In this regard, we note that Sec.  
76.1602(b) of the Commission's rules separately requires cable 
operators to provide information to subscribers regarding the ``channel 
positions of programming carried on the system'' and ``products and 
services offered'' at the time of installation, at least annually, and 
at any time upon request. Is this requirement, combined with other 
sources of information regarding a cable system's channel lineup, 
sufficient to ensure that consumers have access to information 
regarding the programming provided by cable operators? Is there a 
benefit to having information about cable systems, including channel 
lineup information, available all in one place in the system's online 
public file? How frequently do consumers use the online public file to 
access channel lineup information? How do consumers currently access 
the channel lineup information of DBS providers who are not subject to 
this online posting requirement? Is such information easily accessible?
    8. Absent an online public file requirement, would channel lineup 
information be available to consumers and others who are not 
subscribers to the cable system, including those interested in 
comparing channel offerings by competing providers? Is Commission 
regulation in this area unnecessary because cable operators have the 
economic incentive to ensure that customers and prospective customers 
are able to find out which channels they deliver? For example, would 
this information be posted conspicuously on the website of a cable 
provider? Should we require operators subject to Sec.  76.1700(a)(4) to 
instead put channel lineup information on their own website? If we 
adopt such a website requirement, should operators ``maintain a current 
listing of the cable television channels which that systems delivers to 
its subscribers'' on their website as our public file rule requires? 
What is the cost associated with the existing requirement that 
operators either upload channel lineup information to the online public 
file and keep this information current or provide a link in the online 
file to the channel lineup maintained by the operator at another online 
location? Would regulators benefit from access to channel lineup 
information via the online public file, particularly if we eliminate 
76.1705 as proposed above? If so, how? We request that commenters 
address how the potential benefits of their proposal would outweigh any 
potential costs.
    9. Operators of cable systems with fewer than 1,000 subscribers are 
exempt from all online public file requirements, including the 
requirement to make channel lineup information available via the online 
file, but they must maintain local public inspection files and are 
subject to the requirement in Sec.  76.1705 that they maintain a copy 
of their current channel lineup locally. If we eliminate Sec.  76.1705, 
as proposed above, will there continue to be adequate access to 
information about the channels delivered by these smaller cable 
systems? To what extent do small operators make channel lineup 
information available via the internet or electronic programming 
guides? How often do consumers visit small operators' local inspection 
files to view channel lineups? Is Commission regulation in this area 
unnecessary because operators of small cable systems have the economic 
incentive to ensure that customers and prospective customers are able 
to find out which channels they deliver? We note that all cable systems 
regardless of size are subject to the notification requirements in 
Sec.  76.1602(b), discussed above. Alternatively, if we eliminate Sec.  
76.1705 but retain the requirement that cable systems subject to the 
online public file make channel lineup information available there, 
should we require that cable systems with fewer than 1,000 subscribers 
continue to retain channel lineup information locally, if they do not 
voluntarily use the online public file? Should we instead require small 
cable operators to put channel lineup information on their own website? 
If so, should small cable operators ``maintain a current listing of the 
cable television channels which that systems delivers to its 
subscribers'' on their website?

Procedural Matters

A. Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    10. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as 
amended (RFA), the Commission has prepared an Initial Regulatory 
Flexibility Act Analysis (IRFA) relating to this NPRM. The IRFA is set 
forth in Appendix B.

B. Initial Paperwork Reduction Act Analysis

    11. This document contains proposed modified information collection 
requirements. The Commission, as part of its continuing effort to 
reduce paperwork burdens, invites the general public and the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) to comment on the information collection 
requirements contained in this document, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. In addition, pursuant to the 
Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 
U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), we seek specific comment on how we might further 
reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns 
with fewer than 25 employees.

C. Ex Parte Presentations

    12. Permit-But-Disclose. This proceeding shall be treated as a 
``permit-but-disclose'' proceeding in accordance with the Commission's 
ex parte rules. Persons making ex parte presentations must file a copy 
of any written presentation or a memorandum summarizing any oral 
presentation within two business days after the

[[Page 19036]]

presentation (unless a different deadline applicable to the Sunshine 
period applies). Persons making oral ex parte presentations are 
reminded that memoranda summarizing the presentation must (1) list all 
persons attending or otherwise participating in the meeting at which 
the ex parte presentation was made, and (2) summarize all data 
presented and arguments made during the presentation. If the 
presentation consisted in whole or in part of the presentation of data 
or arguments already reflected in the presenter's written comments, 
memoranda or other filings in the proceeding, the presenter may provide 
citations to such data or arguments in his or her prior comments, 
memoranda, or other filings (specifying the relevant page and/or 
paragraph numbers where such data or arguments can be found) in lieu of 
summarizing them in the memorandum. Documents shown or given to 
Commission staff during ex parte meetings are deemed to be written ex 
parte presentations and must be filed consistent with rule 1.1206(b). 
In proceedings governed by rule 1.49(f) or for which the Commission has 
made available a method of electronic filing, written ex parte 
presentations and memoranda summarizing oral ex parte presentations, 
and all attachments thereto, must be filed through the electronic 
comment filing system available for that proceeding, and must be filed 
in their native format (e.g., .doc, .xml, .ppt, searchable.pdf). 
Participants in this proceeding should familiarize themselves with the 
Commission's ex parte rules.

D. Comment Filing Procedures

    13. Comments and Replies. Pursuant to Sec. Sec.  1.415 and 1.419 of 
the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may 
file comments and reply comments on or before the dates indicated on 
the first page of this document. Comments may be filed using the 
Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). See Electronic 
Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121 (1998).
     Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically 
using the internet by accessing the ECFS: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs2/.
     Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must 
file an original and one copy of each filing. If more than one docket 
or rulemaking number appears in the caption of this proceeding, filers 
must submit two additional copies for each additional docket or 
rulemaking number.
    Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial 
overnight courier, or by first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service 
mail. All filings must be addressed to the Commission's Secretary, 
Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission.
     All hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings 
for the Commission's Secretary must be delivered to FCC Headquarters at 
445 12th St. SW, Room TW-A325, Washington, DC 20554. The filing hours 
are 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. All hand deliveries must be held together 
with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes and boxes must be 
disposed of before entering the building.
     Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service 
Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 Junction Drive, 
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701.
     U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority 
mail must be addressed to 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554.
    14. Availability of Documents. Comments, reply comments, and ex 
parte submissions will be available for public inspection during 
regular business hours in the FCC Reference Center, Federal 
Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW, CY-A257, Washington, DC 
20554. These documents will also be available via ECFS. Documents will 
be available electronically in ASCII, Microsoft Word, and/or Adobe 
Acrobat.
    15. People with Disabilities. To request materials in accessible 
formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic 
files, audio format), send an email to [email protected] or call the FCC's 
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 
418-0432 (TTY).

E. Additional Information

    16. For additional information on this proceeding, please contact 
Kim Matthews of the Media Bureau, Policy Division, 
[email protected], (202) 418-2154.

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis

    17. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as 
amended (``RFA''), the Commission has prepared this Initial Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis (``IRFA'') concerning the possible significant 
economic impact on small entities of the policies and rules proposed in 
the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). Written public comments are 
requested on this IRFA. Comments must be identified as responses to the 
IRFA and must be filed by the deadlines for comments provided on the 
first page of the NPRM. The Commission will send a copy of the NPRM, 
including this IRFA, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 
Business Administration (SBA). In addition, the NPRM and IRFA (or 
summaries thereof) will be published in the Federal Register.

A. Need for, and Objectives of, the Proposed Rule Changes

    18. The NPRM proposes to eliminate the requirement in Sec.  76.1705 
of the Commission's rules that cable operators maintain at their local 
office a current listing of the cable television channels that each 
cable system delivers to its subscribers. We tentatively conclude that 
this requirement is unnecessary, outdated, and inconsistent with our 
recent efforts to make licensee information available online. The NPRM 
also seeks comment on whether the Commission should eliminate the 
requirement in Sec.  76.1700(a)(4) that cable operators of systems with 
1,000 or more subscribers make a current copy of their channel lineup 
available via their online public inspection file. These operators may 
either upload information regarding their channel lineup to the online 
file, and keep that information current, or provide a link in their 
online file to the channel lineup maintained by the operator at another 
online location. The NPRM also asks if we should instead require 
operators subject to Sec.  76.1700(a)(4) to put channel lineup 
information on their own website and, if so, whether we should require 
these operators to ``maintain a current listing of the cable television 
channels which that systems delivers to its subscribers'' on their 
website as our public file rules currently require.
    19. Operators of cable systems with fewer than 1,000 subscribers 
are exempt from all online public file requirements, including the 
requirement to make channel lineup information available via the online 
file, but they must maintain local public inspection files and are 
subject to the requirement in Sec.  76.1705 that they maintain a copy 
of their current channel lineup locally. The NPRM asks whether, if we 
eliminate Sec.  76.1705, there will continue to be adequate access to 
channel lineup information for systems with fewer than 1,000 
subscribers, or whether we should instead continue to require these 
small operators to maintain current channel lineup information in their 
local public inspection files if they do not voluntarily use the online 
public file. The NPRM also asks if we should

[[Page 19037]]

instead require small cable operators to put channel lineup information 
on their own website and, if so, we should require these operators to 
``maintain a current listing of the cable television channels which 
that systems delivers to its subscribers'' on their website. Our goal 
is to ensure that consumers have sufficient access to channel lineup 
information and to continue our efforts to modernize our rules and 
reduce regulatory burdens on cable operators by eliminating unnecessary 
requirements in our rules.

B. Legal Basis

    20. The proposed action is authorized pursuant to sections 1, 2, 
4(i), 4(j), 303, 601 and 624(e) of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. 
151, 152, 154(i), 154(j), 303, 521 and 624(e).

C. Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to Which 
the Proposed Rules Will Apply

    21. The RFA directs agencies to provide a description of, and where 
feasible, an estimate of the number of small entities that may be 
affected by the proposed rules, if adopted. The RFA generally defines 
the term ``small entity'' as having the same meaning as the terms 
``small business,'' ``small organization,'' and ``small governmental 
jurisdiction.'' In addition, the term ``small business'' has the same 
meaning as the term ``small business concern'' under the Small Business 
Act. A small business concern is one which: (1) Is independently owned 
and operated; (2) is not dominant in its field of operation; and (3) 
satisfies any additional criteria established by the SBA. Below, we 
provide a description of such small entities, as well as an estimate of 
the number of such small entities, where feasible.
    22. Cable Companies and Systems (Rate Regulation). The Commission 
has developed its own small business size standards for the purpose of 
cable rate regulation. Under the Commission's rules, a ``small cable 
company'' is one serving 400,000 or fewer subscribers nationwide. 
Industry data indicate that all but nine cable operators nationwide are 
small under the 400,000 subscriber size standard. In addition, under 
the Commission's rate regulation rules, a ``small system'' is a cable 
system serving 15,000 or fewer subscribers. Of the 4,197 active cable 
systems nationwide, we estimate that approximately 85 percent have 
15,000 or fewer subscribers, and the rest have more than 15,000 
subscribers. Thus, under this standard as well, we estimate that most 
cable systems are small entities.
    23. Cable System Operators (Telecom Act Standard). The 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, also contains a size standard 
for small cable system operators, which is ``a cable operator that, 
directly or through an affiliate, serves in the aggregate fewer than 
one percent of all subscribers in the United States and is not 
affiliated with any entity or entities whose gross annual revenues in 
the aggregate exceed $250,000,000.'' There are approximately 52,403,705 
cable video subscribers in the United States today. Accordingly, an 
operator serving fewer than 524,037 subscribers shall be deemed a small 
operator if its annual revenues, when combined with the total annual 
revenues of all its affiliates, do not exceed $250 million in the 
aggregate. Based on available data, we find that all but nine incumbent 
cable operators are small entities under this size standard. We note 
that the Commission neither requests nor collects information on 
whether cable system operators are affiliated with entities whose gross 
annual revenues exceed $250 million. Although it seems certain that 
some of these cable systems operators are affiliated with entities 
whose gross annual revenues exceed $250 million, we are unable at this 
time to estimate with greater precision the number of cable system 
operators that would qualify as small cable operators under the 
definition in the Communications Act.

D. Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other 
Compliance Requirements

    24. The NPRM proposes to eliminate the requirement in Sec.  76.1705 
of the Commission's rules that cable operators maintain at their local 
office a current listing of the cable television channels that each 
cable system delivers to its subscribers. This rule change would reduce 
reporting, recordkeeping, and other compliance requirements for cable 
operators which are currently required to maintain a current channel 
lineup for each system in the cable operator's local office. In 
addition, the NPRM seeks comment on whether to eliminate the 
requirement in Sec.  76.1700(a)(4) of the Commission's rules that cable 
systems with 1,000 or more subscribers make a current copy of their 
channel lineup available via their online public inspection file. If 
the Commission eliminated this requirement, it would further reduce 
reporting, recordkeeping, and other compliance requirements for these 
cable operators. Alternatively, the NPRM asks whether cable operators 
subject to Sec.  76.1700(a)(4) should instead be required to put 
channel lineup information on their own website and, if so, whether we 
should require these operators to ``maintain a current listing of the 
cable television channels which that systems delivers to its 
subscribers'' on their website as our public file rules currently 
require.
    25. Operators of cable systems with fewer than 1,000 subscribers 
are exempt from all online public file requirements, including the 
requirement to make channel lineup information available via the online 
file, but they must maintain local public inspection files and are 
subject to the requirement in Sec.  76.1705 that they maintain a copy 
of their current channel lineup locally. The NPRM asks whether, if we 
eliminate Sec.  76.1705, there will continue to be adequate access to 
channel lineup information for systems with fewer than 1,000 
subscribers, or whether we should instead continue to require these 
small operators to maintain current channel lineup information in their 
local public inspection files or put this information on their own 
websites if they do not voluntarily use the online public file. If we 
adopt a website requirement, the NPRM asks if we should require these 
operators to ``maintain a current listing of the cable television 
channels which that systems delivers to its subscribers'' on their 
website.

E. Steps Taken To Minimize Significant Impact on Small Entities and 
Significant Alternatives Considered

    26. The RFA requires an agency to describe any significant 
alternatives that it has considered in reaching its proposed approach, 
which may include the following four alternatives (among others): (1) 
The establishment of differing compliance or reporting requirements or 
timetables that take into account the resources available to small 
entities; (2) the clarification, consolidation, or simplification of 
compliance or reporting requirements under the rule for small entities; 
(3) the use of performance, rather than design, standard; and (4) an 
exemption from coverage of the rule, or any part thereof, for small 
entities.
    27. The NPRM proposes to eliminate the requirement that cable 
operators maintain a current channel lineup in the cable operator's 
local office, and invites comment on this proposal and whether there 
are reasons why this requirement should be retained. Eliminating this 
requirement would eliminate the costs of maintaining this information 
locally and making it available to those asking to view it, including 
any related managerial, administrative, and operational costs. The 
Commission considered the alternative of not

[[Page 19038]]

eliminating this requirement but has tentatively concluded the 
requirement is unnecessary and outdated and should be eliminated.
    28. In addition, the NPRM invites comment on whether to eliminate 
the requirement that cable systems with 1,000 or more subscribers make 
a current copy of their channel lineup available via their online 
public inspection file, or whether this requirement should be retained 
to ensure that consumers have sufficient access to channel lineup 
information. Alternatively, the NPRM asks whether cable operators 
subject to Sec.  76.1700(a)(4) should instead be required to put 
channel lineup information on their own website and, if so, whether we 
should require these operators to ``maintain a current listing of the 
cable television channels which that systems delivers to its 
subscribers'' on their website as our public file rules currently 
require.
    29. Operators of cable systems with fewer than 1,000 subscribers 
are exempt from all online public file requirements, including the 
requirement to make channel lineup information available via the online 
file, but they must maintain local public inspection files and are 
subject to the requirement in Sec.  76.1705 that they maintain a copy 
of their current channel lineup locally. The NPRM asks whether, if we 
eliminate Sec.  76.1705, there will continue to be adequate access to 
channel lineup information for systems with fewer than 1,000 
subscribers, or whether we should instead continue to require these 
small operators to maintain current channel lineup information in their 
local public inspection files if they do not voluntarily use the online 
public file. The NPRM also asks if we should instead require small 
cable operators to put channel lineup information on their own website 
and, if so, we should require these operators to ``maintain a current 
listing of the cable television channels which that systems delivers to 
its subscribers'' on their website.

F. Federal Rules That May Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict With the 
Proposed Rule

    30. None.

Ordering Clauses

    31. Accordingly, it is ordered that, pursuant to the authority 
contained in sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), 303(r), 601, and 624(e) of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(j), 
303(r), 521, and 544(e) this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is adopted.
    32. It is further ordered that the Commission's Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, shall send a 
copy of this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, including the Initial 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of 
the Small Business Administration.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 76

    Cable television operators.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.

Proposed 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 TELVISION 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 76.1700 is amended by revising paragraph (a)(4) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  76.1700  Records to be maintained by cable system operators

    (a) * * *
    (4) Channels delivered. The operator of each cable television 
system shall maintain a current listing of the cable television 
channels which that system delivers to its subscribers;
* * * * *


Sec.  76.1705  [Removed and Reserved]

0
3. Section 76.1705 is removed and reserved.

[FR Doc. 2018-09065 Filed 4-30-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P