Self-Regulatory Organizations; New York Stock Exchange LLC; Notice of Filing and Order Granting Accelerated Approval of Proposed Rule Change To Extend the Pilot Period for a Revised Unit-of-Count Methodology for NYSE OpenBook

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Act”) and Rule 19b-4 thereunder, notice is hereby given that on March 11, 2010, the New York Stock Exchange LLC (“NYSE” or “Exchange”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) the proposed rule change as described in Items I and II below, which Items have been prepared substantially by the Exchange. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons and is granting accelerated approval to the proposed rule change.

I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change

NYSE proposes to extend the expiration date of its pilot program for a revised unit-of-count methodology for NYSE OpenBook until July 31, 2010. The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's Web site at http://www.nyse.com,, on the Commission's Web site at http://www.sec.gov , at NYSE, and at the Commission's Public Reference Room.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

In its filing with the Commission, NYSE included statements concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the proposed rule change. The text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in Item III below. NYSE has prepared summaries, set forth in Sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

1. Purpose

On March 9, 2009, the Commission approved a pilot program by which the Exchange redefines some of the basic “units of measure” that Vendors are required to report to the Exchange and on which the Exchange bases its fees for its NYSE OpenBook product packages. Under the proposal, the Exchange no longer defines the Vendor-Subscriber relationship based on the manner in which a data feed recipient or subscriber receives data (i.e., through controlled displays or through data feeds). Instead, the pilot program adopts more objective billing criteria that requires Vendors to count every subscriber entitlement, whether it be an individual person or a device.

Thus, the Vendor includes in the count every person and device that has access to the data, regardless of the purposes for which the individual or device uses the data. The pilot program eliminates current exceptions to the device-reporting obligation in order to subject the count to a more objective process and simplify the reporting obligation for Vendors. (For instance, the Exchange previously has not required Vendors to report certain programmers and other individuals who receive access to data for certain specific, non-trading purposes.) These exceptions require the Exchange to monitor the manner end-users consume data, which in turn adds cost for both the Exchange and customers.

The Exchange's experience with the pilot program has been successful. A number of the Exchange's customers have embraced the pilot program and the Exchange intends to submit to the Commission a proposed rule change that would seek permanent approval of the revised unit-of-count methodology.

The Exchange established March 31, 2010, as the expiration date for the pilot program. The Exchange now seeks to extend the expiration date of the pilot program to July 30, 2010, by which time, the Exchange intends to have submitted the proposed rule change seeking permanent approval.

2. Statutory Basis

The basis under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Act”) for this proposed rule change is the requirement under Section 6(b)(4) that an exchange have rules that provide for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees and other charges among its members and other persons using its facilities and the requirements under Section 6(b)(5) that the rules of an exchange be designed to promote just and equitable principles of trade and not to permit unfair discrimination between customers, issuers, brokers or dealers.

The Exchange believes that the pilot program benefits investors because it is more closely aligned with current data consumption, reduces costs for the Exchange's customers, and potentially serves as a model for additional pricing efficiencies.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

The Exchange does not believe that this proposed rule change will result in any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change Received From Members, Participants or Others

The Exchange has not received any unsolicited written comments from members or other interested parties.

III. Solicitation of Comments

Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

Electronic Comments

• Use the Commission's Internet comment form ( http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml ); or
• Send an e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include File Number SR-NYSE-2010-21 on the subject line.

Paper Comments

• Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSE-2010-21. This file number should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used. To help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on the Commission's Internet Web site ( http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml ). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site viewing and printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All comments received will be posted without change; the Commission does not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSE-2010-21 and should be submitted on or before April 22, 2010.

IV. Commission's Findings and Order Granting Accelerated Approval of the Proposed Rule Change

After careful consideration, the Commission finds that the proposed rule change is consistent with the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder applicable to a national securities exchange. In particular, it is consistent with Section 6(b)(4) of the Act, which requires that the rules of a national securities exchange provide for the equitable allocation of reasonable dues, fees, and other charges among its members and issuers and other parties using its facilities, and Section 6(b)(5) of the Act, which requires, among other things, that the rules of a national securities exchange be designed to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest, and not be designed to permit unfair discrimination between customers, issuers, brokers, or dealers.

The Commission also finds that the proposed rule change is consistent with the provisions of Section 6(b)(8) of the Act, which requires that the rules of an exchange not impose any burden on competition not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. Finally, the Commission finds that the proposed rule change is consistent with Rule 603(a) of Regulation NMS, adopted under Section 11A(c)(1) of the Act, which requires an exclusive processor that distributes information with respect to quotations for or transactions in an NMS stock to do so on terms that are fair and reasonable and that are not unreasonably discriminatory.

This proposal would extend the expiration date of the Unit of Count pilot program to July 30, 2010. The Commission has reviewed the proposal using the approach set forth in the NYSE Arca Order for non-core market data fees. The Commission recently found that NYSE was subject to significant competitive forces in setting fees for its depth-of-book order data in the Unit of Count Filing. There are a variety of alternative sources of information that impose significant competitive pressures on the NYSE in setting the terms for distributing its depth-of-book order data. The Commission believes that the availability of those alternatives, as well as the NYSE's compelling need to attract order flow, imposed significant competitive pressure on the NYSE to act equitably, fairly, and reasonably in setting the terms of its proposal.

Because the NYSE was subject to significant competitive forces in setting the terms of the proposal, the Commission will approve the proposal in the absence of a substantial countervailing basis to find that its terms nevertheless fail to meet an applicable requirement of the Act or the rules thereunder. An analysis of the proposal does not provide such a basis.

The Commission finds good cause for approving this proposal before the 30th day after the publication of notice thereof in the Federal Register. The Commission believes that accelerating approval of this proposal is appropriate and would ensure that the Exchange could continue to offer Unit of Count billing on their market data products under the existing pilot program.

V. Conclusion

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act, that the proposed rule change (SR-NYSE-2010-21), be, and it hereby is, approved on an accelerated basis.