In the Matter of Electronic Delivery of MVPD Communications; Modernization of Media Regulation Initiative, 22646-22652 [2020-07759]

Agencies

• FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 79 (Thursday, April 23, 2020)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 22646-22652]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07759]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Part 76

[MB Docket Nos. 17-317 and 17-105; FCC 20-14; FRS 16589]


In the Matter of Electronic Delivery of MVPD Communications; 
Modernization of Media Regulation Initiative

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: In this final rule document, we adopt proposals to modernize 
the Commission's carriage election notice rules with respect to certain 
television broadcast stations and open video systems (OVS) operators. 
First, we conclude that low power television stations (LPTVs) that 
qualify for mandatory carriage (qualified LPTVs) must send notices to 
affected multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) by email 
when changing their carriage election status in the same manner as full 
power television broadcast stations. However, unlike the requirement 
for full power television broadcast stations, qualified LPTVs and 
noncommercial educational (NCE) television translator stations that 
qualify for must carry (qualified NCE translators) will not be required 
to make their carriage election statements available for public 
inspection. Second, we find that MVPDs with carriage-related questions 
should be able to rely on the contact information provided by qualified 
LPTV and qualified NCE translator stations in the Commission's 
Licensing and Management System

[[Page 22647]]

(LMS) database. If an MVPD contacts the phone number or email address 
provided by the station regarding a concern about carriage, those 
concerns must be addressed as soon as is reasonably possible. Third, we 
conclude that, in the same manner as cable operators, OVS operators 
must post contact information for questions regarding carriage election 
to the Cable Operations and Licensing System (COALS) database, accept 
email election change notices, and timely respond to carriage-related 
questions. Through this Order, we continue our efforts to modernize our 
rules.

DATES: Effective May 26, 2020, except for amendatory instruction 2.b. 
(Sec.  76.64(h)(5)) which shall become effective after the Commission 
publishes a document in the Federal Register announcing the relevant 
effective date.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kim Matthews, Media Bureau, Policy 
Division, 202-418-2154, or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Report 
and Order, FCC 20-14, adopted on February 25, 2020 and released on 
February 25, 2020. The full text of this document is available for 
public inspection and copying during regular business hours in the FCC 
Reference Center, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street 
SW, Room CY-A257, Washington, DC 20554. This document will also be 
available via ECFS at https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/. Documents will be 
available electronically in ASCII, Microsoft Word, and/or Adobe 
Acrobat. Alternative formats are available for people with disabilities 
(Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), by sending an 
email to [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 Report and Order contains new or modified information 
collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA), Public Law 104-13. The requirements will be submitted to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review under section 3507(d) 
of the PRA. OMB, the general public, and other Federal agencies will be 
invited to comment on the new or modified information collection 
requirements contained in this proceeding. In addition, we note that 
pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 
107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), we previously sought specific 
comment on how the Commission might further reduce the information 
collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 
employees.

Summary of Report and Order

    1. Under the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act), full 
power television broadcast stations, and certain low power stations and 
translator stations, are entitled to mandatory carriage of their signal 
(also known as ``must carry'') on any cable system located within their 
local market. Alternatively, commercial television broadcast stations 
with carriage rights may elect ``retransmission consent.'' If the 
broadcaster and MVPD cannot reach an agreement under which the 
broadcaster gives consent for retransmission of its signal, the MVPD is 
prohibited from carrying that signal. Thus, commercial stations are 
presented with a carriage choice--elect mandatory carriage and forego 
compensation while assuring carriage, or elect retransmission consent 
and forego assured carriage while retaining the possibility of 
compensation for carriage. NCE stations are entitled to must carry but 
cannot elect retransmission consent.
    2. As discussed more fully in the 2019 Report and Order in this 
proceeding, 84 FR 45659 (Aug. 30, 2019), when the Commission 
implemented the statutory provisions establishing the must carry/
retransmission consent regime, it adopted a requirement that each 
commercial television broadcast station provide notice to every cable 
operator every three years electing either mandatory carriage or 
retransmission consent. Prior to the adoption of the 2019 Report and 
Order, the rules directed each commercial television broadcast station 
to send a triennial carriage election notice, via certified mail, to 
each cable system or DBS provider serving its market, and directed each 
NCE station to send such notices to DBS providers. The notice must 
state whether the station has elected mandatory carriage or 
retransmission consent. In addition, the rules generally also require 
stations to place triennial carriage election statements in their 
online public inspection files, to the extent they maintain such files.
    3. The 2019 Report and Order generally adopted an approach for 
modernizing the carriage election notice process that was jointly 
recommended by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and 
NCTA--the internet and Television Association (NCTA). The Commission's 
revised carriage election rules adopted therein apply to all television 
broadcast stations with mandatory carriage rights and to all MVPDs 
responsible for that carriage, except for the relatively few entities 
that participate in the must carry regime but do not use the online 
public file or COALS (the Excluded Entities). Under the new carriage 
election framework, broadcast stations are required to make their 
carriage elections by uploading those elections to their online public 
files and by providing a separate electronic notice of those elections 
to relevant MVPDs only when and if they change their election from the 
previous election period. Thus, only a limited number of notices will 
need to be sent to MVPDs and these will be sent via email instead of 
via paper mail. In addition, the 2019 Report and Order requires 
broadcast stations and DBS providers to upload to their online public 
files both an email address and a phone number for purposes of 
carriage-related inquiries and requires cable operators to upload the 
same information in COALS.
    4. The rules adopted in the 2019 Report and Order require use of 
the Commission's online public inspection file and/or COALS. In the 
further notice of proposed rulemaking (FNPRM), 84 FR 45703 (Aug. 30, 
2019) (2019 FNPRM), accompanying the 2019 Report and Order, we sought 
comment on whether and how the modernized framework adopted in the 2019 
Report and Order should extend to the Excluded Entities, which are 
subject to the must carry regime and do not use these Commission 
databases. Among other things, the Commission asked whether we should 
require the Excluded Entities to establish and maintain a very narrow 
public file solely for carriage-related information or require them to 
post any required information on a company website. We also sought 
comment on whether we should, alternatively, simply maintain the status 
quo with respect to the small number of Excluded Entities.
    5. The Commission received only three comments in response to the 
2019 FNPRM. All agree that the Excluded Entities should be transitioned 
to modernized carriage election rules and that any information these 
entities are required to provide should be posted on a Commission 
website or Commission-hosted database. All commenters support placing 
carriage election information in a centralized, Commission-established 
location rather than on company websites. NCTA contends that many non-
Class A LPTV stations and qualified NCE translator

[[Page 22648]]

stations do not maintain company websites, and a centralized repository 
would make it easier for MVPDs to locate carriage information for these 
entities. All commenters also agree that the Excluded Entities should 
make public contact information for use for carriage-related 
communications, and ACA Connects and NCTA also argue that the Excluded 
Entities should provide any required election statements or notices to 
the Commission to be made available on a Commission website or 
database.
    6. We adopt a carriage election notification approach for the 
Excluded Entities that is supported by the record in this proceeding 
and that is, to the greatest extent possible, consistent with that 
adopted in the 2019 Report and Order, while recognizing the specific 
circumstances of these smaller entities. Specifically, we will require 
qualified LPTV stations to use the same process as full power 
television stations to notify MVPDs of any change in carriage election 
status. Rather than imposing a new public file obligation on qualified 
LPTV and qualified NCE translator stations, however, we require that 
they send a single ``baseline'' notice via email to MVPDs on which they 
will be seeking or expecting carriage in the 2021-2023 carriage cycle, 
even if they are making no change in their election status. We disagree 
with NCTA's and ACA Connects' contention that we should require the 
Excluded Entities to post election statements online each cycle in 
addition to sending election notices by email to MVPDs in the event of 
an election change. Qualified LPTV and qualified NCE translator 
stations are not currently required to make their election notices 
available to the public. We believe that the better approach is to 
maintain the status quo rather than impose a new public posting 
obligation that would increase burdens on these entities. Specifically, 
we believe that the creation of the proposed new database would impose 
unnecessary costs and inject unnecessary complexity into the election 
notice process.
    7. In addition, we find that MVPDs with carriage-related questions 
must be able to rely on the contact information provided by these 
stations in LMS. We also require both qualified LPTV and qualified NCE 
translator stations to respond as soon as is reasonably possible to 
such questions. With respect to OVS, we require that they accept 
emailed election change notices, post contact information in COALS, and 
respond as soon as is reasonably possible to carriage election 
notifications and carriage-related questions, all in exactly the same 
manner as cable systems.
    8. We agree with NCTA that the carriage election framework adopted 
in the 2019 Report and Order ``greatly reduces administrative burdens'' 
for stations and MVPDs by, among other changes, only requiring email 
notice of changed elections and eliminating redundant election 
notifications and carriage requests. As we stated in the 2019 Report 
and Order, our goal is to have a unified approach for carriage election 
notices, to the extent possible, to best serve the public interest and 
enhance administrative efficiency. Therefore, today we extend the 
benefits of the new carriage election framework to the Excluded 
Entities as well.
    9. Consistent with our approach to commercial television broadcast 
stations, we require a qualified LPTV station that changes its carriage 
election to send an election change notice to each affected MVPD's 
carriage election-specific email address by the carriage election 
deadline. Such change notices must include, with respect to each 
station covered by the notice: The station's call sign, the station's 
community of license, the DMA where the station is located, the 
specific change being made in election status, and an email address and 
phone number for carriage-related questions. Consistent with our 
approach with respect to commercial full power broadcast stations, LPTV 
notices to cable operators need to identify specific cable systems for 
which a carriage election applies only if the broadcaster changes its 
election for some systems of the cable operator but not all. In 
addition, the broadcaster must carbon copy [email protected], the 
Commission's election notice verification email inbox, when sending its 
carriage elections to MVPDs. As noted in the 2019 Report and Order, 
this election notice verification email inbox will provide a 
verification response to assure broadcasters that the email has been 
received.
    10. As with commercial full power broadcast stations, if an LPTV 
station does not receive a response verifying receipt of its change 
notice by the MVPD, or gets an indication that the message was not 
delivered, it must contact the MVPD via the provided phone number to 
confirm that the notice was received or arrange for it to be 
redelivered. If the email is timely and properly sent to the MVPD's 
listed address, but the broadcast station receives no verification and 
is unable to reach anyone at the provided phone number, the notice 
still will be considered to have been properly delivered if it was 
properly copied to the Commission's election verification notice email 
inbox.
    11. Unlike commercial full power broadcast stations, qualified LPTV 
stations need not maintain a publicly accessible copy of their carriage 
election notices or statements. As noted above, LPTV stations are not 
currently required to maintain a public file with copies of their 
carriage election notices, and we decline to impose a new obligation in 
that regard in this proceeding. Rather than imposing a new public file 
requirement, however, we require all qualified LPTV stations, whether 
being carried pursuant to must carry or retransmission consent, to send 
an email notice to all MVPDs that are or will be carrying the station 
no later than the next carriage election deadline of October 1, 2020. 
Qualified LPTVs must do so even if they are not changing their carriage 
status from the current election cycle. This one-time notification 
requirement for all qualified LPTV stations will give MVPDs baseline 
information regarding qualified LPTV stations without imposing a new 
obligation on qualified LPTVs to make their election status publicly 
available. In addition, requiring a one-time filing of ``baseline 
information'' does not impose any greater burden on LPTV or NCE 
translator stations given that, under the current rules, such entities 
would be required to file a paper copy of their election notification 
with each affected MVPD.
    12. As noted above, qualified NCE stations may only request 
mandatory carriage and are not permitted to ``elect'' retransmission 
consent on any MVPD. Once an NCE station requests mandatory carriage 
from an MVPD, the carriage request continues, absent a change in 
circumstances. We therefore do not require qualified NCE translator 
stations to send election change notifications. In addition, similar to 
our approach herein with respect to qualified LPTV stations, rather 
than impose new public file obligations on qualified NCE translator 
stations, we require qualified NCE translator stations to provide email 
notice to all MVPDs that are or will be carrying the translator no 
later than the next carriage election deadline of October 1, 2020. As 
with qualified LPTV stations, this one-time notification requirement 
for all qualified NCE translators will give MVPDs baseline information 
regarding these entities without imposing a new obligation on them to 
make their election status publicly available.
    13. Each licensed broadcast station, including LPTV and translator 
stations, has a publicly-accessible entry in LMS

[[Page 22649]]

with a field for contact information which can be updated easily. 
Therefore, in the absence of public file requirements for qualified 
LPTV and NCE translator stations, we find that MVPDs with carriage-
related concerns must be able to rely upon the contact information that 
the LPTV or NCE translator station provides in LMS. As all licensed 
stations already have accounts in LMS, we conclude that it is more 
efficient and less burdensome to simply require that qualified LPTV and 
NCE translator stations maintain current contact information in LMS so 
that MVPDs can contact the station regarding carriage-related questions 
as necessary. We require qualified LPTV stations and encourage 
qualified NCE translator stations to review and, if necessary, provide 
contact information or update the existing contact information in LMS 
no later than July 31, 2020, approximately 60 days prior to the 2020 
carriage election deadline, and to ensure that this information remains 
current thereafter. We will not establish a separate field in LMS for 
carriage-specific contact information for qualified LPTV and NCE 
translator stations, but require that these stations ensure that the 
general contact information in LMS can be used by MVPDs as a point of 
contact for carriage-related questions. If a station has designated a 
third party as contact representative or designates multiple types of 
contact representatives in LMS, questions should be directed to the 
licensee's email address rather than a contact representative's email 
address (if different from the licensee's email address). Qualified 
LPTV and NCE translator stations must ensure that, if an MVPD contacts 
the station via the licensee's phone or email address contained in LMS, 
that this carriage-related concern is addressed as soon as is 
reasonably possible.
    14. In the 2019 FNPRM, we sought comment on applying the revised 
carriage election framework to MVPDs that do not use COALS or OPIF, 
identifying OVS specifically. OVS providers, however, are in fact 
required to establish and maintain an up-to-date COALS account in the 
same manner as cable operators. We therefore impose requirements on OVS 
operators that are identical to those in the 2019 Report and Order for 
cable operators. OVS operators must provide, via COALS, a specific 
carriage election email address where broadcasters will send election 
change notices and a phone number for broadcasters to use in the event 
of questions as to whether the OVS operator received the station's 
election notice. OVS operators must post carriage contact information 
to COALS by July 31, 2020, and maintain up-to-date contact information 
at all times thereafter. Each OVS operator must have a single email 
address and phone number for carriage issues, regardless of the number 
of markets served. Finally, like other entities subject to the must 
carry regime, OVS operators are required to respond as soon as is 
reasonably possible to carriage questions from broadcasters.
    15. Again like cable operators, OVS operators must verify receipt 
of an emailed election change notice, via email sent back to the 
originating address, as soon as is reasonably possible. As we concluded 
in the 2019 Report and Order, this email response will serve only as 
verification that the notice email was received; it will not constitute 
a statement that the broadcaster has fully satisfied its notice 
obligation. Although we anticipate that these verification emails will 
be generated automatically in most cases, we require only that they be 
sent as soon as is reasonably possible. A timely and correct notice of 
a change in election that is sent to the email address provided by the 
OVS operator, carbon copied to [email protected], and placed in 
the station's public file (if the station has a public file obligation) 
must be honored by the MVPD.
    16. We find that requiring OVS operators to use their existing 
COALS accounts is the most efficient and least burdensome way for OVS 
operators to publicize their contact information for this purpose. 
Maintaining contact information for carriage-related questions for all 
OVS operators in the COALS database will also assist broadcasters and 
others who need information regarding all MVPDs operating in a given 
geographic area for carriage purposes. We also note that Sec.  
76.1506(l) of our rules provides that the requirements in Sec.  76.64 
regarding the delivery of must carry/retransmission consent election 
notifications apply to OVS operators. The 2019 Report and Order revised 
Sec.  76.64 of our rules to require cable operators to provide an up-
to-date email address for carriage election notice submissions no later 
than July 31, 2020, to ensure that the information remains up-to-date, 
and to respond to questions from broadcasters as soon as is reasonably 
possible. We conclude that these existing requirements also apply to 
OVS operators.
    17. Similar to our approach in the 2019 Report and Order, we apply 
these revised notification requirements to LPTV and NCE translator 
stations and OVS operators beginning with the 2020 election for the 
2021-2023 carriage election cycle. Therefore, qualified LPTV 
broadcasters must email required notifications to MVPDs by October 1, 
2020. Qualified LPTV and NCE translator stations must also ensure that 
the contact information for the station in LMS is accurate no later 
than July 31, 2020, and OVS operators must ensure that their carriage-
related contact information in COALS is up to date by the same 
deadline.

Procedural Matters

A. Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    18. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA), an 
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Certification was incorporated into the 
2019 FNPRM. The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) sought 
written public comment on the proposals in the 2019 FNPRM including 
comment on the IRFA. We received no comments specifically directed 
toward the IRFA. This Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (FRFA) 
conforms to the RFA.
1. Need for, and Objectives of, the Report and Order
    19. In this Report and Order, we adopt proposals to modernize the 
Commission's carriage election notice rules with respect to certain 
television broadcast stations and open video system (OVS) operators to 
enhance administrative efficiency. In so doing, we adopt requirements 
largely consistent with those recently adopted for full power 
television broadcast stations. First, we conclude that low power 
television stations (LPTVs) that qualify for mandatory carriage 
(qualified LPTVs) must send notices to affected multichannel video 
programming distributors (MVPDs) by email when changing their carriage 
election status, in the same manner as full power television broadcast 
stations. However, unlike the requirement for full power television 
broadcast stations, qualified LPTVs and noncommercial educational (NCE) 
television translator stations that qualify for must carry (qualified 
NCE translators) will not be required to make their carriage election 
statements available for public inspection. Second, we find that MVPDs 
with carriage-related questions should be able to rely on the contact 
information provided by qualified LPTV and qualified NCE translator 
stations in the Commission's Licensing and Management System (LMS) 
database. If an MVPD contacts the phone number or email address 
provided by the station regarding a concern about carriage, those 
concerns

[[Page 22650]]

must be addressed as soon as is reasonably possible. Third, we conclude 
that, in the same manner as cable operators, OVS operators must post 
contact information for questions regarding carriage election to the 
Cable Operations and Licensing System (COALS) database, accept email 
election change notices, and timely respond to carriage-related 
questions. Through this Order, we continue our efforts to modernize our 
rules.
2. Summary of Significant Issues Raised by Public Comments in Response 
to the IRFA
    20. No comments were filed in response to the IRFA.
3. Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities To Which 
the Proposed Rules Will Apply
    21. The RFA directs agencies to provide a description of, and where 
feasible, an estimate of the number of small entities that may be 
affected by the proposed rules, if adopted. The RFA generally defines 
the term ``small entity'' as having the same meaning as the terms 
``small business,'' ``small organization,'' and ``small governmental 
jurisdiction.'' In addition, the term ``small business'' has the same 
meaning as the term ``small business concern'' under the Small Business 
Act. A small business concern is one which: (1) Is independently owned 
and operated; (2) is not dominant in its field of operation; and (3) 
satisfies any additional criteria established by the SBA. Below, we 
provide a description of such small entities, as well as an estimate of 
the number of such small entities, where feasible.
    22. Open Video Services. Open Video Service (OVS) systems provide 
subscription services. The open video system framework was established 
in 1996, and is one of four statutorily recognized options for the 
provision of video programming services by local exchange carriers. The 
OVS framework provides opportunities for the distribution of video 
programming other than through cable systems. Because OVS operators 
provide subscription services, OVS falls within the SBA small business 
size standard covering cable services, which is ``Wired 
Telecommunications Carriers.'' The SBA has developed a small business 
size standard for this category, which is: All such firms having 1,500 
or fewer employees. To gauge small business prevalence for the OVS 
service, the Commission relies on data currently available from the 
U.S. Census for the year 2012. According to that source, there were 
3,117 firms that in 2012 were Wired Telecommunications Carriers. Of 
these, 3,059 operated with less than 1,000 employees. Based on this 
data, the majority of these firms can be considered small. In addition, 
we note that the Commission has certified some OVS operators, with some 
now providing service. Broadband service providers (``BSPs'') are 
currently the only significant holders of OVS certifications or local 
OVS franchises. The Commission does not have financial or employment 
information regarding the entities authorized to provide OVS, some of 
which may not yet be operational. Thus, at least some of the OVS 
operators may qualify as small entities. The Commission further notes 
that it has certified approximately 45 OVS operators to serve 116 
areas, and some of these are currently providing service. Affiliates of 
Residential Communications Network, Inc. (RCN) received approval to 
operate OVS systems in New York City, Boston, Washington, DC, and other 
areas. RCN has sufficient revenues to assure that they do not qualify 
as a small business entity. Little financial information is available 
for the other entities that are authorized to provide OVS and are not 
yet operational. Given that some entities authorized to provide OVS 
service have not yet begun to generate revenues, the Commission 
concludes that up to 44 OVS operators (those remaining) might qualify 
as small businesses that may be affected by the rules and policies 
adopted herein.
    23. 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, 25 had annual receipts between $25 million and $49,999,999, and 
70 had annual receipts of $50 million or more. Based on this data we 
therefore estimate that the majority of commercial television 
broadcasters are small entities under the applicable SBA size standard.
    24. The Commission estimates that there are 1,900 LPTV stations and 
3,631 TV translator stations. Given the nature of these services as 
secondary and in some cases purely a ``fill-in'' service, we will 
presume that all of these entities qualify as small entities under the 
above SBA small business size standard.
4. Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other 
Compliance Requirements
    25. The Commission anticipates that the rule changes adopted in 
this Report and Order will lead to an overall immediate, long-term 
reduction in reporting, recordkeeping, and other compliance 
requirements for qualified LPTV stations. Specifically, after the 2020 
carriage election, qualified LPTV stations will be required to send 
carriage election notices only when they are changing their election, 
will be permitted to send these notices via email, and will no longer 
need to produce and mail several letters to MVPDs, many of which are 
duplicative, to ensure that they are received by the MVPD. LPTV and NCE 
translator stations are not currently required to maintain a public 
file with a copy of their carriage election notices, and the Report and 
Order does not impose a new obligation in that regard in this 
proceeding. In the absence of public file requirements for qualified 
LPTV and NCE translator stations, the Report and Order permits MVPDs 
with carriage-related concerns to rely upon the contact information 
provided by the LPTV or NCE translator station in LMS. We require 
qualified LPTV stations, and encourage qualified NCE translator 
stations, to review and, if necessary, update this contact information 
in LMS no later than July 31, 2020, approximately 60 days prior to the 
2020 carriage election deadline, and ensure that this information 
remains current thereafter. Qualified LPTV and NCE translator stations 
must ensure that, if an MVPD contacts the station via the phone or 
email address they have provided in LMS because it has concerns 
regarding carriage, the station will respond to those concerns as soon 
as is reasonably possible.
    26. With respect to OVS operators, the Report and Order imposes no 
burdens beyond those imposed in the 2019 Report and Order. As with 
cable operators, broadcasters will send carriage election notifications 
to OVS operators via email rather than on paper, which will ease the 
administrative burden of reviewing these notifications, which were

[[Page 22651]]

previously in letter form and many of which were previously 
duplicative. In addition, OVS operators must use COALS for purposes of 
providing a designated carriage election email address, where 
broadcasters will send election change notices, and a phone number for 
broadcasters to use in the event of questions as to whether the OVS 
operator received the station's election notice. This burden is de 
minimis and is outweighed by the benefits to OVS operators of the new 
carriage election framework.
5. Steps Taken To Minimize Significant Economic Impact on Small 
Entities and Significant Alternatives Considered
    27. 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.''
    28. The Commission considered establishing a narrow online public 
file for the purposes of publicizing carriage-related contact 
information for qualified LPTV and NCE translator stations, but 
concluded that requiring qualified LPTV stations and encouraging 
qualified NCE translator stations to instead update their existing 
contact information in LMS as necessary would be more efficient and 
less burdensome both for stations and the Commission. In addition, the 
Commission concluded that requiring OVS operators use COALS to provide 
contact information for carriage election purposes, as required by the 
rules adopted in the 2019 Report and Order, is the most efficient and 
least burdensome way for OVS operators to publicize their contact 
information. The Commission also considered retaining the paper-based 
carriage election notice requirements for qualified LPTV and qualified 
NCE translator stations, as well as OVS operators, but concluded it 
would be preferable to allow these entities to benefit from the new 
carriage election framework and that to retain the previous rules for 
these entities might undermine our goal of reducing regulatory burdens.
    29. Overall, the Report and Order appropriately balances the 
interests of the public against the interests of the entities who are 
subject to the rules, including those that are small entities.
6. Federal Rules That May Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict With the 
Proposed Rule
    30. None.

B. Paperwork Reduction Act Analysis

    31. This Report and Order contains new or modified information 
collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA), Public Law 104-13. The requirements will be submitted to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review under section 3507(d) 
of the PRA. OMB, the general public, and other Federal agencies are 
invited to comment on the new or modified information collection 
requirements contained in this proceeding. In addition, we note that 
pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 
107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), we previously sought specific 
comment on how the Commission might further reduce the information 
collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 
employees.

C. Congressional Review Act

    32. The Commission has determined, and the Administrator of the 
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, concurs that this rule is ``non-major'' under the Congressional 
Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 804(2). The Commission will send a copy of the 
Order to Congress and the Government Accountability Office pursuant to 
5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

Ordering Clauses

    33. Accordingly, it is ordered that, pursuant to the authority 
contained in sections 1, 4(i), 4(j), 325, 338, 614, 615, 631, 632, and 
653 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 151, 
154(i), 154(j), 325, 338, 534, 535, 551, 552, and 573, this Report and 
Order is adopted and will become effective 30 days after publication in 
the Federal Register.
    34. It is further ordered that part 76 of the Commission's Rules 
are amended as set forth in the Final Rules effective 30 days after 
publication in the Federal Register, except for Sec.  76.64(h)(5), 
which contains new or modified information collection requirements that 
require approval by the Office of Management and Budget under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act and shall become effective after the Commission 
publishes a document in the Federal Register announcing such approval 
and the relevant effective date.
    35. 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 Final Regulatory 
Flexibility Analyses, to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 
Business Administration.
    36. It is further ordered that the Commission shall send a copy of 
this Report and Order in a report to be sent to Congress and the 
Government Accountability Office pursuant to the Congressional Review 
Act, see 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A).

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 76

    Cable television, Recording and recordkeeping requirements.

Federal Communications Commission.
Cecilia Sigmund,
Federal Register Liaison Officer.

Final Rules

    For the reasons discussed in the preamble, the Federal 
Communications Commission amends 47 CFR part 76 as follows:

PART 76--MULTICHANNEL VIDEO AND CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE

0
1. The authority citation for part 76 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 47 U.S.C. 151, 152, 153, 154, 301, 302, 302a, 303, 
303a, 307, 308, 309, 312, 315, 317, 325, 338, 339, 340, 341, 503, 
521, 522, 531, 532, 534, 535, 536, 537, 543, 544, 544a, 545, 548, 
549, 552, 554, 556, 558, 560, 561, 571, 572, 573.


0
2. Amend Sec.  76.64 by:
0
a. Revising paragraph (h)(1); and
0
b. Adding paragraph (h)(5).
    The revision and addition read as follows:


Sec.  76.64  Retransmission consent.

* * * * *
    (h)(1) On or before each must carry/retransmission consent election 
deadline, each television broadcast station shall place a copy of its 
election statement, and copies of any election change notices applying 
to the upcoming carriage cycle, in the station's public file if the 
station is required to maintain a public file.
* * * * *
    (5) Low power television stations and non-commercial educational 
translator stations that are qualified under Sec.  76.55 and 
retransmitted by a multichannel video programming distributor shall, 
beginning no later than July 31, 2020, respond as soon as is reasonably 
possible to messages or calls from multichannel video programming 
distributors that are received via the email address or phone number 
the

[[Page 22652]]

station provides in the Commission's Licensing and Management System.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2020-07759 Filed 4-22-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6712-01-P