Notice of Public Information Collection(s) Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission, Comments Requested

SUMMARY:

The Federal Communications Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burden invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection(s), as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, Public Law 104-13. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid control number. No person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act that does not display a valid control number. Comments are requested concerning (a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES:

Written Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments should be submitted on or before September 27, 2004. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments, but find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this notice, you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES:

Direct all Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) comments to Les Smith, Federal Communications Commission, Room 1-A804, 445 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20554 or via the Internet to Leslie.Smith@fcc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For additional information or copies of the information collection(s), contact Les Smith at (202) 418-0217 or via the Internet at Leslie.Smith@fcc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

OMB Control Number: 3060-0844.

Title: Carriage of the Transmission of Digital Television Broadcast Stations, R&O, and FNPRM.

Form Number: N/A.

Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection.

Respondents: Business or other for-profit entities.

Number of Respondents: 12,700 respondents (multiple responses).

Estimated Time per Response: 30 minutes-40 hours.

Frequency of Response: On occasion reporting requirement; third party disclosure.

Total Annual Burden: 93,221 hours.

Total Annual Cost: $2,414,894.

Privacy Impact Assessment: No impact(s).

Needs and Uses: The FCC adopted a Report and Order (R&O) on January 23, 2001, and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM). The R&O modified 47 CFR 76.64(f) to provide that stations that return their analog spectrum and broadcast only in digital format are entitled to elect must-carry or retransmission consent status following the procedures previously applicable to new television stations. The R&O also provided only carriage rights for a very limited number of digital-only television broadcast stations (DTV) and may result in voluntary carriage for a subset of other DTV stations. Furthermore, the R&O established a framework for voluntary retransmission consent agreements between DTV station licensees and multi-channel video programming distributors and modified several sections of the rules accordingly. The FNPRM sought additional comments on carriage requirements relating to digital television stations generally, as proposed in the initial NPRM.