80 FR 66001 - Information Collections Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 208 (October 28, 2015)

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collections. Comments are requested concerning: Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees. The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the PRA that does not display a valid OMB control number.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 208 (Wednesday, October 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66001-66003]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-27391]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-0546 and 3060-0980]


Information Collections Being Reviewed by the Federal 
Communications Commission

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, 
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3501-3520), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) 
invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this 
opportunity to comment on the following information collections. 
Comments are requested concerning: Whether the proposed collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical 
utility; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; 
ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the 
respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology; and ways to further reduce the 
information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer 
than 25 employees. The FCC may not conduct or sponsor a collection of 
information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. No 
person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a 
collection of information subject to the PRA that does not display a 
valid OMB control number.

DATES: Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before December 
28, 2015. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but 
find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this 
notice, you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Cathy Williams, FCC, via email to 
[email protected] and to [email protected].

[[Page 66002]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0546.
    Title: Section 76.59 Definition of Markets for Purposes of the 
Cable Television Mandatory Television Broadcast Signal Carriage Rules.
    Form Number: N/A.
    Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business and other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 180 respondents and 200 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.5 to 40 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement; Third 
party disclosure requirement; Recordkeeping requirement.
    Total Annual Burden: 1,486 hours.
    Total Annual Costs: $1,387,950.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 151, 
154(i), 303(r), 338 and 534.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality with this collection of information.
    Privacy Impact Assessment(s): No impact(s).
    Needs and Uses: On September 2, 2015, the Commission released a 
Report and Order (Order), FCC 15-111, in MB Docket No. 15-71, adopting 
satellite television market modification rules to implement Section 102 
of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA) 
Reauthorization Act of 2014 (STELAR). The STELAR amended the 
Communications Act and the Copyright Act to give the Commission 
authority to modify a commercial television broadcast station's local 
television market--defined by The Nielsen Company's Designated Market 
Area (DMA) in which it is located--to include additional communities or 
exclude communities for purposes of better effectuating satellite 
carriage rights. The Commission previously had the authority to modify 
a station's market only in the cable carriage context. Market 
modification allows the Commission to modify the local television 
market of a particular commercial television broadcast station to 
enable commercial television stations, cable operators and satellite 
carriers to better serve the interests of local communities. Market 
modification provides a means to avoid rigid adherence to DMA 
designations and to promote consumer access to in-state and other 
relevant television programming. Section 338(l) of the Communications 
Act (the satellite market modification provision) and Section 
614(h)(1)(C) of the Communications Act (the corresponding cable 
provision) permit the Commission to add communities to or delete 
communities from a station's local television market following a 
written request. Furthermore, the Commission may determine that 
particular communities are part of more than one television market.
    Section 76.59(a) of the Commission's Rules authorizes the filing of 
market modification petitions and governs who may file such a petition. 
With respect to cable market modification petitions, a commercial TV 
broadcast station and cable system operator may file a market 
modification petition to modify the local television market of a 
particular commercial television broadcast station for purposes of 
cable carriage rights. With respect to satellite market modification 
petitions, a commercial TV broadcast stations, satellite carrier and 
county governmental entity (such as a county board, council, commission 
or other equivalent subdivision) may file a market modification 
petition to modify the local television market of a particular 
commercial television broadcast station for purposes of satellite 
carriage rights. Section 76.59(b) of the Commission's Rules requires 
that market modification petitions and responsive pleadings (e.g., 
oppositions, comments, reply comments) must be submitted in accordance 
with the procedures for filing Special Relief petitions in Section 76.7 
of the rules. Section 76.59(b) of the Commission's Rules requires 
petitioners (e.g., commercial TV broadcast stations, cable system 
operators, satellite carriers and county governments) to include the 
specific evidence in support of market modification petitions.
    Section 338(l)(3) of the Communications Act provides that ``[a] 
market determination . . . shall not create additional carriage 
obligations for a satellite carrier if it is not technically and 
economically feasible for such carrier to accomplish such carriage by 
means of its satellites in operation at the time of the 
determination.'' If a satellite carrier opposes a market modification 
petition because the resulting carriage would be technically or 
economically infeasible pursuant to Section 338(l)(3), the carrier must 
provide specific evidence in its opposition or response to a pre-filing 
coordination request (see below) to demonstrate its claim of 
infeasibility. If the satellite carrier is claiming infeasibility based 
on insufficient spot beam coverage, then the carrier may instead 
provide a detailed certification submitted under penalty of perjury. 
Although the Commission will not require satellite carriers to provide 
supporting documentation as part of their certification, the Commission 
may decide to look behind any certification and require supporting 
documentation when it deems it appropriate, such as when there is 
evidence that the certification may be inaccurate. In the event that 
the Commission requires supporting documentation, it will require a 
satellite carrier to provide its ``satellite link budget'' calculations 
that were created for the new community. Because the Commission may 
determine in a given case that supporting documentation should be 
provided to support a detailed certification, satellite carriers are 
required to retain such ``satellite link budget'' information in the 
event that the Commission determines further review by the Commission 
is necessary. Satellite carriers must retain such information 
throughout the pendency of Commission or judicial proceedings involving 
the certification and any related market modification petition. If 
satellite carriers have concerns about providing proprietary and 
confidential information underlying their analysis, they may request 
confidentiality.
    The Report and Order establishes a ``pre-filing coordination'' 
process that will allow a prospective petitioner for market 
modification (i.e., broadcaster or county government), at its option, 
to request/obtain a certification from a satellite carrier about 
whether or not (and to what extent) carriage resulting from a 
contemplated market modification is technically and economically 
feasible for such carrier before the prospective petitioner undertakes 
the time and expense of preparing and filing a satellite market 
modification petition. To initiate this process, a prospective 
petitioner may make a request in writing to a satellite carrier for the 
carrier to provide the certification about the feasibility or 
infeasibility of carriage. A satellite carrier must respond to this 
request within a reasonable amount of time by providing a feasibility 
certification to the prospective petitioner. A satellite carrier must 
also file a copy of the correspondence and feasibility certification it 
provides to the prospective petitioner in this docket electronically 
via ECFS so that the Media Bureau can track these certifications and 
monitor carrier response time. If the carrier is claiming

[[Page 66003]]

spot beam coverage infeasibility, then the certification provided by 
the carrier must be the same type of detailed certification that would 
be required in response to a market modification petition. For any 
other claim of infeasibility, the carrier's feasibility certification 
must explain in detail the basis of such infeasibility and must be 
prepared to provide documentation in support of its claim, in the event 
the prospective petitioner decides to seek a Commission determination 
about the validity of the carrier's claim. If carriage is feasible, a 
statement to that effect must be provided in the certification. To 
obtain a Commission determination about the validity of the carrier's 
claim of infeasibility, a prospective petitioner must either file a 
(separate) petition for special relief or its market modification 
petition.
    OMB Control Number: 3060-0980.
    Title: Implementation of the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act 
of 1999: Local Broadcast Signal Carriage Issues and Retransmission 
Consent Issues, 47 CFR Section 76.66.
    Form Number: Not applicable.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.
    Number of Respondents and Responses: 10,300 respondents; 11,978 
responses.
    Estimated Time per Response: 1 hour to 5 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Third party disclosure requirement; On 
occasion reporting requirement; Once every three years reporting 
requirement; Recordkeeping requirement.
    Obligation To Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this collection is contained in 47 U.S.C. 325, 
338, 339 and 340.
    Total Annual Burden: 12,186 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $24,000.
    Privacy Act Impact Assessment: No impact(s).
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality with this collection of information.
    Needs and Uses: On September 2, 2015, the Commission released a 
Report and Order (Order), FCC 15-111, in MB Docket No. 15-71, adopting 
satellite television market modification rules to implement Section 102 
of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA) 
Reauthorization Act of 2014 (STELAR). With respect to this collection, 
the Order amended Section 76.66 of the Commission's Rules by adding a 
new paragraph (d)(6) that addresses satellite carriage after a market 
modification is granted by the Commission.
    47 CFR Section 76.66(d)(6) addresses satellite carriage after a 
market modification is granted by the Commission. The rule states that 
television broadcast stations that become eligible for mandatory 
carriage with respect to a satellite carrier (pursuant to Sec.  76.66) 
due to a change in the market definition (by operation of a market 
modification pursuant to Sec.  76.59) may, within 30 days of the 
effective date of the new definition, elect retransmission consent or 
mandatory carriage with respect to such carrier. A satellite carrier 
shall commence carriage within 90 days of receiving the carriage 
election from the television broadcast station. The election must be 
made in accordance with the requirements of 47 CFR Section 76.66(d)(1).

Federal Communications Commission.
Gloria J. Miles,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-27391 Filed 10-27-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P