Community Television, Inc. v. United States
Community Television, Inc. v. United States
Opinion of the Court
This is a petition to review two orders of the Federal Communications Commission which denied a waiver of the non-duplication rule promulgated by the Commission.
The issues presented are whether the action of the Commission was arbitrary and capricious when it denied the temporary waiver, and whether it was proper for the Commission to deny the requested waiver without a hearing?
Frontier Broadcasting Company, in-tervenor herein, operates KFBC-TV in Cheyenne, Wyoming, which carries the program service of all three major television networks. Petitioner, Community Television, Inc., d/b/a Laramie Community TV Company, operates a community antenna television system (CATV)
In the spring of 1966, Frontier requested petitioner to conform to the non-duplication requirement of Section 74.-1103
The Commission denied the petition for waiver and a subsequent petition for reconsideration was likewise denied. Petitioner now comes to this court for a review of the denials of waiver.
Petitioner raises the further contention that the Commission’s ruling was arbitrary and capricious in that it lacked a rational basis and was discriminatory against petitioner. In order to meet this contention, it is necessary to examine translator systems in relation to CATV systems.
Translators do not generate any revenue and are generally operated by nonprofit corporations or associations and built by subscription or operated by public bodies.
We conclude the Commission had a valid basis for distinguishing between CATV and translators and this distinction is not an arbitrary discrimination.
We therefore affirm the Commission’s order requiring non-duplication.
Affirmed.
. “(a) Community antenna television systems. The term ‘community antenna television system’ (‘CATV system’) means any facility which, in whole or in part, receives directly or indirectly over the air and amplifies or otherwise modifies the signals transmitting programs broadcast by one or more television stations and distributes such signals by wire or cable to subscribing members of the public who pay for such service, but such term shall not include (1) any such facility which serves fewer than 50 subscribers, or (2) any such facility which serves only the residents of one or more apartment dwellings under common ownership, control, or management, and commercial establishments located on the premises of such an apartment house.” 47 C.F.R. § 21.710(a).
. “(a) Television broadcast translator station. A station in the broadcasting service operated for the purpose of re-transmitting the signals of a television broadcast station, another television broadcast translator station, or a television translator relay station, by means of direct frequency conversion and amplification of the incoming signals without significantly altering any characteristic of the incoming signal other than its frequency and amplitude, for the purpose of providing television reception to the general public.” 47 C.F.R. § 74.701(a).
. 47 C.F.R. § 74.1103 provides inter aUa that a CATV must, upon request, carry the signals of local stations and cannot, on the same day, transmit a program which duplicates a program bz-oadcast by the local station.
. 387 F.2d 502 (1st Cir. 1967).
. 394 F.2d 620 (10th Cir. 1968).
. 391 F.2d 179 (4th Cir. 1968).
. Report and Order, 266 F.C.C. 403, 409 (1959).
. Id. at 407.
. Fortnightly Corp. v. United Artists Television, 392 U.S. 390, 399, 88 S.Ct. 2084, 20 L.Ed.2d 1176 (1968).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- COMMUNITY TELEVISION, INC., d/b/a Laramie Community TV Company v. UNITED STATES of America and Federal Communications Commission, Frontier Broadcasting Company, Intervenor
- Cited By
- 4 cases
- Status
- Published