Revisions to Public Inspection File Requirements-Broadcaster Correspondence File and Cable Principal Headend Location, 40617-40624 [2016-14793]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 22, 2016)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 40617-40624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-14793]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 73 and 76

[MB Docket No. 16-161; FCC 16-62]


Revisions to Public Inspection File Requirements--Broadcaster 
Correspondence File and Cable Principal Headend Location

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Federal Communications Commission 
(Commission) proposes to eliminate 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. 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 would enable commercial 
broadcasters and cable operators to make their entire public inspection 
file available online and obviate also maintaining a local public file. 
Eliminating these public file requirements thus would reduce the 
regulatory burdens on commercial broadcasters and cable operators.

DATES: Comments may be filed on or before July 22, 2016, and reply 
comments may be filed August 22, 2016. Written comments on the proposed 
information collection requirements, subject to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (PRA) of 1995, Public Law 104-13, should be submitted on or before 
August 22, 2016.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by MB Docket No. 14-127, 
by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Federal Communications Commission's Web site: https://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: FCC504@fcc.gov or phone: (202) 418-
0530 or TTY: (202) 418-0432.
    In addition to filing comments with the Secretary, a copy of any 
comments on the Paperwork Reduction Act proposed information collection 
requirements contained herein should be submitted to the Federal 
Communications Commission via email to PRA@fcc.gov and to 
Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov and also to Nicholas A. Fraser, Office of 
Management and Budget, via email to Nicholas-A.-Fraser@omb.eop.gov. 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 kim.matthews@fcc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), FCC 16-62, adopted on May 25, 2016 and 
released on May 25, 2016. 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 https://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

    This NPRM contains proposed new or 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 modified information 
collection requirements contained in this document, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. Comments should 
address: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimates; (c) 
ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
collected; (d) 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 (e) 
ways to further reduce the information collection burden on small 
business concerns with fewer than 25 employees. In addition, pursuant 
to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, 
see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), the Commission seeks specific comment on how 
it might further reduce the information collection burden for small 
business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.
    To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR) 
submitted to OMB: (1) Go to the Web page https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain, (2) look for the section of the Web page called ``Currently 
Under Review'', (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in the 
``Select Agency'' box below the ``Currently Under Review'' heading, (4) 
select ``Federal Communications Commission'' from the list of agencies 
presented in the ``Select Agency'' box,

[[Page 40618]]

(5) click the ``Submit'' button to the right of the ``Select Agency'' 
box, (6) when the list of FCC ICRs currently under review appears, look 
for the Title of this ICR and then click on the ICR Reference Number. A 
copy of the FCC submission to OMB will be displayed.

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0214.
    Title: Sections 73.3526 and 73.3527, Local Public Inspection Files; 
Sections 73.1212, 76.1701 and 73.1943, Political Files.
    Form Number: None.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for profit entities; Not for profit 
institutions; State, local or Tribal government.
    Number of Respondents/Responses: 41,695 respondents; 63,364 
responses.
    Estimated Hours per Response: 1-52 hours per response.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement, 
Recordkeeping requirement, Third party disclosure requirement.
    Total Annual Burden: 2,073,048 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $3,667,339.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 
sections 151, 152, 154(i), 303, 307, and 308 of the Communications Act 
of 1934, as amended.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality with this collection of information.
    Privacy Act Assessment: No impact(s).
    Needs and Uses: In the NPRM, the Commission proposes to eliminate 
the requirement in sections 73.1202 and 73.3526(e)(9) of its rules that 
commercial broadcast stations retain in their public inspection file 
copies of letters and emails from the public. We tentatively conclude 
that this component of our public inspection file rules involves 
documents that do not need to be made available to the general public 
and that eliminating this requirement would reduce the burden of 
maintaining the public inspection file on commercial broadcasters. Our 
goal is also to permit commercial television and radio broadcasters 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 has 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, removing this requirement would permit commercial 
broadcasters 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.

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0316.
    Title: 47 CFR 76.5, Definitions, 76.1700, Records to Be Maintained 
Locally by Cable System Operators; 76.1702, Equal Employment 
Opportunity; 76.1703, Commercial Records on Children's Programs; 
76.1707, Leased Access; 76.1711, Emergency Alert System (EAS) Tests and 
Activation.
    Form Number: Not applicable.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for profit entities.
    Number of Respondents/Responses: 3,000 respondents; 3,000 
responses.
    Estimated Hours per Response: 18 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Recordkeeping requirement.
    Total Annual Burden: 54,000 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: $591,840.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 
sections 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 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality with this collection of information.
    Privacy Act Assessment: No impact(s).
    Needs and Uses: In the NPRM, the Commission proposes to revise its 
rules to eliminate the requirement in sections 76.5(pp) and 
76.1700(a)(6) of its rules that cable systems retain the location and 
designation of the principal headend in their public file, which would 
reduce public inspection file requirements for these entities. However, 
the NPRM also proposes to revise its rules to require that cable 
systems provide this information to the FCC. In addition, the NPRM 
recognizes that information regarding the designation and location of 
the principal headend must continue to be made available to television 
stations and possibly other entities, and seeks comments on options for 
ways to accomplish this.

    OMB Control Number: 3060-0649.
    Title: Section 76.1601, Deletion or Repositioning of Broadcast 
Signals; Section 76.1617, Initial Must-Carry Notice; Section 76.1607, 
Principal Headend.
    Form Number: Not applicable.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents: Business or other for profit entities; Not for profit 
institutions.
    Number of Respondents/Responses: 3,300 respondents; 3,950 
responses.
    Estimated Hours per Response: 0.5 hours.
    Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement, Third 
party disclosure requirement, Recordkeeping requirement.
    Total Annual Burden: 2,050 hours.
    Total Annual Cost: No cost.
    Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The 
statutory authority for this information collection is contained in 
section 4(i) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.
    Nature and Extent of Confidentiality: There is no need for 
confidentiality with this collection of information.
    Privacy Act Assessment: No impact(s).
    Needs and Uses: The Commission's rules currently require the 
operator of every cable television system to maintain for public 
inspection the designation and location of its principal headend (47 
CFR 76.1708). If an operator changes the designation of its principal 
headend, that new designation must be included in its public file. The 
NPRM proposes to remove and reserve this rule section.

Synopsis

I. Introduction

    1. In this NPRM, we propose to 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 
would enable commercial broadcasters and cable operators to make their 
entire public inspection file available online and obviate also 
maintaining a local public file. Eliminating these public file 
requirements thus would reduce the regulatory burdens on commercial 
broadcasters and cable operators.

[[Page 40619]]

II. Background

A. Correspondence File

    2. 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 also expressly applies 
to email messages transmitted to station management or to an email 
address publicized by the station. In addition, section 73.1202 
requires commercial radio and television broadcasters to retain written 
comments and suggestions from the public regarding the station 
operation in their local public inspection file. The language of this 
rule differs from section 73.3526 in that it does not specifically 
address emails received from the public and requires that letters 
received by TV and Class A TV licensees be separated into two 
categories--programming and non-programming.
    3. 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. That public file 
obligation, set forth in section 73.1202 of the Commission's rules, 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 in section 73.1202 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. In 1998, the Commission 
removed rule section 73.1202, and moved the requirement governing the 
retention of communications from the public to section 73.3526, the 
public file rule section for commercial broadcast stations. The removal 
of section 73.1202 has yet to be reflected in the Code of Federal 
Regulations.
    4. 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

    5. 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 1993 in 
an order implementing the must-carry and retransmission consent 
provisions of the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition 
Act of 1992 (``Cable Act''). Pursuant to 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

    6. 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 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). 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.
    7. In January 2016, the Commission adopted the Expanded Online 
Public File Order, 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. See Expansion of Online Public File Obligations 
To Cable and Satellite TV Operators and Broadcast and Satellite Radio 
Licensees, Report and Order, 81 FR 10105, February 29, 2016 (Expanded 
Online Public File Order). 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 online file and instead require 
stations to continue to retain such material at the station. The 
Commission also concluded that it would not require cable operators to 
include principal headend location information in the online public 
file and instead gave operators the option to continue instead to 
retain this information in their local public file.
    8. The Commission determined in the Expanded Online Public File 
Order that entities that upload all public file material to the FCC's 
online database and that also provide online access to back-up 
political file documents via the entity's own Web site when the FCC'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. The Commission indicated in the Expanded 
Online Public File Order that it would initiate

[[Page 40620]]

a proceeding to consider whether to eliminate the correspondence file 
requirement for commercial broadcasters. As requested by NCTA, we also 
consider herein whether we should eliminate the requirement that cable 
operators retain information regarding the location of their principal 
headend in the public inspection file. As NCTA has observed, under our 
current rules, operators who feel the need to avoid posting this 
information online for security reasons are required to retain this 
information locally and therefore are unable to transition to a fully 
online public inspection file.

III. Discussion

A. Correspondence File

    9. We tentatively conclude that we should eliminate the requirement 
that commercial broadcasters retain letters and emails from the public 
in their public inspection files and invite comment on this tentative 
conclusion. The goal of this requirement was 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. As the Commission recognized in the 1981 Renewal 
Applications Order, however, most of the Commission's scrutiny of all 
but the most egregious licensee conduct occurs in conjunction with 
consideration of a station's license renewal application. See Radio 
Broadcast Services; Revision of Applications for Renewal of License of 
Commercial and Noncommercial AM, FM, and Television Licensees, Report 
and Order, 46 FR 26236, May 11, 1981. Any interested listeners and 
viewers may file comments and/or petitions concerning licensee 
performance at the time the station files its renewal application. 
Interested parties also may file a complaint with the Commission 
regarding a station's performance at any time during the license 
period. While listeners and viewers may communicate directly with the 
station via letters, emails, or other forms of communication at any 
time during the license term, we do not believe it is necessary to 
require that stations retain and make available to the public the 
letters and emails they receive regarding operation of the station to 
ensure that the station meets its obligation to serve its local 
community. Eliminating these public inspection file requirements would 
reduce the burden on commercial broadcasters without affecting the 
public's ability to communicate directly with the station or to file 
petitions, comments, and complaints regarding the station with the FCC.
    10. Eliminating the correspondence file requirement would have the 
added benefit of providing commercial television and radio broadcasters 
with the same option as noncommercial broadcasters and other entities 
subject to our online public inspection file requirements 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. Extending 
this option to commercial broadcasters would allow them to realize the 
full benefits in terms of cost savings and reduced regulatory burdens 
of moving their public files online, and would also create greater 
regulatory parity among entities subject to public file obligations.
    11. We invite comment on these views and our proposal to eliminate 
the correspondence file requirement, including responses to the 
following questions. Are there other benefits to eliminating the 
requirement? On the other hand, are there benefits to maintaining local 
correspondence file obligations we should consider? How frequently do 
local consumers or others make use of the correspondence file? Does it 
contain information that continues to be useful to local viewers or 
listeners, or other interested parties, that cannot be obtained through 
other means? What impact does the use of social media by broadcast 
stations have on viewers' ability to communicate with the stations and 
others regarding the stations' programming and other issues? We request 
that commenters explain how any benefits of either eliminating or 
retaining local correspondence rules would outweigh any potential 
costs.

B. Headend Location Information

    12. We also propose to eliminate the requirement that cable 
operators retain information about the designation and location of 
their principal headends in their public inspection files. In the 
Expanded Online Public File Order, we reserved judgement as to whether 
there are valid security concerns associated with posting the location 
of the principal headend online. We observed, however, that the general 
public is unlikely to be interested in this information and therefore 
permitted operators who prefer to retain this information locally 
rather than posting it online to do so. In that Order, our focus was on 
adapting our existing public file requirements to an online format 
rather than considering substantive changes to the public file rules. 
NCTA subsequently requested that we consider eliminating the 
requirement that cable operators retain information regarding the 
location of the principal headend in the public inspection file. In 
this proceeding, we propose to eliminate this public inspection file 
requirement because we do not believe that the general public has any 
need for or interest in this information. Eliminating this requirement 
would permit all cable operators to transition to a fully online public 
inspection file, obviating the need for them to also maintain local 
files, and address the concerns of those operators who believe there 
may be a potential security risk associated with disclosing the 
location of the principal headend online.
    13. At the time the original public inspection file requirement was 
adopted, the Commission's focus was to ensure that information was 
provided to television stations and the Commission regarding the 
location of a cable system's principal headend for purposes of 
determining carriage rights and enforcement. There was no discussion in 
the implementing order about the general public's need to access this 
information. We are unaware of any reason that the general public would 
need to know the location of a cable system's principal headend, but we 
recognize that television stations must have access to this information 
in order to exercise their must-carry rights. In addition, the 
Commission must have this information in order to enforce its signal 
leakage rules and to respond to must-carry and signal leakage 
complaints. We also recognize that local franchising authorities may 
need access to it in connection with their oversight of local cable 
systems and operations. Accordingly, if we eliminate the requirement to 
retain principal headend location information in the public inspection 
file, we would adopt means for this information to remain available to 
those entities that need it.
    14. We invite comment generally on our proposal to eliminate the 
principal headend public file requirement. Are there benefits to 
retaining this requirement? Would the benefits of eliminating the 
requirement outweigh the cost if we were to make information regarding 
the principal headend available to the Commission, television stations 
and/or local franchising authorities by other means?
    15. We also seek comment on how the FCC should collect principal 
headend information from cable operators if we eliminate the 
requirement that it be maintained in the public file. One possibility 
would be to have cable operators submit this information to the

[[Page 40621]]

Commission upon request. Another possibility would be to have cable 
operators submit this information using one or more existing FCC forms 
that could be revised for this purpose, such as FCC Form 322 (Cable 
Community Registration), 324 (Cable Operator, Mail Address, and 
Operational Status Changes), and/or 325 (Annual Cable Operator Report). 
We invite comment generally on this approach and on any alternative 
means we should consider to collect this information. Should we keep 
headend location information filed with the FCC confidential and not 
make this information routinely available to the general public?
    16. As noted above, if we eliminate the principal headend public 
file requirement, we propose to require that cable operators provide 
information regarding the designation and location of the system's 
principal headend to television stations. Should we also require that 
this information be provided to local franchising authorities? Are 
there any other entities that should be able to access it? How should 
this information be provided? If we update our existing Form 322, 324, 
or 325 to include principal headend information, should we also provide 
a means for broadcasters to access that information for purposes 
related to their must-carry rights? Should we also make it accessible 
to franchising authorities or any other entities? What methods should 
we use to make the information accessible? Alternatively, should we 
require cable operators to provide this information to entities that 
need it upon request? If so, what requirements should we impose 
regarding the format of these requests and the format and timing of the 
cable system's response? We note that our existing rules require cable 
operators to provide written notice by certified mail to all stations 
carried on its system pursuant to the must-carry rules at least 60 days 
prior to any change in the designation of its principal headend. If we 
require that cable operators provide principal headend information upon 
request, should we require that this information be provided in writing 
by certified mail? Should we require any requests for that information 
also to be submitted in writing by certified mail? Should we instead 
permit the request and response to be made electronically? Should we 
require broadcast stations to keep information regarding the location 
of a cable system's principal headend confidential, or do broadcasters 
have a valid reason at times to disclose this information, such as in 
pleadings related to a cable carriage dispute?

IV. Procedural Matters

A. 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.
    18. The NPRM proposes to eliminate 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. We tentatively conclude that these two components of our 
public inspection file rules involve documents or information that does 
not need to be made available to the general public and that 
eliminating these rules would reduce the burden of maintaining the 
public inspection file on commercial broadcasters and cable operators. 
Our goal is also to 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 has 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 would 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.
    19. The proposed action is authorized pursuant to sections 1, 2, 
4(i), 4(j), 303, 601, 614 and 615 of the Communications Act, 47 U.S.C. 
151, 152, 154(i), 154(j), 303, 601, 614, and 615.
    20. 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.
    21. 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 2007 U.S. Census indicates that 808 firms in 
this category operated in that year. Of that number, 709 had annual 
receipts of $25,000,000 or less, and 99 had annual receipts of more 
than $25,000,000. 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.
    22. 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. 
Based on these data, we estimate that the majority of television 
broadcast stations are small entities.
    23. Class A TV Stations. The same SBA definition that applies to 
television broadcast stations would apply to licensees of Class A 
television stations, as well as to potential licensees in these 
television services. As noted above, the SBA has created the following 
small business size standard for this category:

[[Page 40622]]

those having $38.5 million or less in annual receipts. The Commission 
has estimated the number of licensed Class A television stations to be 
405. Given the nature of these services, we will presume that these 
licensees qualify as small entities under the SBA definition.
    24. 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.
    25. 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 noncommercial radio stations to be 4,095. 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.
    26. 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.
    27. 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 were 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 4,537 cable systems nationwide. Of this 
total, 3,965 cable systems have less than 20,000 subscribers, and 572 
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.
    28. 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, 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.
    29. The rule change proposed in the NPRM would reduce reporting, 
recordkeeping, and other compliance requirements for commercial 
broadcast stations which are currently required to retain letters and 
emails from the public in their local public inspection file. The NPRM 
proposes to eliminate this requirement, which would reduce 
recordkeeping burdens on these entities. In addition, eliminating the 
correspondence file requirement would permit commercial radio and 
television stations to fully transition to the online public file and 
to cease maintaining a local public file, allowing them to realize the 
long-term cost savings associated with the online public file.
    30. The overall effect of the rule changes proposed in the NPRM on 
cable operators is less clear. The NPRM proposes to eliminate the 
requirement that cable systems retain the location and designation of 
the principal headend in their public file, which would reduce public 
inspection file requirements for these entities. However, the NPRM 
recognizes that this information must continue to be made available to 
the FCC and to television stations and seeks comments on options for 
ways to accomplish this. Some of these options could result in greater 
reporting, recordkeeping, or other compliance requirements than the 
existing public inspection file requirement. Cable operators may 
support more burdensome requirements, however, if they prefer to 
transition to a fully online public inspection file and are concerned 
about security risks associated with placing headend location 
information online.
    31. 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.
    32. The NPRM proposes to eliminate two current public file 
obligations--one applicable to commercial radio and television 
broadcasters and one applicable to cable operators.

[[Page 40623]]

Eliminating these obligations which would reduce overall public 
inspection file burdens on these affected entities. The NPRM seeks 
comment on these proposals, including any comments that might oppose 
eliminating these requirements. In addition, eliminating the 
correspondence file requirement would permit commercial radio and 
television stations to fully transition to the online public file and 
to cease maintaining a local public file, allowing them to realize this 
cost savings associated with the online public file.
    33. With respect to cable operators, eliminating the headend 
location public inspection file requirement would necessitate 
establishing a different requirement to ensure that headend location 
information continues to be made available to the FCC and to television 
stations. The NPRM seeks comments on various ways to accomplish this. 
Some of these options could result in greater reporting, recordkeeping, 
or other compliance requirements than the existing public inspection 
file requirement. Cable operators may support more burdensome 
requirements, however, if they prefer to transition to a fully online 
public inspection file and are concerned about security risks 
associated with placing headend location information online.
Federal Rules That May Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict With the 
Proposed Rule
    None.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act Analysis

    34. This document contains proposed new or modified information 
collections. 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 proposed in this document, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 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 Rules

    35. The proceeding this NPRM initiates 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 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

    36. Comments and Replies. Pursuant to sections 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: https://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 9300 East Hampton 
Drive, Capitol Heights, MD 20743.
     U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express, and Priority 
mail must be addressed to 445 12th Street SW., Washington DC 20554.
    People with Disabilities: To request materials in accessible 
formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic 
files, audio format), send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the 
Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-
418-0432 (tty).
    37. Additional Information: For additional information on this 
proceeding, please contact Kim Matthews of the Media Bureau, Policy 
Division, Kim.Matthews@fcc.gov, (202) 418-2154.

V. Ordering Clauses

    38. Accordingly, it is ordered that, pursuant to the authority 
contained in sections 1, 4(i), 303(r), 614, and 615 of the 
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 154(i), 303(r), 
534, and 535, this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is adopted.
    39. 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

47 CFR Part 73

    Broadcast Radio.

47 CFR Part 76

    Cable television.


[[Page 40624]]


Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene H. Dortch,
Secretary.

Proposed Rules

    For the reasons stated in the preamble, the Federal Communications 
Commission proposes to amend 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, 334, 336, and 339.


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 (a)(1) and (2), 
(b)(1), and (b)(2)(i); removing paragraph (e)(9) and redesignating 
(e)(10) through (e)(17) as (e)(9) through (e)(16).


Sec.  73.3526  Local public inspection file of commercial stations.

    (a) * * *
    (1) Applicants for a construction permit for a new station in the 
commercial broadcast services shall maintain a public inspection file 
containing the material, relating to that station, described in 
paragraphs (e)(2) and (e)(9) of this section. A separate file shall be 
maintained for each station for which an application is pending. If the 
application is granted, paragraph (a)(2) of this section shall apply.
    (2) Every permittee or licensee of an AM, FM, TV or Class A TV 
station in the commercial broadcast services shall maintain a public 
inspection file containing the material, relating to that station, 
described in paragraphs (e)(1) through (e)(9) and paragraph (e)(12) of 
this section. In addition, every permittee or licensee of a commercial 
TV or Class A TV station shall maintain for public inspection a file 
containing material, relating to that station, described in paragraphs 
(e)(10), (e)(14), (e)(15), and (e)(16) of this section, and every 
permittee or licensee of a commercial AM or FM station shall maintain 
for public inspection a file containing the material, relating to that 
station, described in paragraphs (e)(11), (e)(13), and (e)(15) of this 
section. A separate file shall be maintained for each station for which 
an authorization is outstanding, and the file shall be maintained so 
long as an authorization to operate the station is outstanding.
    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 TELEVISION 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, 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
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 FCC. Except 
for good cause, an operator may not change its choice of principal 
headend.
* * * * *


Sec.  76.1700  [Amended]

0
6. Section 76.1700 is amended by removing paragraph (a)(6) and 
redesignating paragraphs (a)(7) through (a)(10) as (a)(6) through 
(a)(9).


Sec.  76.1708  [Removed and Reserved].

0
7. Section 76.1708 is removed and reserved.

[FR Doc. 2016-14793 Filed 6-21-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P