47 C.F.R. § 76.59

Modification of television markets

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(a) The Commission, following a written request from a broadcast station, cable system, satellite carrier or county government (only with respect to satellite modifications), may deem that the television market, as defined either by § 76.55(e) or § 76.66(e), of a particular commercial television broadcast station should include additional communities within its television market or exclude communities from such station's television market. In this respect, communities may be considered part of more than one television market.

(b) Such requests for modification of a television market shall be submitted in accordance with § 76.7, petitions for special relief, and shall include the following evidence:

(1) A map or maps illustrating the relevant community locations and geographic features, station transmitter sites, cable system headend or satellite carrier local receive facility locations, terrain features that would affect station reception, mileage between the community and the television station transmitter site, transportation routes and any other evidence contributing to the scope of the market.

(2) Noise-limited service contour maps (for full-power digital stations) or protected contour maps (for Class A and low power television stations) delineating the station's technical service area and showing the location of the cable system headends or satellite carrier local receive facilities and communities in relation to the service areas.

Note to paragraph (b)(2):

Service area maps using Longley-Rice (version 1.2.2) propagation curves may also be included to support a technical service exhibit.

(3) Available data on shopping and labor patterns in the local market.

(4) Television station programming information derived from station logs or the local edition of the television guide.

(5) Cable system or satellite carrier channel line-up cards or other exhibits establishing historic carriage, such as television guide listings.

(6) Published audience data for the relevant station showing its average all day audience (i.e., the reported audience averaged over Sunday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-1 a.m., or an equivalent time period) for both multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) and non-MVPD households or other specific audience indicia, such as station advertising and sales data or viewer contribution records.

(7) If applicable, a statement that the station is licensed to a community within the same state as the relevant community.

(c) Petitions for Special Relief to modify television markets that do not include such evidence shall be dismissed without prejudice and may be refiled at a later date with the appropriate filing fee.

(d) A cable operator or satellite carrier shall not delete from carriage the signal of a commercial television station during the pendency of any proceeding pursuant to this section.

(e) A market determination under this section 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.

(f) No modification of a commercial television broadcast station's local market pursuant to this section shall have any effect on the eligibility of households in the community affected by such modification to receive distant signals from a satellite carrier pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 339.

[58 FR 17361, Apr. 2, 1993, as amended at 64 FR 33796, June 24, 1999; 67 FR 53892, Aug. 22, 2002; 80 FR 59663, Oct. 2, 2015]

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases, 1973–1984 · leading case: Capital Cities Cable, Inc. v. Crisp, 467 U.S. 691 (1984).

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Capital Cities Cable, Inc. v. Crisp, 467 U.S. 691 (1984). “47 CFR §§ 76.59 (a)(1) and (6) (1983). These “must-carry” rules require many Oklahoma cable operators, including petitioners, to carry signals from broadcast stations located in nearby States such as Missouri and Kansas.”

Malrite T. v. Of New York v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n, United States of Am., 652 F.2d 1140 (2d Cir. 1981). “The distant signal rules, 47 C.F.R. §§ 76.59 (b)-(e), 76.61(b)-(f), and 76.”

Columbia Broad. Sys., Inc. v. Teleprompter Corp. & Conley Elec. Corp., 476 F.2d 338 (2d Cir. 1973). “47 C.F.R. §§ 76.59 , 76.61, and 76.63. See 37 Fed.”

Treasure Valley CATV Comm. v. United States, 562 F.2d 1182 (9th Cir. 1977). “The real thrust of United Cable’s argument is that a hearing was required to determine whether the ten Treasure Valley communities within the smaller television market of Nampa, Idaho, could accommodate more than the one distant signal allowed by 47 C.”

Springfield Television Corp. v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n, 609 F.2d 1014 (1st Cir. 1979). “GNEC like every such cable television system must carry the signals of every station in its three local markets, 47 C.F.R. §§ 76.59 (e), 76.61 (1978). Thus, GNEC carries the signal of WSBK and in May, 1977, relayed their telecasts of Red Sox games.”

Teleprompter Cable Commc'ns Corp. v. Fed. Commc'ns Comm'n, 565 F.2d 736 (D.C. Cir. 1977). “2d 143 , 177 (1972); see 47 C.F.R. § 76.59 . Thus the Commission retreated from the liberal distant signal policy for smaller television markets reflected in the 1966 rules.”

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