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FCC RIN: 3060-AH09 Publication ID: Fall 2008 
Title: Cable Horizontal and Vertical Ownership Limits (MM Docket No. 92-264) 
Abstract: Section 613 of the Communications Act requires the Commission to "prescribe rules and regulations establishing reasonable limits on the number of cable subscribers a person is authorized to reach through cable systems owned by such person, or in which such person has an attributable interest." On October 8, 1999, the Commission issued a Third Report and Order, FCC 99-289, in this matter. The Commission revised the horizontal ownership rules as follows: (1) All multichannel video subscribers will be counted when calculating the 30 percent ownership limit; (2) actual subscriber numbers, rather than potential subscriber numbers, will be used for calculating an owner's share; and (3) the minority exception which allowed a 35 percent ownership limit for minority-owned entities under certain circumstances was eliminated. On March 2, 2001, the District of Columbia Circuit Court reversed and remanded the cable horizontal and vertical limits, as well as two aspects of the attribution rules used to determine compliance with these limits. (Time Warner Entertainment Co. v. FCC, 240 F.3d 1126 (DC cir. 2001)). Pursuant to the court's remand, the Commission solicited comment in a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (September 2001) and a Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. In the Fourth Report & Order, the Commission set the cable horizontal ownership limit at 30 percent. In the accompanying Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, comment was sought on issues regarding the cable attribution rules and appropriate channel occupancy limits. 
Agency: Federal Communications Commission(FCC)  Priority: Other Significant 
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Long-Term Actions 
Major: Undetermined  Unfunded Mandates: No 
CFR Citation: 47 CFR 76   
Legal Authority: 47 USC 151    47 USC 154    47 USC 303    47 USC 533   
Legal Deadline:  None
Timetable:
Action Date FR Cite
Second MO&O on Recon and FNPRM  07/14/1998  63 FR 37790   
Third R&O  12/01/1999  64 FR 67198   
Order on Recon  03/08/2000  65 FR 12135   
MO&O  06/08/2000  65 FR 36382   
FNPRM  10/11/2001  66 FR 51905   
Second FNPRM  06/18/2005  70 FR 33680   
Fourth R&O and FNPRM   02/29/2008  73 FR 11048   
Next Action Undetermined  To Be Determined    
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: Yes  Government Levels Affected: None 
Small Entities Affected: Businesses 
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No 
RIN Data Printed in the FR: Yes 
Agency Contact:
Royce Sherlock
Chief, Industry Analysis Division
Federal Communications Commission
Media Bureau, 445 12th Street SW.,
Washington, DC 20554
Phone:202 418-7030
Fax:202 418-1196
Email: rsherlock@fcc.gov