Children's Television Programming Rules; Modernization of Media Regulation Initiative, 41917-41936 [2019-16007]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 159 (Friday, August 16, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 41917-41936]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-16007]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 73

[MB Docket Nos. 18-202, 17-105; FCC 19-67]


Children's Television Programming Rules; Modernization of Media 
Regulation Initiative

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this document, the Commission updates the children's 
television programming rules to reflect the changes to the media 
landscape since these rules were first adopted in the 1990s following 
passage of the Children's Television Act of 1990 (CTA). The revised 
rules will give broadcasters greater flexibility in serving the 
educational and informational needs of children, allow broadcasters to 
offer more diverse and innovative educational programming, and relieve 
unnecessary burdens on broadcasters, while also ensuring that high 
quality educational programming remains available to all children.

DATES: This rule is effective September 16, 2019, except for amendatory 
instructions 3 (Sec.  73.671(c)(5) and (7) and (e)(1) and (2)), 4 
(Sec.  73.673), and 5 (Sec.  73.3526(e)(1)(ii) and (iii)), which are

[[Page 41918]]

delayed. The Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register 
announcing the effective date.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information, contact 
Kathy Berthot, [email protected], of the Media Bureau, Policy 
Division, (202) 418-7454.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Report 
and Order, FCC 19-67, adopted on July 10, 2019 and released on July 12, 
2019. The full text is available for public inspection and copying 
during regular business hours in the FCC Reference Center, Federal 
Communications Commission, 445 12th Street SW, CY-A257, Washington, DC 
20554. This document will also be available via ECFS https://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Documents will be available electronically in 
ASCII, Word 97, and/or Adobe Acrobat. Alternative formats are available 
for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, 
audio format), by sending an email to [email protected] 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 document contains 
new or modified information collection requirements. The Commission, as 
part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, will invite 
the general public and the OMB to comment on the information collection 
requirements contained in the amendments to Sec. Sec.  73.671(c)(5) and 
(7) and (e)(1) and (2), 73.673, and 73.3526(e)(11)(ii) and (iii) in a 
separate Federal Register document, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, see 44 U.S.C. 3507. 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 previously sought 
specific comment on how we might further reduce the information 
collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 
employees.
    Congressional Review Act: The Commission will send a copy of this 
Report and Order to Congress and the Government Accountability Office 
pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

Summary of the Report and Order

I. Introduction

    1. In this Report and Order, we take steps to modernize the 
children's television programming rules and give broadcasters greater 
flexibility in serving the educational and informational needs of 
children. The media landscape has changed dramatically since the 
Commission first adopted children's television programming rules in 
1991. Today, children have an abundance of educational and 
informational programming options available from both broadcast 
stations and non-broadcast sources, including children's cable networks 
and online video providers. In addition, our record shows that there 
has been a major shift in the way young viewers access video 
programming. Live viewing of broadcast television among children has 
declined sharply, as children's viewing of video content on other media 
platforms and time-shifted viewing have risen. At the same time, we 
recognize that children in minority and low-income households are more 
likely to rely exclusively on over-the-air broadcast television and to 
watch live rather than time-shifted television. The rules we adopt 
today will provide broadcasters additional scheduling flexibility, 
allow broadcasters to offer more diverse and innovative educational 
programming, and relieve unnecessary burdens on broadcasters, while 
also ensuring that high quality educational programming remains 
available to all children. Our action in this proceeding is a 
continuation of the Commission's efforts to modernize its media 
regulations and reduce outdated requirements that can impede 
competition and innovation in the media marketplace.

II. Background

    2. The CTA requires the Commission to consider, in reviewing 
television license renewals, the extent to which the licensee ``has 
served the educational and informational needs of children through the 
licensee's overall programming, including programming specifically 
designed to serve such needs.'' The CTA provides that, in addition to 
considering the licensee's programming in its review of television 
license renewals, the Commission also may consider: (1) Any special 
non-broadcast efforts by the licensee which enhance the educational and 
informational value of such programming to children; and (2) any 
special efforts by the licensee to produce or support programming 
broadcast by another station in the licensee's marketplace which is 
specifically designed to serve the educational and informational needs 
of children.
    3. The Commission initially adopted rules implementing the CTA in 
1991, and revised these rules in 1996, 2004, and 2006. Under the 
current children's programming rules, ``educational and informational 
programming'' is defined as ``any television programming that furthers 
the educational and informational needs of children 16 years of age and 
under in any respect, including the child's intellectual/cognitive or 
social/emotional needs.'' Programming specifically designed to serve 
the educational and informational needs of children, also known as 
``Core Programming,'' is educational and informational programming that 
satisfies the following additional criteria: (1) It has serving the 
educational and informational needs of children ages 16 and under as a 
significant purpose; (2) it is aired between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 
10:00 p.m.; (3) it is a regularly scheduled weekly program; (4) it is 
at least 30 minutes in length; (5) the program is identified as 
specifically designed to educate and inform children by the display on 
the television screen throughout the program of the symbol ``E/I''; (6) 
instructions for listing the program as educational/informational, 
including an indication of the age group for which the program is 
intended, are provided to publishers of program guides; and (7) the 
educational and informational objective and the target child audience 
are specified in writing in the licensee's Children's Television 
Programming Report (FCC Form 2100 Schedule H or Report).
    4. The children's programming rules include a three-hour per week 
safe harbor processing guideline for determining a license renewal 
applicant's compliance with the rules. Under the processing guideline, 
the Media Bureau staff is authorized to approve the children's 
programming portion of a licensee's renewal application if the station 
has aired approximately three hours per week (as averaged over a six-
month period) of Core Programming on its primary program stream. 
Renewal applications are divided into two categories for purposes of 
staff-level CTA review. Under Category A, a licensee can demonstrate 
compliance with the processing guideline by checking a box on its 
renewal application and providing supporting information indicating 
that the station has aired three hours per week (as averaged over a 
six-month period) of Core Programming. Under Category B, the Bureau 
staff will approve the children's programming portion of a licensee's 
renewal application where the licensee makes a showing that the station 
has aired a package of different types of educational and informational

[[Page 41919]]

programming that, while containing somewhat less than three hours per 
week of Core Programming, demonstrates a level of commitment to 
educating and informing children that is at least equivalent to airing 
three hours per week of Core Programming. Specials, PSAs, short-form 
programs, and regularly scheduled non-weekly programs with a 
significant purpose of educating and informing children can count 
toward the processing guideline under Category B. Licensees whose 
showings do not fall within Category A or B of the processing guideline 
will have their renewal applications referred to the full Commission, 
where they will have the opportunity to demonstrate compliance with the 
CTA by relying in part on special non-broadcast efforts which enhance 
the value of children's educational and informational programming and/
or special efforts by the licensee to produce or support programming 
broadcast by another station in the licensee's marketplace which is 
specifically designed to serve the educational and informational needs 
of children.
    5. In addition to the requirement to air an average of three hours 
of Core Programming on their primary program stream, digital 
broadcasters that multicast also have an obligation to air educational 
and informational programming on their multicast streams. Specifically, 
such stations must air an additional one-half hour per week of Core 
Programming for every increment of one to 28 hours of video programming 
provided on free multicast streams. Thus, for example, a digital 
broadcaster must provide an additional three hours per week of Core 
Programming for each multicast stream that airs free programming 24 
hours per day, seven days per week. Stations that multicast may air all 
of their additional Core Programming on either one free digital video 
channel or distribute it across multiple free digital video channels, 
at their discretion, as long as the stream on which the Core 
Programming is aired has comparable carriage on MVPDs as the stream 
triggering the additional Core Programming obligation. At least 50% of 
the Core Programming counted toward meeting the additional processing 
guideline cannot consist of program episodes that aired during the 
previous week on either the station's primary program stream or one of 
its free multicast streams.
    6. The existing rules also require broadcasters to submit detailed 
Reports on a quarterly basis on a standardized reporting form; to 
publicize the existence and location of their Reports; to provide a 
brief explanation in their Reports of how particular programs meet the 
definition of ``Core Programming''; and to designate a liaison for 
children's programming and include the name and method of contacting 
that individual in the station's Reports. Moreover, the Commission has 
implemented a procedure to address when a station can count preempted 
Core Programming toward meeting the processing guideline. Under this 
procedure, Core Programming will be counted as preempted only if it was 
not aired in a fixed substitute time slot of the station's choice 
(known as a ``second home'') with an on-air notification of the 
schedule change occurring at the time of preemption during the 
previously scheduled time slot. The on-air notification must announce 
the alternate date and time when the preempted show will air. All 
networks requesting preemption flexibility must file a request with the 
Media Bureau by August 1 of each year stating the number of preemptions 
the network expects, when the program will be rescheduled, whether the 
rescheduled time is the program's second home, and the network's plan 
to notify viewers of the schedule change. Finally, the children's 
programming rules apply to both commercial and noncommercial stations, 
except that the Commission has exempted noncommercial stations from the 
reporting requirements in view of their demonstrated commitment to 
serving the educational and informational needs of children.
    7. The CTA additionally requires the Commission to limit the number 
of minutes that commercial broadcast licensees and cable operators may 
air during children's programming. Specifically, the CTA provides that 
television broadcast licensees and cable operators shall limit the 
duration of advertising in children's programming to ``not more than 
10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and not more than 12 minutes per hour 
on weekdays.'' The Commission initially adopted rules implementing this 
statutory provision in 1991, and extended these rules to DBS providers 
in 2004. Among other requirements, these rules require broadcast 
stations, cable operators, and DBS providers to place records 
sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the limits on commercial 
matter in children's programming in their public files on a quarterly 
basis.
    8. On July 12, 2018, in response to comments received in the 
Modernization of Media Regulation Initiative proceeding, the Commission 
adopted a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) (83 FR 35158, July 25, 
2018) proposing to revise the children's television programming rules 
to modify outdated requirements and to give broadcasters greater 
flexibility in serving the educational and informational needs of 
children. The Commission received comments from approximately 50 
entities and individuals, including broadcasters and broadcast industry 
organizations, cable operators and cable industry organizations, 
nonprofit organizations, and program producers. Broadcast commenters 
urge the Commission to update the children's programming rules to 
reflect the 21st century video marketplace better, to give stations 
greater flexibility to offer educational and informational programming 
tailored to how children and their families consume video content 
today, and to eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens. The nonprofit 
organizations and program producers generally support the Commission's 
efforts to undertake a review of the children's programming rules, but 
raise concerns that some proposals could significantly reduce the 
availability of high quality children's educational and informational 
programming, particularly for children in low-income and minority 
households, and the availability of video-described and closed-
captioned children's educational and informational programming.

III. Discussion

A. Statutory Authority

    9. As an initial matter, we conclude that the Commission has the 
authority to update the children's programming rules to reflect the 
changes that have occurred in the video marketplace for children's 
programming since the rules were originally adopted. We reject the 
argument that the Commission lacks the authority to adopt most of the 
proposals set forth in the NPRM because doing so would violate 
congressional intent expressed in the CTA, as well as the public 
interest obligation set forth in the 1934 Act and the 
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (1996 Act). The CTA requires the FCC to 
``consider the extent to which the licensee has served the educational 
and informational needs of children through the licensee's overall 
programming, including programming specifically designed to serve such 
needs,'' when reviewing TV stations' license renewal applications. We 
agree with NAB that the CTA grants the Commission considerable 
discretion in its implementation, and that the statute does not mandate 
that the Commission adopt specific quantitative standards or

[[Page 41920]]

any other particular requirements for children's television 
programming. Moreover, the 1934 Act and the 1996 Act do not directly 
address the obligations of television stations to serve the educational 
and informational needs of children. The general public interest 
standard established in the 1934 Act requires all broadcast stations to 
serve ``the public interest, convenience, and necessity,'' but does not 
mandate that the Commission impose any particular requirements on 
television licensees to serve children's educational needs through 
programming. Similarly, while section 336 of the Act, as added by the 
1996 Act, imposes a general public interest obligation on digital 
television stations, this section does not require the Commission to 
adopt specific children's programming requirements. We thus conclude 
that the Commission has ample authority to revise the children's 
programming rules in light of marketplace changes.

B. The Current State of the Marketplace for Children's Programming

    10. The marketplace for children's programming has undergone a 
dramatic transformation since the passage of the CTA in 1990. The 
record in this proceeding convincingly shows that there is more 
educational and informational programming available to children today 
than ever before. The digital transition has enabled broadcasters to 
offer multiple free, over-the-air digital streams or channels of 
programming simultaneously, using the same amount of spectrum 
previously required for one stream of analog programming. Multicasting 
allows broadcasters to offer additional programming choices to 
consumers, which is particularly beneficial to households that rely 
exclusively on over-the-air television. Public television has taken 
advantage of the opportunities afforded by multicasting by launching a 
24/7 PBS KIDS multicast and online streaming channel, which is 
available to more than 95% of U.S. TV households, including many 
children who may not attend pre-school. According to PTV, the PBS KIDS 
channel has performed especially well among underserved children. 
Children's time spent viewing PBS has increased 47% among low-income 
families and 32% in broadcast-only homes since the PBS KIDS channel was 
launched. PTV explains that African-American, Hispanic, and low-income 
households make up a larger percentage of the PBS KIDS audience as 
compared to their representation in the U.S. population, with PBS 
stations reaching 5.3 million African-American children, 8.4 million 
Hispanic children, and four million children from low-income homes each 
year. PTV asserts that the expansive reach of PBS KIDS television and 
digital content is meaningful because research confirms the positive 
impact of this content on children's learning. A recent study measuring 
the short- and long-term effects of PBS KIDS content on young 
children's literacy found that children who consumed PBS KIDS media 
gained the equivalent of 1.5 months of literacy development beyond 
typical growth and that PBS KIDS literacy-themed content was 
particularly effective at promoting children's vocabulary and language 
sound knowledge. PTV asserts that its commitment to educating young 
people has long gone above and beyond the statutory and regulatory 
requirements and this fact will not change regardless of how the 
Commission proceeds in this rulemaking.
    11. ION also provides a free, 24/7 multicast channel for children, 
Qubo, which is distributed by each of ION's 65 stations and receives 
approximately 67% national coverage. ION states that Qubo has aired 
almost six times the amount of children's educational and informational 
programming required by the Commission's rules each year. ION currently 
airs 111 hours of educational and informational content per week on 
Qubo, representing 66% of its current schedule, and Qubo introduced 
eight new programs in 2018 alone. ION asserts that it ``will remain 
dedicated to serving the needs of children through top-quality, values-
based educational programming regardless of the outcome of this 
proceeding.''
    12. In addition, as NAB observes, there is an abundance of 
children's educational and informational programming available on over-
the-air broadcast television today that did not exist when Congress 
passed the CTA in 1990. As of March 31, 2019, there were 270 more full-
power commercial stations and 25 more noncommercial educational 
television stations than there were in 1990, as well as 387 Class A TV 
stations, a service that did not even exist in 1990. All of these 682 
additional stations currently provide children's programming.
    13. Moreover, the record reflects that non-broadcast platforms 
today offer a wealth of options in children's educational programming. 
There is wide array of full-time children's cable channels that air 
educational programming, including Baby First TV Network, Disney, 
Disney Junior, Disney XD, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Teen Nick, and 
Universal Kids, as well as family-oriented cable channels that provide 
educational and informational programming for viewers of all ages, 
including National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, Animal Planet, 
and Smithsonian Channel. Additionally, original and previously-aired 
children's programming is available on over-the-top (OTT) platforms 
such as Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. There are also myriad online sites 
that provide children's educational and informational content for free 
or via subscription, such as PBS KIDS, YouTube and YouTube Kids, 
LeapFrog, National Geographic Kids, Scholastic Kids, Smithsonian Kids, 
Time for Kids, Noggin, Funbrain, Coolmath, and Apple iTunes U. For 
example, PTV notes that PBS KIDS averages 253 million video streams per 
month across all digital platforms and that streaming on PBS KIDS 
accounts for 35% of all time spent watching children's videos online. 
PBS Learning Media, a pre-K through 12th grade classroom service with 
more than a million registered users that reaches over 25 million 
students, also makes PBS's educational content freely available to 
every classroom across the country. Given all of these programming 
choices, it is not surprising that broadcasters report that viewership 
among children of educational and informational programming on most 
commercial stations has been declining. In this regard, NAB notes that 
data from NBC and CBS show that 95% of the audience for children's 
educational and informational programming on their owned-and-operated 
and affiliated stations is older than 18 and around two-thirds is over 
the age of 55. NAB further notes that during the 2017-18 season, 
children's educational and informational programming on hundreds of NBC 
and CBS owned-and-operated and affiliated stations each averaged only 
57,000 viewers between the ages of two and 17. Moreover, across each of 
these stations fewer than 90 children ages two to 17 on average watched 
any given Core Program via broadcast antenna.
    14. Some commenters claim that the vast majority of the programming 
provided on non-broadcast platforms is entertainment rather than 
educational programming and that the educational programming offered on 
these platforms may not be age-appropriate or specifically produced for 
children under 17 years of age. We recognize that not all of the 
content available on these non-broadcast platforms is programming 
``specifically designed to serve the educational and informational 
needs of children.'' As NAB points out, however, ``broadcast channels 
are not child-oriented for most of the viewing day,

[[Page 41921]]

and they may also include programs that some parents would prefer their 
children not view. Cable channels and OTT platforms therefore cannot be 
dismissed merely because they are not solely devoted to educational 
content suitable for children.'' Notably, there are many programs 
available on non-broadcast platforms that are recommended as 
educational programming for children by trusted sources for evaluating 
children's programming, including Common Sense Media. Further, some OTT 
platforms and online sites such as YouTube have extensive libraries of 
previously-aired children's educational and informational programming, 
including many popular and highly-acclaimed educational and 
informational PBS programs.
    15. Several commenters also assert that online programming is not 
an appropriate substitute for educational and informational children's 
programming on broadcast television because online sources of media 
content are not subject to the FCC's indecency rules or limits on 
advertising in children's programming and may raise privacy concerns 
for children. We acknowledge that internet-based content may present 
risks to children that are not present on broadcast television. We do 
not believe, however, that the presence of such risks means that we 
should disregard the vast and diverse selection of educational content 
available for children on the internet and the reality discussed below 
that children are viewing an ever-increasing amount of that content. 
Parents can monitor and take appropriate steps to safeguard their 
children's internet use. And parents who lack the resources or 
technical knowledge to do so or who are simply concerned about exposing 
their children to potential online threats will still have an abundant 
supply of children's educational and informational programming from 
which to choose, including programming on free, over-the-air 
television.
    16. There has been a major change in the way children consume video 
programming as well. Children's live viewing of broadcast television 
has decreased substantially, as children's viewing of video content on 
other media platforms has risen. Nielsen data cited by NAB indicate 
that in 2000, children ages two to 16 spent an average of four hours 
and 19 minutes per day watching video content, including one hour and 
55 minutes watching broadcast television (live and time-shifted), two 
hours and 14 minutes watching pay/cable television (live and time-
shifted), eight minutes watching DVD content, and two minutes watching 
internet-based content. The Nielsen data further indicate that in 2013, 
children ages two to 16 spent an average of four hours and 35 minutes 
per day watching video content, including 53 minutes watching broadcast 
television (live and time-shifted), two hours and 50 minutes watching 
pay/cable television (live and time-shifted), four minutes watching 
DVD/Blueray content, and 48 minutes watching internet-based content. In 
2017, children ages two to 16 spent an average of four hours and 30 
minutes per day watching video content, including 37 minutes watching 
broadcast television (live and time-shifted), one hour and 49 minutes 
watching pay/cable television (live and time-shifted), one minute 
watching DVD/Blueray content, and two hours and three minutes watching 
internet-based content. So to summarize, from 2000 to 2017, children's 
viewing of broadcast television has dropped from an average of 115 
minutes to 37 minutes per day while their viewing of internet-based 
content has increased from an average of two minutes to 123 minutes per 
day. Commenters also assert that the type of video programming children 
access has changed in recent years, with young viewers today preferring 
video on demand, particularly in shorter segments. NCTA cites data 
indicating that in households with children between the ages of five to 
seven, 49% of the online video programming that parents watch with 
their children are non-traditional, short videos on YouTube and that 
72% of children between the ages of eight to 11 prefer YouTube videos 
over traditional broadcast television. Data provided by NAB shows that 
in 2017, children ages two to 16 spent an average of 47 minutes per day 
watching YouTube/short-form videos.
    17. Furthermore, the record reflects a change in the hours during 
which children consume video content. Specifically, the record 
indicates that a significant number of children today are watching 
television programming or viewing video content earlier than 7:00 a.m. 
Nielsen data provided by NAB and Network Commenters indicate that 
during an average week from January 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018, 11.5 
million unique children ages two to 15 (or 20.7%) used their TV between 
6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. NAB also cites a recent survey in which 65% of 
teens reported watching video content before school or work.
    18. Nevertheless, while it is clear that the media landscape has 
evolved dramatically since the children's programming rules were 
adopted, we recognize that not all children, particularly children in 
minority and low-income households, have access to the wealth of 
children's educational programming available on non-broadcast 
platforms. Nielsen data indicate that as of May 2018, more than 14% of 
television households in the U.S. (over 16 million households) are 
over-the-air households (i.e., they do not subscribe to cable or 
satellite television). Of these over-the-air households, 41% are 
traditional over-the-air households, without any streaming service 
provider. These traditional over-the-air households are more likely to 
be minority households. In addition, children from low-income families 
are more likely to rely on over-the-air television and watch live 
rather than time-shifted programming. According to a 2017 Common Sense 
Media report, among lower-income families with children ages zero to 
eight, only 74% have high-speed internet (compared to 96% among higher-
income families), 58% have an internet-connected television set 
(compared to 82% among higher-income families), 61% have cable or 
satellite subscriptions (compared to 70% among higher-income families), 
60% have subscription video service such as Netflix, Amazon, or Hulu 
(compared to 77% among higher-income families), and 32% have DVR 
service (compared to 52% among higher-income families).
    19. The revisions to the children's programming rules set forth 
below are intended to strike a balance between our interest in 
modernizing our rules to reflect the growth in the amount of children's 
educational programming available on broadcast and non-broadcast 
platforms and the decline in appointment viewing among children, with 
the reality that some children in minority and low-income households 
still rely on live, over-the-air broadcast television. We conclude that 
the revisions we are adopting will afford broadcasters greater 
flexibility in serving the educational and informational needs of 
children, while ensuring that quality educational programming continues 
to be available to all children.

C. Core Programming

    20. As discussed below, we modify the requirements applicable to 
Core Programming to provide broadcasters greater flexibility in meeting 
their children's programming obligations in light of the changes in the 
media landscape since these requirements were originally adopted. 
Specifically, we expand the Core Programming time frame to give 
broadcasters additional

[[Page 41922]]

scheduling flexibility and help avoid the need for preemptions. 
Additionally, while we continue to require that the substantial 
majority of Core Programming aired by broadcast stations be provided on 
a regularly scheduled weekly basis and be at least 30 minutes in 
length, we provide broadcast stations additional flexibility under our 
revised safe harbor processing guidelines to air programming that is 
not regularly scheduled on a weekly basis, including educational 
specials, as well as short-form programs, during a limited portion of 
their total Core Programming hours.
1. Core Programming Hours
    21. We expand the 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Core Programming time 
frame to allow broadcast stations to begin airing Core Programming one 
hour earlier, at 6:00 a.m., as proposed by several commenters. The end 
of the time frame during which Core Programming must be aired remains 
unchanged at 10:00 p.m. Commenters overwhelmingly favor expanding the 
Core Programming hours. The current Core Programming time frame was 
adopted in 1996 because data showed that there was a ``relatively small 
percentage'' of children watching television prior to 7:00 a.m. and a 
considerable drop-off in children viewing television after 10:00 p.m. 
As discussed above, recent data reflect that a significant percentage 
of children ages 16 and under now watch television programming or view 
video content earlier than 7:00 a.m. Expanding the Core Programming 
hours will give broadcasters the flexibility to air educational 
programming for those children who are watching television between 6:00 
a.m. and 7:00 a.m. Providing an additional seven hours a week to air 
Core Programming will also help broadcast stations avoid preemptions.
    22. However, we decline to eliminate the Core Programming hours at 
this time. As discussed above, the one-hour per day expansion of the 
Core Programming hours will provide broadcasters additional 
flexibility. Moreover, while two commenters suggest that Core 
Programming hours may no longer be necessary given the prevalence today 
of on-demand and time-shifted viewing and the accompanying decline in 
appointment viewing by children, a number of U.S. households, 
particularly minority and low-income households, still rely on live, 
over-the-air television. Accordingly, we find that expanding the Core 
Programming hours, rather than eliminating them altogether, is 
preferable to ensure that Core Programming is available during time 
periods when a substantial number of children, particularly children 
that rely exclusively on live, over-the-air television, are watching 
video programming.
2. Regularly Scheduled Weekly Programming Requirement
    23. We require broadcast stations to continue to air the majority 
of their Core Programming on a regularly scheduled weekly basis, but we 
give broadcast stations the option of airing a limited amount of 
programming that is not regularly scheduled weekly programming and 
count that programming as Core Programming. While the NPRM tentatively 
concluded that the regularly scheduled weekly programming requirement 
should be eliminated altogether, the record has convinced us not to 
adopt that tentative conclusion.
    24. As we explain in more detail below in the Processing Guidelines 
Section, under Category A of the safe harbor processing guidelines, a 
broadcast station will be able to demonstrate compliance with the 
children's programming rules by airing either (i) three hours per week 
(as averaged over a six-month period) of Core Programming, all of which 
is regularly scheduled weekly programming, or (ii) a total of 156 hours 
of Core Programming annually, including a minimum of 26 hours per 
quarter of regularly scheduled weekly programming and up to 52 hours 
annually of Core Programs of at least 30 minutes in length that are not 
regularly scheduled on a weekly basis. Such programs may include, for 
example, educational specials and other non-regularly scheduled 
programming, as well as regularly scheduled non-weekly programs. All 
such programs must be specifically designed to serve the educational 
and informational needs of children and, as stated, must be at least 30 
minutes in length. Under Category B of the processing guidelines, a 
broadcast station will be able to demonstrate compliance by airing a 
total of 156 hours of Core Programming annually, including a minimum of 
26 hours per quarter of regularly scheduled weekly programming. The 
remaining Core Programming hours under Category B (up to 52 hours 
annually) may consist of Core Programs that are not aired on a 
regularly scheduled weekly basis, including educational specials, other 
non-regularly scheduled programming, and regularly scheduled non-weekly 
programming, and short-form programming. Short-form programs are 
programs less than 30 minutes in length, including PSAs and 
interstitials (i.e., programming of brief duration that is used as a 
bridge between two longer programs), that are specifically designed to 
serve the educational and informational needs of children. The key 
distinction between Category A and Category B is that short-form 
programming will be permitted only under Category B. Under both 
Category A and B, a minimum of 26 hours per quarter of Core Programming 
aired by broadcast stations must be regularly scheduled weekly 
programming.
    25. We conclude that this approach will ensure that children are 
able to reap the benefits of viewing educational and informational 
programming on a regularly scheduled weekly basis, while also providing 
broadcasters greater scheduling flexibility and the opportunity to 
offer a greater variety of educational programming. The Commission 
adopted the regularly scheduled weekly programming requirement in 1996, 
finding that such programming ``is more likely to be anticipated by 
parents and children, to develop audience loyalty, and to build 
successfully upon and reinforce educational and informational messages, 
thereby better serving the educational and informational needs of 
children.'' We continue to believe that viewing educational programming 
on a regularly scheduled weekly basis can provide valuable benefits to 
children. As Common Sense notes, numerous studies have demonstrated 
that children learn and retain lessons better by watching the same show 
or different episodes of the same series than by watching one-off 
videos or singly aired specials. Common Sense explains that regularly 
scheduled weekly programming gives children an opportunity to learn 
from familiar characters and similar situations by watching different 
episodes of the same show from week to week, increasing children's 
comprehension and retention of the lessons contained in the programming 
when compared to singly aired specials. Common Sense also observes that 
regularly scheduled weekly programming allows parents to plan ahead 
regarding children's media use, as recommended by the American Academy 
of Pediatrics and other health and childhood organizations. Given the 
clear educational benefits to children of watching regularly scheduled 
weekly programming, we find that the public interest will be served by 
continuing to require broadcasters to air the majority of their Core 
Programming on a regularly scheduled weekly basis.
    26. At the same time, we recognize that the marketplace for 
children's programming has evolved since the

[[Page 41923]]

regularly scheduled weekly programming requirement was adopted in 1996. 
Broadcasters correctly note that appointment viewing among children has 
declined and many children now prefer to binge-watch or watch video on 
demand. In today's on demand world, where multiple episodes of video 
programs ``drop'' at the same time on OTT providers such as Netflix and 
Amazon, broadcasters assert that they should have the flexibility to 
offer educational and informational programs other than weekly series 
of uniform length episodes and to offer blocks of several different 
episodes of the same Core Program on a single day. Additionally, 
broadcasters observe that viewership of regularly scheduled children's 
educational programming on commercial stations has declined, as the 
educational program offerings available to children on broadcast and 
non-broadcast platforms have exploded. We agree with broadcasters that 
programming that is not regularly scheduled on a weekly basis can serve 
the educational and informational needs of children. We also 
acknowledge that the regularly scheduled weekly programming requirement 
may create a disincentive for broadcasters to invest in innovative 
programming, such as educational specials, if such programming may not 
be counted toward compliance with the children's programming rules. 
Accordingly, we conclude that it is appropriate to give broadcasters 
the option of airing a limited amount of Core Programming that is not 
regularly scheduled on a weekly basis.
    27. Several commenters express concern that it will be difficult 
for parents and children to identify and locate programming that is not 
regularly scheduled on a weekly basis. We expect that most such 
programming will be listed in program guides and TV listings available 
in print and online, as well as in any TV listings posted on a 
station's website. Moreover, we agree with NAB that broadcasters have 
strong incentives to ensure that as many viewers as possible watch 
their programs and thus will make it as easy as possible for children 
and parents to find their educational and informational programs. 
Therefore, we find that it is unnecessary to mandate specific 
promotional requirements for Core Programming that is not aired on a 
regularly scheduled weekly basis. Rather, we encourage broadcast 
stations to undertake efforts to inform their intended audiences when 
such programming will air beyond listing it in program guides and TV 
listings.
3. Requirement That Core Programming Be at Least 30 Minutes in Length
    28. We require that a majority of Core Programming be at least 30 
minutes in length, but we permit a limited portion of the programming 
to be short-form programming and still count as Core Programming. The 
NPRM tentatively concluded that the requirement that Core Programming 
be at least 30 minutes in length should be eliminated altogether, but, 
as we explain below, the record has convinced us not to adopt that 
tentative conclusion. Specifically, under Category B of the processing 
guidelines, a broadcast station will be permitted to air up to 52 hours 
annually of Core Programming that is not regularly scheduled on a 
weekly basis, including educational specials and regularly scheduled 
non-weekly programs, and short-form programs, including PSAs and 
interstitials. Allowing broadcasters to air a limited amount of short-
form programs will enable them to produce or acquire a diverse array of 
original, innovative, and high quality short-form content that appeals 
to young audiences. It will also give broadcasters additional 
scheduling flexibility.
    29. The record shows that short-form programs can be used 
effectively to educate and inform children. NAB asserts that numerous 
sources conclude that children's attention spans for learning are 
short. Moreover, as discussed above, data show that many children today 
prefer video on demand in shorter segments. Thus, we agree with NAB 
that children have a demonstrated interest in diversity of programming 
and formats and may be more engaged by educational and informational 
programming of different lengths and greater variety.
    30. We are not persuaded by NHMC's assertion that allowing 
broadcast stations to air short-form programming will ``compromise[] 
the cognitive development of American children.'' NHMC contends that 
the 30-minute length requirement is ``backed by science,'' asserting 
that 30-minute programming is more effective than short-form 
programming because it provides more content, allows for the 
development of a theme, and permits educational messages to be told in 
the form of a story. NHMC maintains that during the 1996 revisions to 
the children's programming rules, the Commission found this 
``scientifically-backed argument'' more persuasive than the 
unsubstantiated argument for short-form programming based on the notion 
children have short attention spans. We note that in adopting the 
requirement that Core Programming be at least 30 minutes in length, the 
Commission relied primarily on the fact that the dominant broadcast 
television format was 30 minutes or longer in length. The Commission 
found it reasonable that the children's programming rules, which are 
intended to promote the accessibility of children's educational and 
informational programming, reflect this current industry practice 
because programs in the standard 30 minute or longer format are more 
likely than shorter programming to be regularly scheduled and to be 
listed in program guides and thus are easier for parents to identify 
for their child's viewing.
    31. To be sure, we do not dispute, as the Commission found in 1996, 
that programs that are 30 minutes or longer allow more time for 
educational content to be presented and may be particularly beneficial 
to children. Furthermore, as NHMC points out, the dominant broadcast 
television format is still 30 minutes or longer in length. 
Nevertheless, there is evidence in the record that short-form video 
content may be more effective for engagement and that many children in 
fact prefer short-form programming. Moreover, the Commission recognized 
in 1996 that ``some short segments have significant public interest 
benefits'' and ``encourage[d] all broadcasters to continue to provide a 
diverse mix of educational and informational programming, including 
short segments and PSAs, toward their overall obligation to provide 
programming for children.'' Broadcasters confirm, however, that the 
requirement that educational and informational programming be at least 
30 minutes in length to count as Core Programming under our current 
rules strongly discourages the production of quality short-form 
programs. While short-form programs and PSAs can count toward the 
processing guidelines under existing Category B when broadcasters air 
somewhat less than three hours per week of Core Programming, the 
uncertainty as to how much Core Programming must be provided under 
existing Category B has deterred broadcasters from utilizing this 
option. The approach we are adopting in this order clarifies this issue 
and recognizes that programs that are at least 30 minutes in length and 
short-form programs both may provide valuable educational benefits to 
children.
    32. While commenters raise concerns that it will be difficult for 
parents to identify and locate short-form programs, as discussed above, 
we believe that broadcasters have strong incentives to ensure that 
children and parents are

[[Page 41924]]

able to find their educational and informational programs easily in 
order to increase their audience size. Therefore, we find that it is 
unnecessary to mandate specific promotional requirements for short-form 
programs aired by broadcast stations. Instead, we encourage 
broadcasters to promote their short-form programs.
    33. We acknowledge that short-form programming may not necessarily 
be video-described. In this regard, Litton asserts that due to 
budgetary constraints, it is unlikely that short-form children's 
educational and informational programming will be video-described. 
However, the fact that we are providing broadcasters greater 
flexibility with regard to program length has no impact on the total 
number of hours that must be video-described under our rules. Further, 
as explained below, broadcasters will be required to air the 
substantial majority of their Core Programming on their primary 
streams.

D. Processing Guidelines

    34. We modify the safe harbor processing guidelines for determining 
compliance with the CTA in order to provide broadcasters greater 
flexibility to address scheduling demands and better serve the needs of 
children in the current media environment. As we outline above, the 
marketplace for children's programming has changed considerably since 
the Commission adopted the processing guidelines more than two decades 
ago. There is a vast array of children's educational and informational 
programming available on broadcast stations and non-broadcast platforms 
and many children today prefer video on demand over live viewing of 
broadcast television.
    35. In addition, the record indicates that the current three-hour 
per week processing guideline presents significant scheduling 
challenges for many broadcasters. When Congress enacted the CTA in 
1990, few stations offered local newscasts on weekend mornings; 
broadcast networks offered fewer hours of national morning news shows; 
and network affiliated stations offered far less live sports coverage. 
In response to consumer demand, broadcasters have increased their local 
and national news, public affairs programming, and sports programming. 
NAB states that these types of ``DVR-resistant'' live programming help 
broadcasters stay competitive with online and on-demand services, but 
the growth in such live programming on broadcast television has 
severely limited the windows during which stations can consistently 
schedule children's educational and informational programming. For 
example, during the third quarter when Major League Baseball, the 
National Football League, and college football all have daytime games 
on the weekends, stations outside of the Eastern time zone routinely 
have their children's educational and informational programming 
preempted due to live network sports, which in turn leads to conflicts 
between rescheduled Core Programs and other programming, including 
local news. Broadcasters cite numerous instances where stations either 
have preempted or declined to air local news and public affairs 
programming due to children's programming obligations. Commenters 
assert that preempting or foregoing local news and public affairs 
programming because of children's programming obligations results in 
lost advertising and sponsorship revenues for the stations. We find 
that these scheduling challenges along with the marketplace changes 
noted above warrant revision of the safe harbor processing guidelines.
    36. The revised safe harbor processing guidelines we adopt today 
will give broadcasters greater flexibility in today's competitive 
marketplace to schedule their children's educational programs around 
programming with strong local interest, including news, live sports, 
and coverage of local events. At the same time, these guidelines will 
ensure that an ample supply of educational and informational 
programming is available to children throughout the year. As set forth 
below, Category A of the processing guidelines will provide broadcast 
stations enhanced flexibility by allowing them to choose between the 
existing three-hours per week guideline and a new 156-hour annual 
guideline. We are also revisiting Category B of the processing 
guidelines to provide clarity on the extent to which broadcasters may 
count educational specials and short-form programming toward their 
total Core Programming hours.
    37. Category A. We revise Category A of the processing guidelines 
to provide broadcasters two separate options for demonstrating 
compliance with the children's programming requirements. Specifically, 
Media Bureau staff will be authorized to approve the children's 
programming portion of a broadcaster's license renewal application if 
the station airs either (i) three hours per week (as averaged over a 
six-month period) of Core Programming that is regularly scheduled on a 
weekly basis, or (ii) 156 hours of Core Programming annually, including 
a minimum of 26 hours per quarter of regularly scheduled weekly 
programming. Under both of these options, a Core Program must be at 
least 30 minutes long, as is the case under our Category A processing 
guideline today. We are expressly retaining the existing three hour per 
week option because we believe that other revisions we are making in 
this proceeding, including the expanded Core Programming hours and the 
ability to air 13 hours per quarter of regularly scheduled weekly 
programming on a multicast stream, may provide sufficient scheduling 
flexibility such that some broadcasters may wish to continue offering 
three hours per week (as averaged over a six-month period) of Core 
Programming. For example, some broadcasters, particularly small 
broadcasters, may prefer the certainty and simplicity of scheduling an 
average of three hours per week of Core Programming, instead of having 
to decide how to allocate their Core Programming hours every quarter 
and continually track their Core Programming hours to ensure they are 
in compliance with our children's programming rules. In addition, some 
broadcasters may decide that it would better serve the needs of their 
local communities to continue providing an average of three hours per 
week of Core Programming throughout the year.
    38. The second option under revised Category A is an annual 
guideline that will allow a broadcast station to demonstrate compliance 
with the children's programming rules by airing 156 hours of Core 
Programming annually, including a minimum of 26 hours per quarter of 
regularly scheduled weekly programs that are at least 30 minutes long. 
As NAB notes, airing 156 hours per year of Core Programming is 
equivalent to the current requirement of airing three hours per week on 
a full-time program stream. By requiring broadcast stations to air at 
least 26 hours per quarter of regularly scheduled weekly programming, 
this option will ensure that children have access to free, over-the-air 
educational and informational programming on a regularly scheduled 
weekly basis throughout the year. It will also ensure that children can 
obtain the educational benefits of viewing the same Core Program on a 
weekly basis. As discussed above, studies have shown that watching the 
same show or different episodes of the same series helps children learn 
and retain lessons.
    39. The remaining hours of Core Programming under Category A (up to 
52 hours annually) may consist of Core Programs of at least 30 minutes 
in length that are not regularly scheduled on a weekly basis, including 
educational specials, other non-regularly scheduled programming, and 
regularly scheduled non-weekly

[[Page 41925]]

programming, which the station will have the discretion to air at any 
time during the year. For example, a station may wish to air 
educational specials or blocks of a Core Program during school breaks 
when more children are likely to be watching. Permitting stations to 
tailor their programming lineups to times when children are more likely 
to be at home and air increased amounts of educational and 
informational programming over shorter time periods (e.g., during 
spring break or summer vacation) could potentially have a strong 
educational impact. Or, a station may want to schedule these Core 
Programming hours during periods of the year when they will not 
interfere with the airing of live network or non-network sports 
programs that may cause children's programming to be preempted. By 
allowing stations to air up to 52 hours annually of Core Programs that 
are not regularly scheduled on a weekly basis, this option should help 
to alleviate the scheduling difficulties that many stations experience, 
particularly during periods of heavy coverage of live sports events. 
Repeats and reruns of Core Programming will continue to be counted 
toward fulfillment of the processing guideline under Category A. To 
help children who are blind or visually impaired have access to Core 
Programs that are not regularly scheduled on a weekly basis that are 
video described, we strongly encourage broadcast stations to ensure 
their programing schedules are publicized with appropriate metadata 
indicating which programs will include video description.
    40. Category B. We also modify Category B of the safe harbor 
processing guidelines to make it a viable alternative to compliance 
with Category A. Under the existing Category B guideline, Media Bureau 
staff will approve the children's programming portion of a licensee's 
renewal application where the licensee makes a showing that the station 
has aired a package of different types of educational and informational 
programming that, while containing somewhat less than three hours per 
week of Core Programming, demonstrates a level of commitment to 
educating and informing children that is at least equivalent to airing 
three hours per week of Core Programming. Specials, short-form programs 
and PSAs, and regularly scheduled non-weekly programs with a 
significant purpose of educating and informing children can count 
toward the processing guidelines under existing Category B. However, 
due to uncertainty as to how much Core Programming a licensee is 
expected to provide, licensees have rarely attempted to demonstrate 
compliance with the children's programming rules under Category B. The 
modifications we adopt today will bring clarity to Category B and make 
it a viable option for broadcasters.
    41. Under revised Category B, Media Bureau staff will be authorized 
to approve the children's programming portion of a broadcaster's 
license renewal application if the broadcast station airs 156 hours of 
Core Programming annually, including a minimum of 26 hours per quarter 
of regularly scheduled weekly programs that are at least 30 minutes 
long. The remaining hours of Core Programming (up to 52 hours annually) 
may include Core Programs that are not regularly scheduled on a weekly 
basis, such as educational specials, other non-regularly scheduled 
programming, and regularly scheduled non-weekly programming, as well as 
short-form programs. Category B is distinct from the second option of 
Category A in that short-form programming, including PSAs and 
interstitials, will be permitted only under Category B. The requirement 
to air a minimum of 26 hours per quarter of regularly scheduled weekly 
programming will ensure that children have access to free, over-the-air 
educational and informational programming throughout the year and that 
children can obtain the educational benefits of viewing the same Core 
Program on a weekly basis. Allowing broadcast stations to air up to 52 
hours of Core Programs that are not regularly scheduled on a weekly 
basis and short-form programs will provide broadcasters additional 
scheduling flexibility and give them the opportunity to offer a wide 
array of innovative programming of varying lengths that will appeal to 
children.
    42. We decline to eliminate quantitative processing guidelines for 
determining compliance of television licensees with the children's 
programming rules. Only two commenters advocate elimination of 
quantitative processing guidelines. In contrast, several commenters 
express concern that eliminating quantitative processing guidelines 
entirely would lead to a severe decline in the amount of children's 
educational and informational programming available on free, over-the-
air television. These commenters suggest that absent a quantitative 
guideline, broadcasters will have little or no financial incentive to 
air children's educational and informational programming. As we explain 
above, the media landscape has changed dramatically since the 
children's programming rules were first adopted, as reflected by the 
multitude of children's educational programming now available on non-
broadcast platforms and the sharp decline in live viewing of broadcast 
television among children. The record, however, indicates that some 
children in minority and low-income households still rely exclusively 
on live, over-the-air broadcast television. It is unclear from the 
record how much children's educational and informational programming 
broadcasters would choose to air in the absence of specific 
quantitative guidelines, although PTV and ION state that they would 
continue to air far more children's educational and information 
programming than is currently required by the Commission. We conclude 
therefore that the public interest is best served by retaining 
quantitative processing guidelines to ensure that an adequate supply of 
quality educational programming continues to be available to all 
children.

E. Airing of Core Programming

1. Requirement to Air Core Programming on Primary Stream
    43. We require broadcast stations to air the substantial majority 
of their Core Programming hours under either Category A or B on their 
primary program streams, but we permit broadcast stations under either 
Category A or B to air up to 13 hours per quarter of their regularly 
scheduled weekly programming on a multicast stream. Thus, we require 
broadcast stations to air at least two-thirds of their total annual 
Core Programming hours (i.e., 104 hours) on their primary streams and 
no more than one-third of their total Core Programming (i.e., 52 hours) 
hours on a multicast stream. All Core Programming that is not regularly 
scheduled weekly programming aired under Category A or B must be aired 
on a station's primary stream. We believe that this approach strikes an 
appropriate balance between the benefits of airing educational and 
informational programming on primary program streams and the benefits 
of providing stations that multicast with additional flexibility to air 
valued programming such as local newscasts on their primary streams.
    44. This framework is also appropriate because it takes into 
account, as we discuss in detail above, that there is a tremendous 
wealth of children's programming available today on both broadcast and 
non-broadcast platforms. Each of the 330 PBS member

[[Page 41926]]

stations is required by its membership to offer a minimum of seven 
hours of children's educational and informational programming each 
weekday (35 hours per week); the 24/7 PBS KIDS multicast stream is 
available to 95% of U.S. TV households; and ION currently airs 111 
hours per week of children's educational and informational programming 
on its 24/7 multicast stream, Qubo, which receives 67% national 
coverage. Further, there are 682 more free, over-the-air television 
stations than there were when the CTA was adopted in 1990, all of which 
must provide children's programming. In addition to the vast array of 
children's programming available on free, over-the-air television, 
there is a surplus of educational content available for children on 
cable children's networks, over-the-top video providers, and online 
sites. Given the substantial increase in the amount of educational 
programming choices available to children today, we conclude that it is 
appropriate to reduce the amount of Core Programming that must be aired 
on a station's primary stream, while still requiring that most Core 
Programming be aired on a station's primary stream. Allowing 
broadcasters to air a minority of their Core Programming hours on a 
multicast stream will enable them to offer viewers more programming 
options on their primary streams, including more news and programming 
of local community interest.
    45. We acknowledge that multicast streams do not have the same 
level of viewership among children as primary streams. As Hearst 
explains, this is due in part to the fact that MVPDs are not obligated 
to carry multicast streams. Some commenters express concern that, given 
this lower level of viewership of multicast streams, allowing broadcast 
stations to move their programming to multicast streams would be 
expected to have a significant adverse effect on advertising revenue 
for such programming, which in turn would adversely impact the 
production of high quality educational and informational programming. 
In this regard, Litton asserts that moving as little as one hour per 
week of Core Programming to multicast streams would adversely affect 
the market for quality children's programming because Litton is able to 
subsidize the production costs of some of its programming by spreading 
its production costs across the six half-hour programs it produces for 
each network. According to Litton, because of the substantially lower 
advertising revenue a producer would earn on programming moved to a 
multicast stream, its ability to spread the overall production costs 
would be reduced from six half-hour programs to four, resulting in a 
decrease in production budgets and, in turn, a decline in the quality 
of children's programming.
    46. We acknowledge that allowing broadcasters to air up to 13 hours 
of regularly scheduled weekly programming per quarter on multicast 
streams may impact Litton's current business model. We find it 
speculative, however, the extent to which, if at all, the overall 
quality of children's programming will be affected. We note, for 
example, that Litton makes no attempt to quantify the impact of the 
change and their claims are based on a series of assumptions that may 
or may not be accurate. Moreover, under our revised rules, broadcasters 
will be able to produce or acquire a wider variety of innovative 
children's programming, such as educational specials and short-form 
programming, that may attract more young viewers and therefore more 
advertising dollars, thus leading to an increase in program quality. 
Furthermore, new business models may emerge that improve the quality of 
children's programming. Further, as NAB observes, broadcasters will be 
required to air 156 total hours of Core Programming annually, two-
thirds of which must be aired on their primary streams, so there will 
continue to be a strong demand from broadcasters for children's 
educational and informational programming. Moreover, while multicast 
streams do not have the same level of viewership as primary streams, a 
station's multicast streams have the same over the-air coverage area as 
its primary stream. Therefore, any Core Programming moved to a 
multicast stream will remain available to young viewers that rely 
exclusively on free, over-the-air television. In sum, we believe that 
our approach is a reasonable one that appropriately balances competing 
concerns and reflects the significant changes that have taken place in 
the children's programming market.
    47. Several consumer groups raise concerns that allowing 
broadcasters to air short-form programming during a limited portion of 
their Core Programming hours and to air up to 13 hours per quarter of 
regularly scheduled weekly programming on a multicast stream may reduce 
the amount of educational programming accessible to children with 
visual or hearing disabilities. As discussed throughout this Report and 
Order, we highly encourage broadcasters to ensure that programming 
remains accessible to children with disabilities and are confident that 
there will remain ample educational programming available to such 
children. However, to monitor the extent to which Core Programming 
remains accessible to children with disabilities, we direct the Media 
Bureau to issue a Public Notice no later than two years after the 
effective date of these revisions to our children's programming rules 
seeking information from the broadcast industry and viewers on the 
extent to which short-form programming and Core Programming aired on 
multicast streams is closed-captioned and/or video-described, including 
on multicast channels like PBS KIDS and Qubo that provide captioning 
today. Such information will enable us to assess the state of 
educational children's programming in terms of its accessibility to 
children with visual or hearing disabilities.
2. Elimination of Processing Guideline Applicable to Multicast Streams
    48. Consistent with the tentative conclusion in the NPRM, we 
eliminate the additional Core Programming processing guideline 
applicable to digital stations that multicast, which requires 
broadcasters providing streams of free video programming in addition to 
their primary program stream to air additional Core Programming based 
on the amount of programming that is aired on their multicast streams. 
We agree with commenters that neither the CTA nor section 336 of the 
Act requires that the Commission impose additional children's 
programming requirements on multicast streams. The CTA directs the 
Commission to consider at renewal whether a television licensee has 
served the educational and informational needs of children through its 
``programming,'' but it does not mandate that the Commission assess 
such programming on a stream-by-stream basis. Section 336, which 
establishes the statutory framework for the DTV transition, provides 
that the Commission ``shall prescribe such other regulations as may be 
necessary for the protection of the public interest, convenience, and 
necessity.'' For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that 
additional children's programming requirements for multicast streams 
are not necessary for the protection of the public interest, 
convenience, and necessity.
    49. We acknowledge that elimination of the additional processing 
guideline will result in a reduction in the overall amount of Core 
Programming available on free, over-the-air television but find that 
overall the costs of the additional processing guideline outweigh the 
benefits to children. In adopting the additional processing guideline 
for

[[Page 41927]]

digital stations that multicast, the Commission stated that ``any 
increase in multicasting channel capacity that broadcasters choose to 
implement as a result of digital technology should translate to a 
commensurate increase in the amount of educational programming 
available to children.'' However, as we explain in detail above, the 
marketplace for children's programming has changed dramatically in 
recent years. There is a wealth of educational and informational 
programming available to children today on both broadcast and non-
broadcast platforms. Even in households that lack access to both MVPD 
and internet services, children now have access to considerably more 
free, over-the-air educational and informational programming than when 
the Commission adopted the additional processing guideline for 
multicast streams. Moreover, the record reflects that live viewing of 
broadcast television by children has decreased substantially, while 
children's viewing of video content on other media platforms and time-
shifted viewing has risen. Nexstar also asserts that ``[t]he burden of 
providing an additional 3.0 average hours of children's television for 
every stream disincentivizes broadcasters from expanding their program 
offerings to all other viewers beyond their primary station,'' which 
``results in the inefficient use of spectrum and a restriction of 
programming choices.'' On balance, we think that the benefit to 
children of the additional processing guideline for multicast streams 
is outweighed by the burden that this requirement imposes on 
broadcasters. Accordingly, we conclude that elimination of the 
additional processing guideline and related rules is justified.
3. MVPD Comparable Carriage Requirement
    50. We adopt our proposal to eliminate the MVPD comparable carriage 
requirement. Under this requirement, the Commission has allowed 
stations that multicast to air all of their additional Core Programming 
(beyond the three hours per week of Core Programming that must be aired 
on the primary stream) on any free over-the-air stream only where the 
stream has MVPD carriage comparable to the stream whose programming 
generated the Core Programming obligation. Given that we are 
eliminating the additional processing guideline and will require 
broadcasters to air a majority of their Core Programming on their 
primary streams, we conclude that the MVPD comparable carriage 
requirement is no longer necessary.

F. Preemptions

    51. We anticipate that the added flexibility afforded to 
broadcasters by the rule changes that we adopt in this proceeding will 
reduce the need for preemptions. In particular, we believe that the 
expanded Core Programming hours and the processing guideline options 
detailed above will enable broadcasters to schedule their Core 
Programming more easily so that it does not conflict with live 
programming content, such as sports, local and national news, and 
public affairs programming. Nevertheless, we conclude that revision of 
our policies governing preemptions is warranted to ensure that 
broadcasters have sufficient flexibility to reschedule any preempted 
Core Programming and still count that programming toward compliance 
with our processing guidelines.
    52. We eliminate the ``second home'' policy. Under this policy, a 
station that preempts an episode of a Core Program for any reason other 
than breaking news is required to air the rescheduled program in a 
previously-selected substitute time slot or ``second home'' and provide 
an on-air notification of the schedule change in order for the 
rescheduled program to count toward compliance with the processing 
guidelines. No commenters expressly support retaining the ``second 
home'' policy. Commenters aver that requiring broadcasters to keep 
``second home'' windows available for rescheduling preempted Core 
Programs needlessly restricts their ability to schedule programming in 
a manner that best serves the needs of their communities. While 
stations may still choose to use a second home as a strategy for 
rescheduling preempted children's programming, we agree that for many 
this policy is unnecessarily burdensome and accordingly eliminate it as 
a requirement for counting rescheduled children's programming toward 
compliance with the processing guidelines.
    53. In order to provide broadcasters greater scheduling 
flexibility, we permit a station that preempts an episode of a 
regularly scheduled weekly program on its primary stream to air the 
rescheduled episode on its primary stream at any time during Core 
Programming hours (i.e., between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.) within seven 
days before or seven days after the date the episode was originally 
scheduled to air. The broadcast station must provide an on-air 
notification of the schedule change during the same timeslot as the 
preempted episode. If a station intends to air the rescheduled episode 
within the seven days before the date the preempted episode was 
originally scheduled to air, the station must make the on-air 
notification during the same timeslot as the preceding week's episode 
of that program. If the station intends to air the rescheduled episode 
within the seven days after the date the preempted episode was 
originally scheduled to air, the station must make the on-air 
notification during the timeslot when the preempted episode was 
originally scheduled to air. The on-air notification must include the 
alternate date and time when the preempted program will air. Preempted 
Core Programs that are rescheduled in this manner will count toward a 
station's total number of Core Programming hours under the processing 
guidelines. We also permit a station that preempts a regularly 
scheduled weekly program on a multicast stream to air the rescheduled 
episode on that same multicast stream at any time during Core 
Programming hours within seven days before or seven days after the date 
the episode was originally scheduled to air, provided it follows the 
announcement requirement set forth earlier in this paragraph.
    54. As proposed by NAB, we also expand the breaking news exemption, 
under which broadcast stations are permitted to preempt Core Programs 
for breaking news without rescheduling them, to permit a station to 
preempt an episode of a regularly scheduled weekly program in order to 
air non-regularly scheduled live programming produced locally by the 
station without any requirement to reschedule the episode. We emphasize 
that this exception to the requirement that preempted Core Programming 
be rescheduled in order to count toward a broadcaster's children's 
programming obligations applies only to ``non-regularly scheduled live 
programming.'' Examples of ``non-regularly scheduled live programming'' 
include but are not limited to non-breaking live news, such as coverage 
of an elected official swearing-in ceremony, public affairs specials on 
issues of interest to the local community, live coverage of a local 
parade, a local election debate, or live coverage of a local sports 
team's playoff or championship game. Furthermore, the programming must 
be produced locally by the station to serve the community where the 
station is located. This exception will promote localism by providing 
viewers greater access to programming that is of interest to their 
local community. The very limited nature of this exception will ensure 
that it cannot be used to circumvent the children's programming 
requirements.

[[Page 41928]]

    55. Finally, we no longer require networks seeking preemption 
flexibility to file an annual request for such flexibility with the 
Media Bureau. We note that licensees are required to provide detailed 
information in their Reports regarding each Core Program that was 
preempted during the most recent reporting period, including the date 
and time the program was rescheduled (if rescheduled), the reason for 
the preemption, and whether promotional efforts were made to notify the 
public of the rescheduled date and time. We conclude that there is 
little practical utility or public benefit to requiring licensees both 
to submit information about expected future preemptions in an annual 
request for preemption flexibility and to submit information about 
preemptions that occurred during the reporting period in the Report. 
Accordingly, we eliminate the duplicative requirement to file an annual 
preemption flexibility request.

G. Public Information and Reporting Requirements

1. On-Air Notification Requirement
    56. We no longer require noncommercial stations to identify their 
Core Programming with the ``E/I'' symbol at the beginning of the 
program and display this symbol throughout the program, consistent with 
the tentative conclusion in the NPRM. The Commission adopted this 
requirement for both commercial and noncommercial broadcasters in 2004 
to address concerns that there was a continued lack of awareness on the 
part of parents regarding the availability of Core Programming, finding 
that use of the E/I symbol could greatly improve the public's ability 
to recognize and locate Core Programs at minimal cost to broadcasters. 
Although noncommercial stations previously were exempt from the on-air 
identification requirement in view of their strong commitment to 
children's educational and informational programming, the Commission 
determined that requiring all stations to display the E/I symbol 
throughout the program would help ``reinforce viewer awareness of the 
meaning of this symbol.''
    57. We conclude that elimination of the requirement that 
noncommercial stations identify their Core Programming by displaying 
the E/I symbol throughout the programming is warranted. PTV asserts 
that ``[t]he [E/I] symbol is added to programming prior to delivery to 
stations and it would be cost prohibitive to later adjust its display 
on broadcast or any other distribution platform, including mobile 
devices where PTV now live streams all of its educational children's 
content for free. As a result of limited resources, the existing 
requirement on public stations is effectively transferred to all new 
and emerging platforms.'' Moreover, no commenter specifically objects 
to eliminating this requirement for noncommercial stations. Given the 
educational nature of most programming on noncommercial stations, it is 
reasonable to expect that parents will know that a children's program 
on a noncommercial station is specifically designed to meet the 
educational and informational needs of children. In addition, given 
that much of the children's educational and informational programming 
aired on noncommercial stations is targeted to pre-school and 
elementary school aged children and is familiar to parents, we do not 
believe that it will be difficult for parents to distinguish 
programming aired on noncommercial stations that is specifically 
designed to educate and inform children from programming aired on 
noncommercial stations that may be educational or informative but is 
intended for general audiences. We also note that PBS member stations, 
which make up 90% of all noncommercial stations, identify and provide 
detailed descriptions of their educational and informational children's 
programs on their websites.
    58. We retain the on-air notification requirement for commercial 
stations. Contrary to NAB's suggestion, we find that the fact that the 
E/I symbol is now familiar to parents does not mean that it is not 
necessary to display the symbol during Core Programs aired on 
commercial stations. As noted by commenters, some parents continue to 
rely on the E/I symbol to identify educational programming for their 
children. Further, noncommercial stations generally air far more 
children's educational programming than commercial stations, whereas it 
is more difficult for parents to locate children's educational 
programming in commercial stations' more varied line-ups. Parents also 
may have more uncertainty as to whether a program aired on a commercial 
station is intended to be educational than they will for PBS 
programming, given the overall educational mission of PBS. Accordingly, 
we conclude that it is important to continue to require commercial 
stations to display the E/I symbol throughout Core Programs to help 
parents identify educational programming for their children.
2. Program Guides
    59. We retain the requirement that broadcasters provide information 
identifying programming specifically designed to educate and inform 
children to publishers of program guides. This requirement was intended 
to improve the information available to parents regarding programming 
specifically designed for children's educational and informational 
needs and to make broadcasters more accountable in classifying 
programming as specifically designed to educate and inform. We 
recognize that publishers of program guides are not obligated to 
include children's programming information provided by stations in 
their guides. Nevertheless, commenters indicate that some parents 
continue to rely on program guides to make informed decisions about 
educational and informational programming for their children. Further, 
we find that it is not a significant burden for broadcasters to provide 
information identifying programming specifically designed to educate 
and inform children to program guide publishers. Moreover, given that 
broadcast stations will have the flexibility to air a limited amount of 
programming that is not regularly scheduled on a weekly basis under the 
revised processing guidelines, we think that it will remain important 
for broadcasters to provide information identifying such programming to 
publishers of program guides to assist parents in locating this 
programming for their children. However, we will no longer require 
broadcasters to provide program guides publishers an indication of the 
age group intended to watch their educational and informational 
programming since it appears that very few program guides include this 
information. We are confident that parents can decide whether a 
particular Core Program is age-appropriate for their children based on 
the description of the program or by watching the program with their 
children.
3. Reporting Requirements
    60. We revise the children's programming reporting requirements to 
streamline them and eliminate unnecessary and burdensome requirements. 
As discussed above, commercial television broadcasters currently are 
required to file a Children's Television Programming Report on FCC Form 
2100 Schedule H on a quarterly basis providing detailed information 
regarding efforts made during the preceding quarter, and efforts 
planned for the next quarter, to serve the educational and 
informational needs

[[Page 41929]]

of children. The record reflects that compiling these reports places 
significant burdens on stations, particularly smaller stations with 
limited staff resources. Further, it appears that some of the 
information required by these Reports has little practical utility or 
benefit to the public today. Our revisions will reduce reporting 
burdens on broadcasters, while ensuring that Commission staff and the 
public still have sufficient information to verify stations' compliance 
with the children's programming rules.
    61. We require that broadcasters file the Reports on an annual 
rather than quarterly basis, consistent with the tentative conclusion 
in the NPRM. We concur with commenters that quarterly reporting places 
an undue burden on stations, especially smaller stations. Broadcasters 
assert that the level of granularity and redundant information required 
by the current form requires that stations devote a significant amount 
of time and resources to compiling these Reports each quarter. NAB 
notes, for example, that in the first quarter of 2018, the Reports of 
the 16 television stations owned by one NAB member station group 
totaled 492 pages, with an average of nearly 31 pages per station, and 
that based on the first quarter's numbers, this group expected to file 
an estimated total of 1,968 pages in 2018 detailing its children's 
programming. Another NAB member station group reported that each 
quarter, its stations' legal, programming, and operations departments 
spend a combined 30 hours compiling information for the Reports, 
submitting the Reports to the Commission, and updating station records 
to reflect that the work was completed. Gray asserts that staff at its 
stations in the smaller markets of Charlottesville, Virginia, and Sioux 
Falls, South Dakota, spend up to six or seven hours per quarter 
preparing the Reports.
    62. Moreover, while the quarterly reporting requirement was 
intended to ``provide[ ] more current information about station 
performance and encourage[ ] more consistent focus on educational 
programming efforts,'' it does not appear that requiring broadcasters 
to file these Reports on a quarterly basis serves any useful purpose 
today. Broadcasters confirm that there is little variation in the 
Reports from quarter to quarter. Further, while the record reflects 
that some interested parties examine the Reports at license renewal 
time to verify stations' compliance with the CTA, there is no evidence 
in the record that the public regularly uses the Reports on a quarterly 
basis to monitor station compliance with the CTA or for any other 
purpose. In addition, most programming information is readily available 
on the internet and will likely be available through at least some 
program guides. Accordingly, we conclude that the burdens to 
broadcasters of preparing these Reports on a quarterly basis outweigh 
the benefits to the public of having this information on a quarterly 
basis.
    63. We require that broadcasters file their annual Form 2100 
Schedule H within 30 days after the end of the calendar year, rather 
than ten days after the end of the reporting period as is currently 
required. We agree with NAB that a 30-day deadline will provide 
broadcasters sufficient time to prepare and file the Reports without 
unduly delaying the posting of the Reports in stations' online public 
files. Broadcasters may begin filing their Reports on January 1, and we 
encourage broadcasters to implement processes to ensure accurate 
completion and timely filing of their annual Reports.
    64. We also modify Form 2100 Schedule H to eliminate the need for 
broadcasters to submit duplicative and unnecessary information and to 
both simplify and streamline the form. We eliminate the requirement 
that Reports include information on the educational and informational 
programming that a broadcast station intends to air during the next 
reporting period. As NAB observes, there is no evidence that parents or 
children consult the Reports to plan their future viewing. Further, as 
discussed above, there is little change in programming over the course 
of the year. Moreover, information about upcoming programming is 
available in program guides and online. Thus, there appears to be no 
public benefit to requiring stations to report in detail on the 
programming they expect to air in the future.
    65. In addition, we no longer require stations to describe the 
educational and informational objective of each Core Program and how it 
meets the definition of Core Programming. This requirement was intended 
to ensure that licensees devote attention to the educational and 
informational goals of Core Programming and allow parents and other 
interested parties to participate more actively in monitoring licensee 
compliance with the CTA. As Nexstar points out, however, ``the act of 
providing a program narrative does not necessarily incentivize 
broadcasters to `devote attention to the goals of Core Programming.' 
Indeed, since broadcasters generally purchase Core compliant children's 
television programming packages, the narratives are usually provided by 
the program provider.'' Thus, requiring stations to include this 
narrative in their Reports does not appear to serve the intended 
purpose of ensuring that licensees devote attention to the educational 
and informational goals of Core Programming. Further, as discussed 
above, it does not appear that the public routinely relies on the 
programming descriptions contained in the Reports to monitor station 
compliance or to identify and locate programming for their children. 
Rather, we expect that parents today are more likely to rely on online 
sources, such as online TV listings and programming guides and program 
producers' websites, to find program descriptions. Given that 
descriptions of Core Programming are readily available from numerous 
other sources, we conclude that eliminating this information from the 
Form 2100 Schedule H will reduce reporting burdens on broadcasters 
without impairing the ability of the public or Commission staff to 
monitor stations' compliance with their children's programming 
obligations. We retain the requirement to identify the target age of 
Core Programming in the Form 2100 Schedule H. The purpose of this 
requirement is to ensure that Core Programs effectively target a 
specific child audience and to provide information to parents regarding 
the appropriate age for Core Programs. While it does not appear that 
the public routinely uses this information to monitor station 
compliance or to identify programming for their children, the 
Commission uses this information in determining a station's compliance 
with the commercial limits in children's programming. Since the 
commercial limits apply only to programming intended for children 12 
years old and younger, we streamline the Form 2100 Schedule H to allow 
licensees to check a box on the form indicating whether programming is 
designed to serve the educational and informational needs of young 
children (ages 12 and under) or teenage viewers (ages 13 to 16). This 
will be sufficient to ensure that Core Programs target a specific child 
audience and provide the Commission with the information it needs to 
determine compliance with the commercial time limits while decreasing 
reporting burdens.
    66. Furthermore, we modify the form to eliminate the requirement to 
identify which program guide publishers were sent information 
identifying each Core Program aired on the station. There is no 
evidence that the public uses this

[[Page 41930]]

information and, as noted by commenters, program guide publishers are 
not obligated to include children's programming information provided by 
stations in their guides. Broadcasters are still required to certify 
that they sent the required information to program guide publishers.
    67. We also make other modifications to Form 2100 Schedule H as 
needed to conform the form with the revisions to the children's 
programming rules we are adopting in this proceeding, including the 
changes to the processing guidelines and preemption policies. We direct 
the Media Bureau to make the necessary changes to Form 2100 Schedule H 
to implement our revised rules and policies in a manner that is 
consistent with this Report and Order.
    68. We decline, however, to further streamline the Report to permit 
broadcasters to certify their compliance with the children's 
programming requirements, instead of providing detailed information 
documenting their compliance, a proposal on which we sought comment in 
the NPRM and which is supported by a number of commenters. We believe 
that the modifications we are making to the reporting requirements and 
Form 2100 Schedule H, as discussed above, are warranted to provide 
broadcasters relief from unnecessary reporting burdens. We conclude, 
however, that it continues to be necessary to require broadcasters to 
provide certain details concerning their Core Programming to enable 
Commission staff and the public to verify their compliance with the 
children's programming rules. Child Advocates note, for example, how 
information from past Reports served as the basis for petitions to deny 
the renewal applications of two stations in Washington, DC, and two 
stations in Cleveland, Ohio, for failing to provide a sufficient 
quantity of programming specifically designed to educate and inform 
children. We agree with Child Advocates that if stations were not 
required, at a minimum, to identify their Core Programs and when they 
were aired, the public would not be able to determine if a station 
actually complied with its public interest obligations, let alone have 
information sufficient to file a petition to deny, and Commission staff 
would likewise lack the information necessary to determine whether a 
station had satisfied its children's programming obligations. 
Particularly considering the revisions to the Core Programming 
requirements and processing guidelines we are making in this proceeding 
to provide broadcasters additional flexibility, we think it is 
necessary that Commission staff and the public have the ability to 
effectively monitor stations' compliance with the children's 
programming rules.
    69. Finally, consistent with the tentative conclusion in the NPRM, 
we eliminate the requirement that licensees publicize the existence and 
location of their Children's Television Programming Reports. This 
requirement was originally intended to ``heighten awareness of the CTA 
and invite members of the public to take an active role in monitoring 
compliance.'' As NAB notes, this requirement predates the hosting of 
television stations' public files, which include the Reports, on the 
Commission's website. Given that television stations are now required 
to provide a link to their Commission-hosted online public files from 
the home page of their own websites, this requirement serves little 
purpose today. Additionally, there is no evidence in the record that 
this requirement encourages viewers to seek out stations' Reports or to 
take an active role in monitoring stations' compliance with the CTA.
4. Recordkeeping Requirements for Commercial Limits
    70. We revise our rules to require broadcasters, cable operators, 
and DBS providers to place records sufficient to demonstrate compliance 
with the limits on commercial matter in children's programming in their 
public files on an annual basis, rather than on a quarterly basis as is 
currently required. We agree with commenters that collecting 
documentation from programming networks to verify compliance with the 
commercial limits on a quarterly basis is burdensome for cable 
operators and DBS providers that must collect such documentation from 
dozens, if not hundreds, of programming networks. ACA states that its 
members, most of which are small cable operators, report spending 16 to 
20 hours per quarter--a total of 64 to 80 hours per year--attempting to 
collect the necessary documents. Further, we conclude that permitting 
these entities to post their records demonstrating compliance with the 
commercial limits in their public files annually rather than quarterly 
will not result in any loss of accountability or transparency. We 
reject a proposal by AT&T and NCTA that cable operators and DBS 
providers be permitted to file documentation demonstrating compliance 
with the commercial limits only in the event of a complaint. We find 
that this proposal is outside the scope of this proceeding.
    71. We also extend the deadline for broadcasters, cable operators, 
and DBS providers to post to their public files the documents 
demonstrating compliance with the commercial limits to 30 days after 
the end of the calendar year. Commenters assert that it is 
unnecessarily burdensome to collect, scan and upload hundreds of 
certifications within ten days of the close of a reporting period, as 
is currently required. We agree and find that there is no reason to 
believe that granting broadcasters, cable operators, and DBS providers 
an additional 20 days to post this documentation in their public files 
would undermine the purpose of the recordkeeping obligation. We 
decline, however, to give these entities 45 days from the end of the 
calendar year to post the documentation to their public files, as 
requested by ACA. We expect that 30 days will provide sufficient time 
for broadcasters, cable operators, and DBS providers to collect and 
post the required documentation. We also decline to adopt ACA's 
proposal to make clear that ``the Media Bureau will not adopt an 
official Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture against any small 
or medium-sized cable operator for violating the children's programming 
recordkeeping requirement if that operator can demonstrate in response 
to a Bureau inquiry that it made a good faith effort to collect and 
post to [its] online file all necessary programmer certificates and 
program lists by the Commission's deadline.'' ACA's proposal is outside 
of the scope of this proceeding. Nevertheless, we note that any good 
faith efforts to comply with this requirement would be taken into 
account as a mitigating factor in a forfeiture proceeding.
    72. Finally, we also reject requests by commenters for revision of 
the website display rules, which permit the display of website 
addresses during programs directed to children ages 12 and under only 
if the website meets certain criteria. These requests raise issues that 
are beyond the scope of this proceeding.

H. Effective Date of Revised Children's Programming Rules

    73. The revised children's programming rules we adopt in this 
proceeding will become effective 30 days after publication in the 
Federal Register. The Commission will publish a document in the Federal 
Register announcing the effective date for those requirements involving 
Paperwork Reduction Act issues that are awaiting OMB approval. If a 
broadcast station chooses to switch from the current safe harbor 
processing guideline of three-hours per week (as averaged over a six-
month period) to one of the new annual processing guidelines for the 
remainder of 2019 after the effective date of the

[[Page 41931]]

new guidelines, we will apply the current and new processing guidelines 
on a pro-rated basis to the periods before and after the effective date 
in determining whether the station satisfied the processing guidelines 
for 2019. We direct the Media Bureau to issue a public notice before 
the effective date of the new processing guidelines detailing how the 
pro-rated guidelines will apply.
    74. In addition, we note that the current eight-year license terms 
for broadcast television stations will start to expire in 2020. In this 
renewal cycle (i.e., for renewal applications filed between June 1, 
2020 and December 1, 2023), license renewals will cover licensee 
performance that both pre-dates and post-dates the effective date of 
the revised children's programming rules. Licensee performance during 
the period of the license term that pre-dates the effective date of the 
revised rules will be evaluated under the standards existing at that 
time and licensee performance that post-dates the effective date of the 
revised rules will be evaluated in accordance with the provisions as 
revised herein.

IV. Procedural Matters

A. Final Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis

    1. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as 
amended (RFA), the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) was 
incorporated into the NPRM released in July 2018 in this proceeding. 
The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) sought written 
public comment on the proposals in the NPRM, including comment on the 
IRFA. The Commission received no comments on the IRFA. This Final 
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) conforms to the RFA.

B. Need for, and Objectives of, the Report and Order

    2. The Report and Order modernizes the children's television 
programming rules to relieve unnecessary burdens on broadcasters, allow 
broadcasters to offer more diverse and innovative educational 
programming, and provide broadcasters greater flexibility in serving 
the educational and informational needs of children. The Report and 
Order revises the Core Programming requirements to expand the time 
frame during which Core Programming must be aired to 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 
p.m.; require that a majority of Core Programming be regularly 
scheduled weekly programming, but permit broadcast stations to air a 
limited amount of programming that is not regularly scheduled on a 
weekly basis, including educational specials and regularly scheduled 
non-weekly programming, and have it count as Core Programming; and 
require that a majority of Core Programming be at least 30 minutes in 
length, but permit broadcast stations to air a limited amount of short-
form programming, including public service announcements and 
interstitials, and have it count as Core Programming.
    3. In addition, the Report and Order modifies the safe harbor 
processing guidelines for determining compliance with the children's 
programming rules. Under Category A of the revised guidelines, Media 
Bureau staff will be authorized to approve the children's programming 
portion of a broadcaster's license renewal application if the broadcast 
station airs either (i) three hours per week (as averaged over a six-
month period) of Core Programming, or (ii) 156 hours of Core 
Programming annually, including a minimum of 26 hours per quarter of 
regularly scheduled weekly programming and up to 52 hours of Core 
Programs that are not regularly scheduled weekly programs. Under 
Category B, Media Bureau staff will be authorized to approve the 
children's programming portion of a broadcaster's license renewal 
application if the broadcast station airs 156 hours of Core Programming 
annually, including a minimum of 26 hours per quarter of regularly 
scheduled weekly programming. The remaining hours of Core Programs (up 
to 52 hours) may consist educational specials, other non-regularly 
scheduled programming, and regularly scheduled non-weekly programming, 
as well as short-form programming, including public service 
announcements and interstitials. The difference between Category A and 
Category B is that innovative short-form programming is permitted under 
Category B. Under both Category A and Category B, broadcast stations 
that multicast will be permitted to air up to 13 hours per quarter of 
regularly scheduled weekly programming on a multicast stream. The 
remainder of a broadcast station's Core Programming must be aired on 
the station's primary stream. The Report and Order eliminates the 
additional processing guideline applicable to stations that multicast 
and the MVPD comparable carriage requirement.
    4. The Report and Order also modifies the Commission's policies 
addressing when a station can count preempted Core Programming toward 
meeting the processing guidelines. The Report and Order eliminates the 
``second home'' policy, under which a station that preempts an episode 
of a Core Program for any reason other than breaking news is required 
to air the rescheduled program in a previously-selected substitute time 
slot or ``second home'' and provide an on-air notification of the 
schedule change in order for the rescheduled program to count toward 
compliance with the processing guidelines. Instead, a station that 
preempts an episode of a regularly schedule weekly program on its 
primary stream will be permitted to air the rescheduled episode on its 
primary stream at any time during Core Programming hours (6:00 a.m. to 
10:00 p.m.) within seven days before or seven days after the date the 
episode was originally scheduled to air, provided that the station 
makes an on-air notification of the schedule change. Similarly, a 
station that preempts an episode of a regularly schedule weekly program 
on its multicast stream will be permitted to air the rescheduled 
episode on the same multicast stream at any time during Core 
Programming hours within seven days before or seven days after the date 
the episode was originally scheduled to air, provided that the station 
makes an on-air notification of the schedule change. Additionally, the 
Report and Order expands the breaking news exemption to the requirement 
that preempted Core Programs be rescheduled to permit a broadcast 
station to preempt an episode of a regularly scheduled weekly program 
in order to air non-regularly scheduled live programming produced 
locally by the station without any requirement to reschedule the 
episode. These preemption rules will apply to both network and non-
network stations.
    5. Finally, the Report and Order revises the public information and 
reporting requirements as follows:
     Eliminates the requirement that noncommercial broadcast 
stations identify their Core Programming with the ``E/I'' symbol at the 
beginning of the program and display this symbol throughout the 
program;
     Retains the requirement that broadcasters provide 
information identifying programming specifically designed to educate 
and inform children to publishers of program guides but eliminates the 
requirement that broadcasters provide program guide publishers an 
indication of the intended age group of their educational and 
informational programming;
     Modifies the children's programming reporting requirements 
by requiring Children's Television Programming Reports (FCC Form 2100 
Schedule H) to be filed annually rather

[[Page 41932]]

than quarterly; requiring the filing of the Reports within 30 days 
after the end of the calendar year; eliminating the requirements that 
the Reports include information describing the educational and 
informational purpose of each Core Program aired during the current 
reporting period and each Core Program that the licensee expects to 
aired during the next reporting period; eliminating the requirement to 
identify the program guide publishers who were sent information 
regarding the licensee's Core Programs; eliminating the requirement to 
publicize Form 2100 Schedule H; and otherwise streamlining and 
simplifying the Report; and
     Revises the rules to permit broadcast stations, cable 
operators, and DBS operators to file their certifications of compliance 
with the commercial limits in children's programming annually rather 
than quarterly and to permit the filing of these certifications within 
30 days after the end of the calendar year.

C. Summary of Significant Issues Raised in Response to the IRFA

    6. No comments were filed in response to the IRFA.

D. Response to Comments by the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 
Business Administration

    7. Pursuant to the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, the Commission 
is required to respond to any comments filed by the Chief Counsel for 
Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA), and to provide a 
detailed statement of any change made to the proposed rules as a result 
of those comments. The Chief Counsel did not file any comments in 
response to the proposed rules in this proceeding.

E. Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities To Which 
the Rules Will Apply

    8. The RFA directs agencies to provide a description of and, where 
feasible, an estimate of the number of small entities that 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. The rules proposed herein will directly affect small television 
broadcast stations. Below, we provide a description of these small 
entities, as well as an estimate of the number of such small entities, 
where feasible.
    9. Television Broadcasting. This Economic Census category 
``comprises establishments primarily engaged in broadcasting images 
together with sound.'' These establishments operate television 
broadcast studios and facilities for the programming and transmission 
of programs to the public. These establishments also produce or 
transmit visual programming to affiliated broadcast television 
stations, which in turn broadcast the programs to the public on a 
predetermined schedule. Programming may originate in their own studio, 
from an affiliated network, or from external sources. 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 
Economic Census reports that 751 firms in this category operated in 
that year. Of this number, 656 had annual receipts of $25 million or 
less. Based on this data we therefore estimate that the majority of 
commercial television broadcasters are small entities under the 
applicable SBA size standard.
    10. The Commission has estimated the number of licensed commercial 
television stations to be 1,383. Of this total, 1,257 stations 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 
January 8, 2018, and therefore these licensees qualify as small 
entities under the SBA definition. In addition, the Commission has 
estimated the number of licensed noncommercial educational (NCE) 
television stations to be 378. The Commission does not compile and 
otherwise does not have access to information on the revenue of NCE 
stations that would permit it to determine how many such stations would 
qualify as small entities.
    11. We note, however, that in assessing whether a business concern 
qualifies as ``small'' under the above definition, business (control) 
affiliations must be included. Our estimate, therefore, likely 
overstates the number of small entities that might be affected by our 
action, because the revenue figure on which it is based does not 
include or aggregate revenues from affiliated companies. In addition, 
another element of the definition of ``small business'' requires 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, the estimate of small businesses to 
which rules may apply does not exclude any television station from the 
definition of a small business on this basis and is therefore possibly 
over-inclusive. Also, as noted above, 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 its estimates of small businesses to which they apply may 
be over-inclusive to this extent.
    12. Cable Companies and Systems (Rate Regulation). 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 indicate that there are currently 4,600 active cable 
systems in the United States. Of this total, all but nine cable 
operators nationwide are small under the 400,000-subscriber 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 4,600 cable systems nationwide. Of this 
total, 3,900 cable systems have fewer than 15,000 subscribers, and 700 
systems have 15,000 or more subscribers, based on the same records. 
Thus, under this standard as well, we estimate that most cable systems 
are small entities.
    13. 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% 
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 52,403,705 cable video 
subscribers in the United States today. Accordingly, an operator 
serving fewer than 524,037 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 nine 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

[[Page 41933]]

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.
    14. Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) Service. DBS Service is a 
nationally distributed subscription service that delivers video and 
audio programming via satellite to a small parabolic dish antenna at 
the subscriber's location. DBS is now included in SBA's economic census 
category ``Wired Telecommunications Carriers.'' The Wired 
Telecommunications Carriers industry comprises establishments primarily 
engaged in operating and/or providing access to transmission facilities 
and infrastructure that they own and/or lease for the transmission of 
voice, data, text, sound, and video using wired telecommunications 
networks. Transmission facilities may be based on a single technology 
or combination of technologies. Establishments in this industry use the 
wired telecommunications network facilities that they operate to 
provide a variety of services, such as wired telephony services, 
including VoIP services, wired (cable) audio and video programming 
distribution; and wired broadband internet services. By exception, 
establishments providing satellite television distribution services 
using facilities and infrastructure that they operate are included in 
this industry. The SBA determines that a wireline business is small if 
it has fewer than 1500 employees. Census data for 2012 indicate that 
3,117 wireline companies were operational during that year. Of that 
number, 3,083 operated with fewer than 1,000 employees. Based on that 
data, we conclude that the majority of wireline firms are small under 
the applicable standard. However, currently only two entities provide 
DBS service, which requires a great deal of capital for operation: 
DIRECTV (owned by AT&T) and DISH Network. DIRECTV and DISH Network each 
report annual revenues that are in excess of the threshold for a small 
business. Accordingly, we must conclude that internally developed FCC 
data are persuasive that in general DBS service is provided only by 
large firms.

F. Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other 
Compliance Requirements for Small Entities

    15. In this section, we identify the reporting, recordkeeping, and 
other compliance requirements adopted in the Report and Order and 
consider whether small entities are affected disproportionately by any 
such requirements.
    16. Reporting Requirements. The Report and Order streamlines the 
children's television reporting requirements. The quarterly reporting 
requirement is replaced with an annual reporting requirement and 
broadcast stations will be permitted to file their Reports within 30 
days after the end of the calendar year, rather than ten days after the 
end of the reporting period, as currently required. In addition, 
broadcast stations will no longer be required to include in their 
Reports information describing the educational and informational 
purpose of each Core Program aired during the current reporting period 
and each Core Program that the licensee expects to aired during the 
next reporting period. The requirements that broadcast stations 
identify in their Reports the program guide publishers who were sent 
information regarding the licensee's Core Programs and that broadcast 
stations publicize their Reports are also eliminated. Furthermore, the 
Reports will be simplified and revised consistent with other 
modifications to the children's programming rules made in this 
proceeding.
    17. Recordkeeping Requirements. The rules are revised to permit 
broadcast stations, cable operators, and DBS operators to file their 
certifications of compliance with the commercial limits in children's 
programming on an annual rather than quarterly basis. In addition, 
broadcast stations, cable operators, and DBS operators will be 
permitted to file these certifications within 30 days after the end of 
the calendar year, rather than ten days after the end of the reporting 
period, as currently required.
    18. Other Compliance Requirements. The processing guidelines for 
determining compliance with the children's programming rules are 
revised. Under Category A of the processing guidelines, Media Bureau 
staff will be authorized to approve the children's programming portion 
of a broadcaster's license renewal application if the broadcast station 
airs either (i) three hours per week (as averaged over a six-month 
period) of Core Programming, or (ii) 156 hours of Core Programming 
annually, including a minimum of 26 hours per quarter of regularly 
scheduled weekly programming and up to 52 hours annually of Core 
Programs of at least 30 minutes in length that are not regularly 
scheduled weekly programs. Under Category B of the processing 
guidelines, Media Bureau staff will be authorized to approve the 
children's programming portion of a broadcaster's license renewal 
application if the broadcast station airs 156 hours of Core Programming 
annually, including a minimum of 26 hours per quarter of regularly 
scheduled weekly programming. The remaining hours of Core Programs (up 
to 52 hours annually) may consist of educational specials, other non-
regularly scheduled programming, and regularly scheduled non-weekly 
programming, as well as short-form programming, including public 
service announcements and interstitials. Under both Category A and 
Category B, a broadcast station that multicasts will be permitted to 
air up to 13 hours per quarter of regularly scheduled weekly 
programming on a multicast stream. The remainder of a broadcast 
station's Core Programming must be aired on the station's primary 
stream. The additional processing guideline applicable to stations that 
multicast is eliminated.
    19. The Commission's policies governing preemption of children's 
programming are revised to eliminate the ``second home'' policy. 
Instead, a station that preempts an episode of a regularly schedule 
weekly program on its primary stream will be permitted to air the 
rescheduled episode on its primary stream at any time during Core 
Programming hours within seven days before or seven days after the date 
the episode was originally scheduled to air, provided that the station 
makes an on-air notification of the schedule change. Similarly, a 
station that preempts an episode of a regularly scheduled weekly 
program on its multicast stream will be permitted to air the 
rescheduled episode on the same multicast stream at any time during 
Core Programming hours within seven days before or seven days after the 
date the episode was originally scheduled to air, provided that the 
station makes an on-air notification of the schedule change. 
Additionally, the breaking news exemption to the requirement that 
preempted Core Programs be rescheduled is expanded to permit a 
broadcast station to preempt an episode of a regularly scheduled weekly 
program in order to air non-regularly scheduled live programming 
produced locally by the station without any requirement to reschedule 
the episode. The revised preemption rules will apply to both network 
and non-network stations.
    20. The revisions to the processing guidelines and the preemption 
policies will benefit all broadcasters, particularly small entities, by 
providing them additional flexibility in scheduling their children's 
programming.

[[Page 41934]]

G. Steps Taken To Minimize Significant Economic Impact on Small 
Entities and Significant Alternatives Considered

    21. 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 and reporting requirements under the rule for such 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.''
    22. The Report and Order modernizes the children's television 
programming rules by streamlining reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, eliminating outdated and burdensome requirements, and 
providing broadcasters greater flexibility in scheduling their 
children's programming. The revised rules are expected to benefit 
affected entities, including small entities.
    23. The changes in our reporting requirements will benefit all 
broadcast stations, including small entities, by relieving unnecessary 
reporting burdens and reducing costs. For example, one broadcaster 
noted that staff at two of its small market stations spend up to six or 
seven hours per quarter completing the Reports. Replacing the quarterly 
reporting requirement with an annual reporting requirement and 
streamlining the reporting form is expected to significantly reduce the 
time and resources needed to complete and file the Report.
    24. The changes in our Recordkeeping Requirements will reduce 
recordkeeping burdens and costs on all affected entities, including 
small entities. For example, the American Cable Association, which 
represents hundreds of small cable operators, indicates that its 
members report spending 16 to 20 hours per quarter (a total of 64 to 80 
hours per year) attempting to collect the required certifications of 
compliance from their programming networks. Replacing the quarterly 
requirement with an annual requirement will substantially ease the 
recordkeeping burden on these small entities.

H. Report to Congress

    25. The Commission will send a copy of the Report and Order, 
including this FRFA, in a report to be sent to Congress pursuant to the 
Congressional Review Act. In addition, the Commission will send a copy 
of the Report and Order, including this FRFA, to the Chief Counsel for 
Advocacy of the SBA. The Report and Order and FRFA (or summaries 
thereof) will also be published in the Federal Register.

A. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis

    26. This Report and Order contains either new or modified 
information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (PRA). It will be submitted to the OMB for review under 
section 3507(d) of the PRA. The 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.

B. Additional Information

    27. For additional information on this proceeding, contact Kathy 
Berthot, [email protected], of the Media Bureau, Policy Division, 
(202) 418-2120.

V. Ordering Clauses

    28. Accordingly, it is ordered, pursuant to the authority contained 
in sections 303, 303b, 307, 335, and 336 of the Communications Act of 
1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 303, 303b, 307, 335, and 336, that this 
Report and Order is adopted.
    29. It is further ordered that the Commission's rules are hereby 
amended as set forth in Final Rules and such rule amendments shall be 
effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. The 
Commission will publish a document in the Federal Register announcing 
the effective dates for the amendments to Sec. Sec.  73.671(c)(5) and 
(7) and (e)(1) and (2), 73.673, and 73.3526(e)(11)(ii) and (iii), which 
contain new or modified information collection requirements that 
require approval by the OMB under the Paperwork Reduction Act.
    30. It is further ordered that the Media Bureau is hereby directed 
to make all necessary changes to FCC Form 2100, Schedule H, to 
implement the changes adopted in the Report and Order.
    31. It is further ordered that the Commission's Consumer and 
Governmental Affairs Bureau, Reference Information Center, shall send a 
copy of this Report and Order including the Regulatory Flexibility 
Analysis, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business 
Administration.

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 73

    Cable television, Education, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Satellites, Television.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary.

Final Rules

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 73 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, 155, 301, 303, 307, 309, 310, 334, 
336, 339.


0
2. Effective September 16, 2019, amend Sec.  73.671 by revising 
paragraphs (c)(1) through (4) and (6), adding paragraph (d), and 
revising paragraph (e) to read as follows:


Sec.  73.671   Educational and informational programming for children.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (1) It has serving the educational and informational needs of 
children ages 16 and under as a significant purpose;
    (2) It is aired between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.;
    (3) It is a regularly scheduled weekly program, except that a 
licensee may air a limited amount of programming that is not regularly 
scheduled on a weekly basis, including educational specials and 
regularly scheduled non-weekly programming, and have that programming 
count as Core Programming, as described in paragraph (d) of this 
section;
    (4) It is at least 30 minutes in length, except that a licensee may 
air a limited amount of short-form programming, including public 
service announcements and interstitials, and have that programming 
count as Core Programming, as described in paragraph (d) of this 
section;
* * * * *
    (6) The target child audience is specified in writing in the 
licensee's Children's Television Programming Report, as described in 
Sec.  73.3526(e)(11)(iii); and
* * * * *
    (d) The Commission will apply the processing guideline in this 
paragraph (d) to digital stations in assessing whether a television 
broadcast licensee has complied with the Children's Television Act of 
1990 (``CTA'') on its digital channel(s). A digital television

[[Page 41935]]

licensee will be deemed to have satisfied its obligation to air such 
programming and shall have the CTA portion of its license renewal 
application approved by the Commission staff if it has aired: At least 
three hours per week of Core Programming (as defined in paragraph (c) 
of this section and as averaged over a six-month period), or a total of 
156 hours of Core Programming annually, including at least 26 hours per 
quarter of regularly scheduled weekly programming and up to 52 hours 
annually of Core Programming of at least 30 minutes in length that is 
not regularly scheduled weekly programming, such as educational 
specials and regularly scheduled non-weekly programming. A licensee 
will also been deemed to have satisfied the obligation in this 
paragraph (d) and be eligible for such staff approval if it has aired a 
total of 156 hours of Core Programming annually, including at least 26 
hours per quarter of regularly scheduled weekly programming and up to 
52 hours of Core Programming that is not regularly scheduled on a 
weekly basis, such as educational specials and regularly scheduled non-
weekly programming, and short-form programs of less than 30 minutes in 
length, including public service announcements and interstitials. 
Licensees that multicast are permitted to air up to 13 hours per 
quarter of regularly scheduled weekly programming on a multicast 
stream. The remainder of a station's Core Programming must be aired on 
the station's primary stream. Licensees that do not meet the processing 
guidelines in this paragraph (d) will be referred to the Commission, 
where they will have full opportunity to demonstrate compliance with 
the CTA by relying in part on sponsorship of Core educational/
informational programs on other stations in the market that increases 
the amount of Core educational and informational programming on the 
station airing the sponsored program and/or on special non-broadcast 
efforts which enhance the value of children's educational and 
informational television programming.
    (e) A station that preempts an episode of a regularly scheduled 
weekly Core Program will be permitted to count the episode toward the 
processing guidelines set forth in paragraph (d) of this section as 
follows:
    (1)-(2) [Reserved]
    (3) A station that preempts an episode of a regularly scheduled 
weekly Core Program to air non-regularly scheduled live programming 
produced locally by the station will not be required to reschedule the 
episode.
* * * * *

0
3. Effective upon publication of a rule document in the Federal 
Register announcing the effective date, amend Sec.  73.671 by revising 
paragraphs (c)(5) and (7) and adding paragraphs (e)(1) and (2) to read 
as follows:


Sec.  73.671   Educational and informational programming for children.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (5) For commercial broadcast stations only, the program is 
identified as specifically designed to educate and inform children by 
the display on the television screen throughout the program of the 
symbol E/I;
* * * * *
    (7) Instructions for listing the program as educational/
informational are provided by the licensee to publishers of program 
guides, as described in Sec.  73.673.
* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (1) A station that preempts an episode of a regularly scheduled 
weekly Core Program on its primary stream will be permitted to air the 
rescheduled episode on its primary stream at any time during Core 
Programming hours within seven days before or seven days after the date 
the episode was originally scheduled to air. The broadcast station must 
make an on-air notification of the schedule change during the same time 
slot as the preempted episode. If a station intends to air the 
rescheduled episode within the seven days before the date the episode 
was originally scheduled to air, the station must make the on-air 
notification during the same timeslot as the preceding week's episode 
of that program. If the station intends to air the rescheduled episode 
within the seven days after the date the preempted episode was 
originally scheduled to air, the station must make the on-air 
notification during the timeslot when the preempted episode was 
originally scheduled to air. The on-air notification must include the 
alternate date and time when the program will air.
    (2) A station that preempts an episode of a regularly scheduled 
weekly Core Program on a multicast stream will be permitted to air the 
rescheduled episode on that same multicast stream at any time during 
Core Programming hours within seven days before or seven days after the 
date the episode was originally scheduled to air. The broadcast station 
must make an on-air notification of the schedule change during the same 
time slot as the preempted episode. If a station intends to air the 
rescheduled episode within the seven days before the date the episode 
was originally scheduled to air, the station must make the on-air 
notification during the same timeslot as the preceding week's episode 
of that program. If the station intends to air the rescheduled episode 
within the seven days after the date the preempted episode was 
originally scheduled to air, the station must make the on-air 
notification during the timeslot when the preempted episode was 
originally scheduled to air. The on-air notification must include the 
alternate date and time when the program will air.
* * * * *


Sec.  73.673  [Amended]

0
4. Effective upon publication of a rule document in the Federal 
Register announcing the effective date, amend Sec.  73.673 by removing 
the second sentence.

0
5. Effective upon publication of a rule document in the Federal 
Register announcing the effective date, amend Sec.  73.3526 by revising 
paragraphs (e)(11)(ii) and (iii) to read as follows:


Sec.  73.3526   Local public inspection file of commercial stations.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *
    (11) * * *
    (ii) Records concerning commercial limits. For commercial TV and 
Class A TV broadcast stations, records sufficient to permit 
substantiation of the station's certification, in its license renewal 
application, of compliance with the commercial limits on children's 
programming established in 47 U.S.C. 303a and Sec.  73.670. The records 
for each calendar year must be filed by the thirtieth day of the 
succeeding calendar year. These records shall be retained until final 
action has been taken on the station's next license renewal 
application.
    (iii) Children's television programming reports. For commercial TV 
broadcast stations on an annual basis, a completed Children's 
Television Programming Report (``Report''), on FCC Form 2100 Schedule 
H, reflecting efforts made by the licensee during the preceding year to 
serve the educational and informational needs of children. The Report 
is to be electronically filed with the Commission by the thirtieth (30) 
day of the succeeding calendar year. A copy of the Report will also be 
linked to the station's online public inspection file by the FCC. The 
Report shall identify the licensee's educational and informational 
programming efforts, including programs aired by the station

[[Page 41936]]

that are specifically designed to serve the educational and 
informational needs of children. The Report shall include the name of 
the individual at the station responsible for collecting comments on 
the station's compliance with the Children's Television Act, and it 
shall be separated from other materials in the public inspection file. 
These Reports shall be retained in the public inspection file until 
final action has been taken on the station's next license renewal 
application.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2019-16007 Filed 8-15-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P