Federal Register, Volume 82 Issue 35 (Thursday, February 23, 2017)
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 35 (Thursday, February 23, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 11406-11412]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-03465]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
47 CFR Parts 73 and 76
[MB Docket No. 16-161; FCC 17-3]
Expansion of Revisions to Public Inspection File Requirements--
Broadcaster Correspondence File and Cable Principal Headend Location
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission
(Commission) eliminates two public inspection file requirements: The
requirement that commercial broadcast stations retain in their public
inspection file copies of letters and emails from the public; and the
requirement that cable operators maintain for public inspection the
designation and location of the cable system's principal headend. Our
actions will reduce regulatory burdens on commercial broadcasters and
cable operators, advance regulatory parity with respect to our public
file requirements among various program distributors, and improve
security at local stations and principal headend locations.
DATES: Effective February 23, 2017, except for the amendments to
Sec. Sec. 73.3526, 76.5, 76.1700, and 76.1708, which contain
information collection requirements that have not been approved by OMB.
The Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register
announcing the effective date of those amendments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Matthews, Media Bureau, Policy
Division, 202-418-2154, or email at kim.matthews@fcc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Report
and Order, FCC 17-3, adopted on January 31, 2017 and released on
January 31, 2017. 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. 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 fcc504@fcc.gov or calling the Commission's Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice), (202) 418-0432
(TTY).
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis
The Report and Order contains new or modified information
collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA). The requirements will be submitted to the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) for review under section 3507(d) of the PRA. OMB, the
general public, and other Federal agencies will be invited to comment
on the new or modified information collection requirements contained in
this proceeding. In addition, we note that pursuant to the Small
Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, we previously sought specific
comment on how the Commission might further reduce the information
collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25
employees.
Summary
I. Introduction
1. In the Report and Order, we eliminate two public inspection file
requirements: (i) The requirement that commercial broadcast stations
retain in their public inspection file copies of letters and emails
from the public; and (ii) the requirement that cable operators maintain
for public inspection the designation and location of the cable
system's principal headend. Because of potential privacy concerns
associated with putting the correspondence file online and because many
cable operators prefer not to post online the location of their
principal headend for security reasons, removing these requirements
will enable commercial broadcasters and cable operators to make their
entire public inspection file available online without these privacy
and security concerns and eliminate the need to maintain a local public
file.
2. Principal headend location information must be accessible to the
Commission, however, to enable it to enforce its signal leakage rules
and to respond to must-carry and signal leakage complaints. In
addition, broadcast television stations must have access to this
information in order to exercise their must-carry rights and
franchisors may need it in connection with their oversight of local
cable systems and operations. Accordingly, we will require cable
systems to provide principal headend location information to these
entities upon request. In lieu of responding to individual requests for
such information, operators may alternatively elect voluntarily to
provide this information to the Commission for inclusion in the
Commission's online public inspection file (``OPIF'') database and may
elect to make the information publicly available there.
3. Eliminating the correspondence file and principal headend public
file requirements will reduce regulatory burdens on commercial
broadcasters and cable operators. By permitting these entities to cease
maintaining a local public file, our actions will also advance
[[Page 11407]]
regulatory parity with respect to our public file requirements among
various program distributors and improve security at local stations and
principal headend locations.
II. Background
A. Correspondence File
4. Section 73.3526(e)(9) of the Commission's rules provides that
commercial broadcast stations must retain in their public inspection
file ``[a]ll written comments and suggestions received from the public
regarding operation of the station unless the letter writer has
requested that the letter not be made public or the licensee believes
the letter should be excluded from public inspection because of the
nature of its content,'' such as a situation in which a letter contains
content that is defamatory or obscene. The rule expressly includes
email messages transmitted to station management or to an email address
publicized by the station.
5. As discussed in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in this
proceeding, Revisions to Public Inspection File Requirements--
Broadcaster Correspondence File and Cable Principal Headend Location,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 81 FR 40617, June 22, 2016 (NPRM), the
Commission first required commercial radio and television broadcasters
to retain written comments and suggestions from the public and make
them available for public inspection in 1973. The original
correspondence file rule was adopted together with a requirement that
commercial broadcast stations air regular announcements ``informing the
public of the licensee's obligation to the public and of the
appropriate method for individuals to express their opinions of the
station's operation.'' The purpose of the correspondence file was ``to
permit a member of the public to better determine the nature of
community feedback being received by the licensees and the extent to
which his or her opinions regarding community problems and needs and/or
the licensee's station operation might be shared by other members of
the community.'' The Commission later removed the requirement that
licensees air announcements regarding their obligations to the public,
noting that section 73.3580 of the rules requires that both commercial
and noncommercial stations make announcements in connection with the
filing of their license renewal applications and concluding that these
renewal application announcements were sufficient to inform the public
of the ``Commission's oversight functions and the availability of
public recourse.'' The Commission, however, retained the requirement
that licensees keep all written comments and suggestions received from
the public in their public inspection files.
6. The correspondence file requirement applies only to commercial
broadcasters; there is no similar requirement for noncommercial
broadcasters. There is also no correspondence file requirement for
cable operators, DBS providers, or satellite radio licensees, all of
which have other public inspection file obligations.
B. Principal Headend Location
7. Section 76.1708 of the Commission's rules requires operators of
all cable television systems to ``maintain for public inspection the
designation and location of [the system's] principal headend. If an
operator changes the designation of its principal headend, that new
designation must also be included in its public file.'' The Commission
first adopted the principal headend public file requirement in a 1993
order implementing the must-carry and retransmission consent provisions
of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of
1992. Implementation of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and
Competition Act of 1992, Broadcast Signal Carriage Issues, Report and
Order, 58 FR 17350, April 2,1993 (``Must-Carry Order''). Under the
Cable Act, commercial television stations must deliver a good quality
signal to a cable system's ``principal headend'' in order to be
eligible for must-carry rights on that system. The Cable Act's
provisions regarding eligibility for must-carry rights for
noncommercial and low power television stations also refer to a cable
system's ``principal headend.'' In the Must-Carry Order, the Commission
required cable systems to retain various records relating to must-carry
obligations in their public file, including, as noted above, the
designation and location of the system's principal headend.
C. Online Public Inspection File
8. In 2012, the Commission adopted online public inspection file
rules for television broadcasters that required them to post public
file documents to a central, FCC-hosted online database rather than
maintaining files locally at their main studios. See Television Online
Public File Order, 77 FR 27631, May 11, 2012. However, in the
Television Online Public File Order, the Commission determined that
letters and emails from the public should not be uploaded to the online
file, but should instead continue to be maintained at the station's
main studio. The Commission concluded that including letters and emails
from the public in the online file could risk exposing personally
identifiable information and that requiring stations to redact such
information prior to uploading these documents would be overly
burdensome.
9. In January 2016, the Commission adopted the Expanded Online
Public File Order, 81 FR 10105, February 29, 2016, in which it added
cable operators, DBS providers, broadcast radio licensees, and
satellite radio licensees to the list of entities required to post
their public inspection files to the FCC-hosted online database. With
respect to commercial radio licensees, the Commission concluded,
consistent with the decision reached in the Television Online Public
File Order, that it would exempt letters and emails from the public
from the requirement to file online and instead require stations to
continue to retain such material in their local public file. The
Commission also concluded that it would not require cable operators to
include principal headend location information in the online public
file and gave operators the option instead to continue to retain this
information in their local public file.
10. The Commission determined in the Expanded Online Public File
Order that entities that upload all public file material to the
Commission's online database and that also provide online access to
back-up political file documents via the entity's own Web site when the
Commission's online database is temporarily unavailable will not be
required to maintain a local public file. The Commission noted,
however, that this option is not available to commercial broadcast
licensees, which must continue to retain a correspondence file that
cannot be made available online for privacy reasons. In the NPRM, the
Commission tentatively concluded that it should eliminate the
correspondence file requirement. As requested by NCTA, we also proposed
in the NPRM to eliminate the requirement that cable operators retain
information regarding the location of their principal headend in the
public inspection file. We noted that the general public has no
interest in this information and that eliminating this public file
requirement would permit operators who feel the need to avoid posting
this information online for security reasons to cease retaining this
[[Page 11408]]
information locally and to transition to a fully online public
inspection file.
III. Discussion
A. Correspondence File
11. As we proposed in the NPRM, we eliminate the requirement that
commercial broadcast stations retain letters and emails from the public
in their public inspection files. We agree with those commenters who
argue that retention of letters and emails is not necessary to ensure
that broadcasters comply with their public interest obligation to air
programming that is responsive to the needs and interests of their
community of license. Viewers and listeners can continue to communicate
directly with stations by letter, email, social media, telephone, or
other means; the only change is that stations will no longer be
required to retain letters and emails and make them publicly available
in their local public file.
12. We agree with the Broadcaster Coalition that stations are
likely to continue to respond to concerns raised by consumers even
though they are no longer required to retain all written communications
for public inspection. Stations have an economic incentive to be
responsive to their consumers. The Broadcaster Coalition notes that, as
they have with letters and emails from the public, stations now monitor
their social media accounts to understand viewers' reactions to stories
and obtain feedback about the operation of the station. We also agree
with those commenters who note that the volume of commentary on social
media sites about a station's performance is likely to far exceed the
number of letters and emails a station receives. Unlike the
correspondence file, these Internet postings are readily available
online where they can be viewed by interested parties.
13. Our action today will have little, if any, impact on the
Commission's role in reviewing licensee performance. As we stated in
the NPRM, the Commission's scrutiny of most licensee conduct occurs in
conjunction with consideration of a station's license renewal
application. Interested listeners and viewers may file petitions or
objections concerning licensee performance at the time the station
files its renewal application. Licensees are required to air
announcements notifying their viewers and listeners that they have the
opportunity to provide feedback during the Commission's review of the
license renewal application. Petitions and objections filed in
connection with a license renewal application are accessible by the
public in the Commission's Consolidated Database System (CDBS).
Interested parties may also file formal and informal complaints at any
time during a station's license period. The Commission maintains a
public Web site that permits consumers to file informal complaints
directly with the Commission.
14. While we recognize that some consumers may not have Internet
access at home, lack access to broadband, or lack digital media skills,
we disagree with those commenters who argue that these concerns warrant
requiring commercial broadcasters to continue to maintain a
correspondence file. The record suggests that few consumers seek access
to the correspondence file. Consumers can continue to communicate
directly with stations by letter or telephone and those without
Internet access at home may also be able to access the online public
file from locations, such as public libraries, that provide Internet
access to the public. In addition, consumers who are unable to access
or navigate the Commission's Web site can file an informal objection to
a renewal application by mail. Consumers can also contact the
Commission toll-free by telephone to file an informal complaint against
a station.
15. Eliminating the correspondence file requirement will have the
added benefit of permitting commercial broadcasters to transition to an
entirely online public file and cease maintaining a local public file.
This change will reduce regulatory burdens on commercial broadcasters
and allow them to realize the cost savings and other efficiencies of an
entirely online file. Eliminating the correspondence file will also
advance regulatory parity by providing commercial broadcasters with the
same opportunity as other entities with online file requirements to
provide online access to all public file materials, and will permit
commercial licensees concerned about security to limit public access to
a station's facilities.
16. We note that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires
television licensees to include in their license renewal application
``a summary of written comments and suggestions'' that are both
``received from the public,'' and ``maintained by the licensee (in
accordance with Commission regulations),'' and that ``comment on the
applicant's programming, if any, and that are characterized by the
commenter as constituting violent programming.'' See 47 U.S.C. 308(d).
The Commission determined in the 1999 Main Studio and Public File
Order, 64 FR 35941, July 2, 1999, that noncommercial broadcasters are
not subject to this requirement because section 308(d) requires
licensees to summarize correspondence maintained by licensees ``in
accordance with Commission regulations'' and ``noncommercial
educational licensees are not required to maintain these letters under
our rules.'' It follows from this determination that because commercial
TV licensees will no longer be required to maintain correspondence
under our rules, under the terms of section 308(d) they also will not
be required to file a summary of correspondence received regarding
violent programming with their renewal application. Our extension of
our 1999 determination moots the Broadcaster Coalition request that the
Commission clarify that such communications may be retained in a non-
public file and that the retention period for such communications is
three years, consistent with the correspondence file retention period
requirement, rather than the eight-year license term. The Commission's
license renewal application, FCC Form 303-S, directs commercial TV and
Class A TV applicants to submit a summary of written communications
received from the public regarding violent programming. We delegate
authority to the Media Bureau to revise this form and instructions
consistent with our decision to eliminate the correspondence file
requirement.
17. The rule changes we are adopting herein must be approved by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act
(PRA). The Media Bureau will issue a Public Notice announcing such
approval and the effective date of the rules. Commercial broadcasters
must continue to retain a correspondence file locally and make it
available for public inspection until the effective date of the new
rules.
B. Principal Headend Location
18. As we proposed in the NPRM, we also eliminate the requirement
that cable operators retain information about the designation and
location of the system's principal headend in the public inspection
file. No commenter opposed this proposal. All commenters who addressed
the issue agreed with our conclusion in the NPRM that the general
public has no need for or interest in this information.
19. While the general public has no need for information about the
location of a cable system's principal headend, that information must
be accessible to the Commission as needed to permit enforcement of
cable carriage and signal leakage requirements and to avoid
[[Page 11409]]
interference to and from cable headends. For example, the Commission
must know the location of the principal headend to conduct tests to
determine compliance with signal leakage requirements. In addition, the
Commission must know the location of a principal headend in order to
ensure that the facilities are not causing interference to, or
receiving interference from, other communications facilities. The
Commission currently does not maintain principal headend location
information for most cable systems. Broadcast television stations also
must have access to principal headend location information to determine
cable carriage rights.
20. To ensure that the Commission has access to principal headend
location information, we will require that all cable systems provide it
to us promptly upon request made by phone, email, or other means.
Systems must also provide this information upon request to broadcast
television stations and franchisors. In lieu of responding to
individual requests for principal headend location information, systems
may alternatively elect voluntarily to input this information into OPIF
or provide it to the Commission by mail or email to be included in that
database. Systems that elect to provide this information in OPIF may
choose to make it accessible only to the Commission or also make it
publicly available. Inputting headend information into OPIF will be a
simple task and, for cable operators that choose this option, will
obviate responding to inquiries about their headend location from
Commission staff. In addition, systems that input the information
directly into OPIF can elect to make it immediately available to the
public and thereby also eliminate the necessity of providing
information in response to other requests for principal headend
location information.
21. Systems that elect not to provide principal headend information
in OPIF, or that elect to protect this information from public view,
will be required to make it available to broadcast television stations
and local franchisors upon request. If a request is submitted to a
cable system from a broadcaster or local franchisor in writing by
certified mail, cable systems must respond in writing by certified mail
within 15 calendar days. Cable systems may in addition elect to respond
to requests from these entities submitted by telephone or email, but
must respond in writing by certified mail if requested to do so by the
station or franchisor. Systems that choose to provide principal headend
information to the FCC by email or mail, and that state that it can be
made public in OPIF, must provide it to stations upon request until
their information appears in the OPIF database.
22. After the rules adopted in this order are approved by the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Media Bureau will issue a
Public Notice (PN) announcing the effective date of the rules. The
Media Bureau will provide in the PN instructions on how to access and
use the OPIF database, addresses to be used to send the information
directly to the Commission, and the telephone number for technical
assistance with OPIF.
23. The actions we take today will reduce burdens for cable system
operators, particularly those with security concerns about posting
principal headend location information online. By eliminating the
principal headend public file requirement, we enable these systems to
transition to a fully online public file and benefit from the long-term
cost-savings and other efficiencies associated with an online file.
While these systems must provide principal headend information to the
Commission, broadcasters, and franchisors upon request, this
requirement is minimal and should not be onerous. Commenters report
that systems receive very few, if any, requests for this information.
Any burden from these new requirements is more than offset by the
benefit of no longer being required to maintain a local public file to
retain principal headend location information. Moreover, cable systems
that elect voluntarily to provide principal headend location
information to the Commission to be maintained in OPIF, and that elect
to make this information publicly available, can direct anyone
requesting principal headend location information to that database in
lieu of responding to individual requests.
24. We disagree with ACA that small cable systems should have the
option to retain principal headend location locally and provide it to
the Commission, television stations, and franchisors on request made in
person at their facilities. Requiring entities to make an in-person
visit to the system to obtain this information, should that be
necessary, would be unduly burdensome, particularly as there are other
simple, essentially costless means for the system to provide the
information to entities that need it. Moreover, as the Commission
currently does not have information regarding the address of the
principal headend or local business office for many small systems,
Commission staff often would not know where to go in person to request
principal headend location information.
IV. Procedural Matters
A. Final Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis
25. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), an Initial
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) was incorporated in the NPRM in
MB Docket 16-161. The Commission sought written public comment on the
proposals in the NPRM, including comment on the IRFA. We received no
comments specifically directed toward the IRFA. This Final Regulatory
Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) conforms to the RFA.
1. Need for, and Objectives of, Report and Order
26. The Report and Order eliminates two public inspection file
requirements--the requirement that commercial broadcast stations retain
in their public inspection file copies of letters and emails from the
public (referred to as the ``correspondence file'') and the requirement
that cable operators maintain for public inspection the designation and
location of the cable system's principal headend. We conclude that
these two components of our public inspection file rules involve
documents or information that do not need to be made available to the
general public and that eliminating these rules will reduce the burden
of maintaining the public inspection file on commercial broadcasters
and cable operators. Our action today will also permit commercial
television and radio broadcasters and cable operators to cease
maintaining a local public inspection file if they post all public file
material to the online public file database and provide online access
via their own Web site to back-up political file material. The
Commission previously adopted this option for other entities subject to
our online public inspection file requirements. Because the
correspondence file cannot be made available online for privacy reasons
and because many cable operators prefer not to post the location of
their principal headend online for security reasons, removing these
requirements will permit commercial broadcasters and cable operators to
elect to make their entire public inspection file available online and
cease maintaining a local public file, thereby further reducing overall
regulatory burdens on these entities. The Report and Order also
delegates to the Media Bureau the authority to revise FCC Form 303-S to
reflect the fact that, consistent with the
[[Page 11410]]
language of 47 U.S.C. 308(d), commercial TV and Class A TV licensees
will no longer be required to submit with their renewal applications a
summary of written communications received from the public regarding
violent programming.
2. Summary of Significant Issues Raised by Public Comments in Response
to the IRFA
27. No comments were filed in response to the IRFA.
3. Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to Which
the Proposed Rules Will Apply
28. 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.
29. Television Broadcasting. This economic Census category
``comprises establishments primarily engaged in broadcasting images
together with sound.'' The SBA has created the following small business
size standard for such businesses: Those having $38.5 million or less
in annual receipts. The 2012 U.S. Census indicates that 751 firms in
this category operated in that year. Of that number, 656 had annual
receipts of $25,000,000 or less. Because the Census has no additional
classifications that could serve as a basis for determining the number
of stations whose receipts exceeded $38.5 million in that year, we
conclude that the majority of television broadcast stations were small
under the applicable SBA size standard.
30. Apart from the U.S. Census, the Commission has estimated the
number of licensed commercial television stations to be 1,387 stations.
Of this total, 1,221 stations (or about 88 percent) had revenues of
$38.5 million or less, according to Commission staff review of the BIA
Kelsey Inc. Media Access Pro Television Database (BIA) on July 2, 2014.
In addition, the Commission has estimated the number of licensed Class
A television stations to be 417. Given the nature of these services, we
will presume that these licensees qualify as small entities under the
SBA definition. Based on these data, we estimate that the majority of
television broadcast stations are small entities.
31. We note, however, that in assessing whether a business concern
qualifies as ``small'' under the above definition, business (control)
affiliations must be included. Because we do not include or aggregate
revenues from affiliated companies in determining whether an entity
meets the revenue threshold noted above, our estimate of the number of
small entities affected is likely overstated. In addition, we note that
one element of the definition of ``small business'' is that an entity
not be dominant in its field of operation. We are unable at this time
to define or quantify the criteria that would establish whether a
specific television broadcast station is dominant in its field of
operation. Accordingly, our estimate of small television stations
potentially affected by the proposed rules includes those that could be
dominant in their field of operation. For this reason, such estimate
likely is over-inclusive.
32. Radio Broadcasting. The SBA defines a radio broadcast station
as a small business if such station has no more than $38.5 million in
annual receipts. Business concerns included in this industry are those
``primarily engaged in broadcasting aural programs by radio to the
public.'' According to review of the BIA Publications, Inc. Master
Access Radio Analyzer Database as of November 26, 2013, about 11,331
(or about 99.9 percent) of the then number of commercial radio stations
(11,341) have revenues of $35.5 million or less and thus qualify as
small entities under the SBA definition. The Commission has estimated
the number of licensed commercial radio stations to be 11,408. We note
that in assessing whether a business entity qualifies as small under
the above definition, business control affiliations must be included.
This estimate, therefore, likely overstates the number of small
entities that might be affected, because the revenue figure on which it
is based does not include or aggregate revenues from affiliated
companies.
33. As noted above, an element of the definition of ``small
business'' is that the entity not be dominant in its field of
operation. The Commission is unable at this time to define or quantify
the criteria that would establish whether a specific radio station is
dominant in its field of operation. Accordingly, the estimate of small
businesses to which rules may apply does not exclude any radio station
from the definition of a small business on this basis and therefore may
be over-inclusive to that extent. Also, as noted, an additional element
of the definition of ``small business'' is that the entity must be
independently owned and operated. The Commission notes that it is
difficult at times to assess these criteria in the context of media
entities and the estimates of small businesses to which they apply may
be over-inclusive to this extent.
34. Cable Companies and Systems. 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
shows that there are currently 660 cable operators. Of this total, all
but ten cable operators nationwide are small under this size standard.
In addition, under the Commission's rate regulation rules, a ``small
system'' is a cable system serving 15,000 or fewer subscribers. Current
Commission records show 4,421 cable systems nationwide. Of this total,
3,936 cable systems have less than 20,000 subscribers, and 485 systems
have 20,000 or more subscribers, based on the same records. Thus, under
this standard, we estimate that most cable systems are small entities.
35. 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 1
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 53 million
cable video subscribers in the United States today. Accordingly, an
operator serving fewer than 540,000 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 ten 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 system operators are affiliated with entities whose
gross annual revenues exceed $250,000,000,
[[Page 11411]]
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.
4. Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other
Compliance Requirements
36. The rule changes adopted in the Report and Order will reduce
reporting, recordkeeping, and other compliance requirements for
commercial broadcast stations which, prior to our action today, were
required to retain letters and emails from the public in their local
public inspection file. The Report and Order eliminates this
requirement, thereby reducing recordkeeping burdens on these entities.
In addition, eliminating the correspondence file requirement will
permit commercial radio and television stations to fully transition to
an online public file and cease maintaining a local public file,
allowing them to realize the long-term cost savings associated with the
online public file. The elimination of the requirement that commercial
television and Class A licensees include in their license renewal
applications a summary of communications received from the public
regarding violent programming will also reduce regulatory burdens on
these licensees.
37. The actions we take today will also reduce burdens for cable
system operators, particularly those with security concerns about
posting principal headend location information online. By eliminating
the principal headend public file requirement, we enable these systems
to transition to a fully online public file and benefit from the long-
term cost-savings and other efficiencies associated with an online
file. While these systems must provide principal headend information to
the Commission, broadcasters, and franchisors upon request, this
requirement is minimal and should not be onerous. Commenters report
that systems receive very few, if any, requests for this information.
Any burden from these new requirements is more than offset by the
benefit of no longer being required to maintain a local public file to
retain principal headend location information. Moreover, cable systems
that elect voluntarily to provide principal headend location
information to the Commission to be maintained in OPIF, and that elect
to make this information publicly available, can direct those
requesting principal headend location information to that database in
lieu of responding to individual requests.
5. Steps Taken To Minimize Significant Economic Impact on Small
Entities, and Significant Alternatives Considered
38. 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, standards; and (4) an
exemption from coverage of the rule, or any part thereof, for small
entities.
39. Alternative options discussed in the NPRM included requiring
cable systems to file a form with the FCC to provide principal headend
information. Requiring systems to instead provide this information upon
request is less burdensome than a requirement to file a form. While ACA
urged the FCC to simply permit small cable systems to retain principal
headend information locally and provide it upon request to entities who
ask for it in person, requiring entities to make an in-person visit to
the system to obtain this information would be overly burdensome,
particularly as there are other simple, essentially costless means for
the system to provide the information to entities that need it.
Moreover, as the FCC currently does not have information regarding the
address of the principal headend or local business office for many of
small systems, it would not know where to go to request principal
headend location information. Overall, we believe that the Report and
Order appropriately balances the interests of the public against the
interests of the entities who will be subject to the rules, including
those that are smaller entities.
6. Federal Rules That May Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict With the
Proposed Rule
40. None.
B. Paperwork Reduction Act Analysis
41. This document contains new or modified information collection
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA),
Public Law 104-13. It will be submitted to the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for review under section 3507(d) of the PRA. OMB, the
general public, and other Federal agencies are invited to comment on
the new or modified information collection requirements contained in
this proceeding. In addition, we note that pursuant to the Small
Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), we previously sought specific comment on how the
Commission might further reduce the information collection burden for
small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.
C. Congressional Review Act
42. The Commission will send a copy of the Report and Order to
Congress and the Government Accountability Office pursuant to the
Congressional Review Act.
V. Ordering Clauses
43. Accordingly, it is ordered that, pursuant to the authority
contained in sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), 303(r), 614, and 615 of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 154(j),
303(r), 614, and 615, the Report and Order is hereby adopted.
44. It is further ordered that parts 73 and 76 of the Commission's
rules, 47 CFR part 73, 76, are amended as set forth in Appendix B of
the Report and Order. Such rule amendments contain new or modified
information collection requirements that require approval by the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA),
and shall become effective after publication in the Federal Register of
a notice announcing such approval and the relevant effective date.
45. It is further ordered that the Commission's Consumer and
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, shall send a
copy of the Report and Order including the Final Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business
Administration.
46. It is further ordered that the Commission shall send a copy of
the Report and Order in a report to Congress and the Government
Accountability Office pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, see 5
U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).
List of Subjects
47 CFR Part 73
Radio, Recording and recordkeeping requirements, Television.
47 CFR Part 76
Cable television, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
[[Page 11412]]
Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.
Final Rules
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR parts 73 and 76 as follows:
PART 73--RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES
0
1. The authority citation for part 73 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 47.U.S.C. 154, 303, 307, and 554.
Sec. 73.1202 [Removed and Reserved].
0
2. Section 73.1202 is removed and reserved.
0
3. Section 73.3526 is amended by revising paragraphs (b)(1) and
(b)(2)(i) and removing and reserving paragraph (e)(9),
The revisions read as follows:
Sec. 73.3526 Local public inspection file of commercial stations.
* * * * *
(b) * * *
(1) For radio licensees temporarily exempt from the online public
file hosted by the Commission, as discussed in paragraph (b)(2) of this
section, a hard copy of the public inspection file shall be maintained
at the main studio of the station, unless the licensee elects
voluntarily to place the file online as discussed in paragraph (b)(2)
of this section. An applicant for a new station or change of community
shall maintain its file at an accessible place in the proposed
community of license or at its proposed main studio.
(2)(i) A television station licensee or applicant, and any radio
station licensee or applicant not temporarily exempt as described in
this paragraph, shall place the contents required by paragraph (e) of
this section of its public inspection file in the online public file
hosted by the Commission, with the exception of the political file as
required by paragraph (e)(6) of this section, as discussed in paragraph
(b)(3) of this section. Any radio station not in the top 50 Nielsen
Audio markets, and any radio station with fewer than five full-time
employees, shall continue to retain the public inspection file at the
station in the manner discussed in paragraph (b)(1) of this section
until March 1, 2018. However, any radio station that is not required to
place its public inspection file in the online public file hosted by
the Commission before March 1, 2018 may choose to do so, instead of
retaining the public inspection file at the station in the manner
discussed in paragraph (b)(1) of this section.
* * * * *
PART 76--MULTICHANNEL VIDEO AND CABLE TELVISION SERVICE
0
4. 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, 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
5. Section 76.5 is amended by revising paragraph (pp)(2) to read as
follows:
Sec. 76.5 Definitions.
* * * * *
(pp) * * *
(2) In the case of a cable system with more than one headend, the
principal headend designated by the cable operator, except that such
designation shall not undermine or evade the requirements of subpart D
of this part. Each cable system must provide information regarding the
designation and location of the principal headend to the Commission
promptly upon request. Except for good cause, an operator may not
change its choice of principal headend. Cable systems may elect
voluntarily to provide the location of the principal headend in the
Commission's online public inspection file database and may choose
whether to make this information accessible only by the Commission or
to also make it publicly available. Systems that elect not to provide
this information in the online file, or to protect this information in
the online file from public view, must make it available to broadcast
television stations and local franchisors upon request. If a request is
submitted by a television station or franchisor in writing by certified
mail, cable systems must respond in writing by certified mail within 15
calendar days. Cable systems may in addition elect to respond to
requests from these entities submitted by telephone or email, but must
respond in writing by certified mail if requested to do so by the
station or franchisor.
* * * * *
0
6. Section 76.1700 is amended by revising paragraph (a) introductory
text, removing paragraph (a)(6), and redesignating (a)(7) through (10)
as (a)(6) through (9), respectively.
The revision reads as follows:
Sec. 76.1700 Records to be maintained by cable system operators.
(a) Public inspection file. The following records must be placed in
the online public file hosted by the Commission, except as indicated in
paragraph (d) of this section and except that the records listed in
paragraph (a)(1) of this section (political file) that are in existence
30 days after the effective date of this provision, if not placed in
the online file, shall continue to be retained at the system and made
available to the public in the manner discussed in paragraph (e) of
this section until the end of the retention period. In addition, any
cable system with fewer than 5,000 subscribers shall continue to retain
the political file at the system in the manner discussed in paragraph
(e) of this section until March 1, 2018. For these systems, effective
March 1, 2018, any new political file material shall be placed in the
online file hosted by the Commission, while the material in the
political file as of March 1, 2018, if not placed in the Commission's
online public file, shall continue to be retained at the system in the
manner discussed in paragraph (e) of this section until the end of its
retention period. However, any system that is not required to place its
political file in the Commission's online public file before March 1,
2018 may choose to do so, instead of retaining the political file at
the system in the manner discussed in paragraph (e) of this section.
* * * * *
Sec. 76.1708 [Removed and Reserved].
0
7. Section 76.1708 is removed and reserved.
[FR Doc. 2017-03465 Filed 2-22-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
