[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 12, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 62471-62472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19612]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 76

[MB Docket No. 22-239; DA 23-740; FR ID 169282]


Update to Publication for Television Broadcast Station DMA 
Determinations for Cable and Satellite Carriage

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Technical amendment.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission) conforms a section of its rules to the requirements of the 
Communications Act, correcting errors that were inadvertently 
introduced in the prior Report and Order, which revised Commission 
rules to use the Nielsen Company's Local TV Station Information Report 
as the successor publication to the annual Station Index Directory and 
United States Television Household Estimates in determining a 
television station's designated market area for satellite and cable 
carriage under the Commission's regulations. This action makes no 
substantive changes to this regulation.

DATES: This rule is effective October 12, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Kenneth Lewis, 
[email protected], of the Media Bureau, Policy Division, (202) 418-
2622.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Media Bureau's 
Order, in MB Docket No. 22-239; DA 23-740, adopted and released on 
August 21, 2023. The full text of this document is available for 
download at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-23-740A1.pdf. To 
request materials in accessible formats (braille, large print, computer 
diskettes, or audio recordings), please send an email to [email protected] 
(mailto:[email protected]) or call the Consumer and Government Affairs 
Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (VOICE), (202) 418-0432 (TTY).

Synopsis

    On November 17, 2022, the Commission adopted the Nielsen Update 
Report and Order, MB Docket No. 22-239, FCC 22-89, which revised 
Commission rules to use the Nielsen Company's Local TV Station 
Information Report as the successor publication to the annual Station 
Index Directory and United States Television Household Estimates in 
determining a television station's designated market area for satellite 
and cable carriage under the Commission's regulations.\1\ Pursuant to 
that change, Sec.  76.66(e)(3) of the Commission's rules was revised, 
and the time periods mentioned in that rule were brought up to date.\2\ 
These updates were intended to reflect the upcoming statutorily-
established carriage election cycle periods,\3\ but contained errors.
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    \1\ Update to Publication for Television Broadcast Station DMA 
Determinations for Cable and Satellite Carriage, Report and Order, 
FCC 22-89, MB Docket No. 22-239 (rel. Nov. 18, 2022).
    \2\ Id. at Appendix B, Final Rules, para. 3.
    \3\ 47 U.S.C. 325(b)(3)(B) (``The regulations required by 
subparagraph (A) shall require that television stations, within one 
year after October 5, 1992, and every three years thereafter, make 
an election between the right to grant retransmission consent under 
this subsection and the right to signal carriage under section 534 
of this title.'').
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Technical Correction

    Section 47 U.S.C. 325(b)(3)(B) requires that television stations, 
within one year after October 5, 1992, and every three years 
thereafter, make an election between the right to grant retransmission 
consent under this subsection and the right to signal carriage under 
section 534 of this title.'' \4\ In this Order, we revise Sec.  
76.66(e)(3) of the Commission's rules in order to conform to the 
requirements of the Communications Act. Specifically, we correct the 
references to the upcoming carriage election cycles in the first and 
second sentences to confirm that the next cycle runs from 2024-2026 
(not 2024-2027), and the following cycle runs from 2027-2029 (not 2028-
2030).
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    \4\ Id.
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Regulatory Analyses

Administrative Procedure Act

    We find that notice and comment procedures are unnecessary under 
the ``good cause'' exception of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) 
because correcting the references in Sec.  76.66(e)(3) entails no 
exercise of our administrative discretion.\5\ The dates of each 
carriage cycle are long-established as a matter of law, and the 
reference to these dates in Sec.  76.66 is merely as an aid to 
understanding. The rule change does not establish additional regulatory 
obligations or burdens on regulated entities. Consequently, we find 
notice and comment procedures are unnecessary for this action.
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    \5\ 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3)(B) (notice and comment is not necessary 
``when the agency for good cause finds (and incorporates the finding 
and a brief statement of reasons therefor in the rules issued) that 
notice and public procedure thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, 
or contrary to the public interest'').
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Paperwork Reduction Act Analysis

    This document does not contain any new or modified information 
collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA).\6\ In addition, therefore, it does not contain any new or 
modified information collection burden for small business concerns with 
fewer than 25 employees, pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork 
Relief Act of 2002.\7\
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    \6\ The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, 109 
Stat. 163 (1995) (codified in Chapter 35 of title 44 U.S.C.).
    \7\ The Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002 (SBPRA), 
Public Law 107-198, 116 Stat. 729 (2002) (codified in Chapter 35 of 
title 44 U.S.C.); see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4).
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Congressional Review Act

    Because this is a technical correction, there is no impact under 
the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 804(2). Thus, the Bureau will 
not send

[[Page 62472]]

a copy of this Order to Congress or the Government Accountability 
Office.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    Because these rule changes are being adopted without notice and 
comment, the Regulatory Flexibility Act \8\ does not apply.
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    \8\ 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. See id. section 601(2).
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List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 76

    Television.

Federal Communications Commission.
Thomas Horan,
Chief of Staff, Media Bureau.

Final Rules

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 76 by making the following 
technical amendment:

PART 76--MULTICHANNEL VIDEO AND CABLE TELEVISION 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 76.66 is amended by revising paragraph (e)(3) to read as 
follows:


Sec.  76.66  Satellite broadcast signal carriage.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (3) A satellite carrier shall use the October 2021 Nielsen Local TV 
Station Information for the retransmission consent-mandatory carriage 
election cycle commencing on January 1, 2024, and ending on December 
31, 2026. The October 2024 Nielsen Local TV Station Information Report 
shall be used for the retransmission consent-mandatory carriage 
election cycle commencing January 1, 2027, and ending December 31, 
2029, and so forth using the publications for the October two years 
prior to each triennial election pursuant to this section. Provided, 
however, that a county deleted from a market by Nielsen need not be 
subtracted from a market in which a satellite carrier provides local-
into-local service, if that county is assigned to that market in the 
1999-2000 Nielsen Station Index Directory or any subsequent issue of 
that publication, or the Local TV Station Information Report commencing 
with October 2021, and every three years thereafter (i.e., October 
2024, October 2027, etc.). A satellite carrier may determine which 
local market in the State of Alaska will be deemed to be the relevant 
local market in connection with each subscriber in an area in the State 
of Alaska that is outside of a designated market, as described in 
paragraph (e)(2) of this section.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2023-19612 Filed 9-11-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P