Sec. 76.5  Definitions.

    (a) Cable system or cable television system. A facility consisting 
of a set of closed transmission paths and associated signal generation, 
reception, and control equipment that is designed to provide cable 
service which includes video programming and which is provided to 
multiple subscribers within a community, but such term does not include:
    (1) A facility that services only to retransmit the television 
signals of one or more television broadcast stations;
    (2) A facility that serves subscribers without using any public 
right-of-way;
    (3) A facility of a common carrier which is subject, in whole or in 
part, to

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the provisions of Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended, except that such facility shall be considered a cable system to 
the extent such facility is used in the transmission of video 
programming directly to subscribers, unless the extent of such use is 
solely to provide interactive on-demand services;
    (4) An open video system that complies with Section 653 of the 
Communications Act; or
    (5) Any facilities of any electric utility used solely for operating 
its electric utility systems.

    Note to paragraph (a): The provisions of Subparts D and F of this 
part shall also apply to all facilities defined previously as cable 
systems on or before April 28, 1985, except those that serve subscribers 
without using any public right-of-way.

    (b) Television station; television broadcast station. Any television 
broadcast station operating on a channel regularly assigned to its 
community by Sec. 73.606 of this chapter, and any television broadcast 
station licensed by a foreign government: Provided, however, That a 
television broadcast station licensed by a foreign government shall not 
be entitled to assert a claim to carriage, program exclusivity, or 
retransmission consent authorization pursuant to subpart D or F of this 
part, but may otherwise be carried if consistent with the rules on any 
service tier.
    (c) Television translator station. A television broadcast translator 
station as defined in Sec. 74.701 of this chapter.
    (d) Grade A and Grade B contours. The field intensity contours 
defined in Sec. 73.683(a) of this chapter.
    (e) Specified zone of a television broadcast station. The area 
extending 56.3 air km (35 air miles) from the reference point in the 
community to which that station is licensed or authorized by the 
Commission. A list of reference points is contained in Sec. 76.53. A 
television broadcast station that is authorized but not operating has a 
specified zone that terminates eighteen (18) months after the initial 
grant of its construction permit.
    (f) Major television market. The specified zone of a commercial 
television station licensed to a community listed in Sec. 76.51, or a 
combination of such specified zones where more than one community is 
listed.
    (g) Designated community in a major television market. A community 
listed in Sec. 76.51.
    (h) Smaller television market. The specified zone of a commercial 
television station licensed to a community that is not listed in 
Sec. 76.51.
    (i) Significantly viewed. Viewed in other than cable television 
households as follows: (1) For a full or partial network station--a 
share of viewing hours of at least 3 percent (total week hours), and a 
net weekly circulation of at least 25 percent; and (2) for an 
independent station--a share of viewing hours of at least 2 percent 
(total week hours), and a net weekly circulation of at least 5 percent. 
See Sec. 76.54.

    Note: As used in this paragraph, ``share of viewing hours'' means 
the total hours that noncable television households viewed the subject 
station during the week, expressed as a percentage of the total hours 
these households viewed all stations during the period, and ``net weekly 
circulation'' means the number of noncable television households that 
viewed the station for 5 minutes or more during the entire week, 
expressed as a percentage of the total noncable television households in 
the survey area.

    (j) Full network station. A commercial television broadcast station 
that generally carries in weekly prime time hours 85 percent of the 
hours of programing offered by one of the three major national 
television networks with which it has a primary affiliation (i.e., right 
of first refusal or first call).
    (k) Partial network station. A commercial television broadcast 
station that generally carries in prime time more than 10 hours of 
programming per week offered by the three major national television 
networks, but less than the amount specified in paragraph (j) of this 
section.
    (l) Independent station. A commercial television broadcast station 
that generally carries in prime time not more than 10 hours of 
programing per week offered by the three major national television 
networks.
    (m) A network program is any program delivered simultaneously to 
more than one broadcast station regional or national, commercial or 
noncommercial.

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    (n) Prime time. The 5-hour period from 6 to 11 p.m., local time, 
except that in the central time zone the relevant period shall be 
between the hours of 5 and 10 p.m., and in the mountain time zone each 
station shall elect whether the period shall be 6 to 11 p.m. or 5 to 10 
p.m.

    Note: Unless the Commission is notified to the contrary, a station 
in the mountain time zone shall be presumed to have elected the 6 to 11 
p.m. period.

    (o) Cablecasting. Programming (exclusive of broadcast signals) 
carried on a cable television system. See paragraphs (y), (z) and (aa) 
(Classes II, III, and IV cable television channels) of this section.
    (p) Origination cablecasting. Programing (exclusive of broadcast 
signals) carried on a cable television system over one or more channels 
and subject to the exclusive control of the cable operator.
    (q) Legally qualified candidate. (1) Any person who:
    (i) Has publicly announced his or her intention to run for 
nomination or office;
    (ii) Is qualified under the applicable local, State or Federal law 
to hold the office for which he or she is a candidate; and
    (iii) Has met the qualifications set forth in either paragraphs 
(q)(2), (3) or (4) of this section.
    (2) A person seeking election to any public office including that of 
President or Vice President of the United States, or nomination for any 
public office except that of President or Vice President, by means of a 
primary, general or special election, shall be considered a legally 
qualified candidate if, in addition to meeting the criteria set forth in 
paragraph (q)(1) of this section, that person:
    (i) Has qualified for a place on the ballot, or
    (ii) Has publicly committed himself or herself to seeking election 
by the write-in method and is eligible under applicable law to be voted 
for by sticker, by writing in his or her name on the ballot or by other 
method, and makes a substantial showing that he or she is a bona fide 
candidate for nomination or office.

Persons seeking election to the office of President or Vice President of 
the United States shall, for the purposes of the Communications Act and 
the rules thereunder, be considered legally qualified candidates only in 
those States or territories (or the District of Columbia) in which they 
have met the requirements set forth in paragraphs (q) (1) and (2) of 
this rule; except that any such person who has met the requirements set 
forth in paragraphs (q) (1) and (2) in at least 10 States (or nine and 
the District of Columbia) shall be considered a legally qualified 
candidate for election in all States, territories and the District of 
Columbia for purposes of this Act.
    (3) A person seeking nomination to any public office except that of 
President or Vice President of the United States, by means of a 
convention, caucus or similar procedure, shall be considered a legally 
qualified candidate if, in addition to meeting the requirements set 
forth in paragraph (q)(1) of this section, that person makes a 
substantial showing that he or she is a bona fide candidate for such 
nomination; except that no person shall be considered a legally 
qualified candidate for nomination by the means set forth in this 
paragraph prior to 90 days before the beginning of the convention, 
caucus or similar procedure in which he or she seeks nomination.
    (4) A person seeking nomination for the office of President or Vice 
President of the United States shall, for the purposes of the 
Communications Act and the rules thereunder, be considered a legally 
qualified candidate only in those States or territories (or the District 
of Columbia) in which, in addition meeting the requirements set forth in 
paragraph (q)(1) of this section.
    (i) He or she, or proposed delegates on his or her behalf, have 
qualified for the primary of Presidential preference ballot in that 
State, territory or the District of Columbia, or
    (ii) He or she has made a substantial showing of bona fide candidacy 
for such nomination in that State, territory of the District of 
Columbia; except that such person meeting the requirements set forth in 
paragraph (q) (1) and (4) in at least 10 States (or nine and the 
District of Columbia) shall be considered a

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legally qualified candidate for nomination in all States, territories 
and the District of Columbia for purposes of the Act.
    (5) The term ``substantial showing'' of bona fide candidacy as used 
in paragraph (q) (2), (3) and (4) of this section means evidence that 
the person claiming to be a candidate has engaged to a substantial 
degree in activities commonly associated with political campaigning. 
Such activities normally would include making campaign speeches, 
distributing campaign literature, issuing press releases, maintaining a 
campaign headquarters (even though the headquarters in some instances 
might be the residence of the candidate or his campaign manager). Not 
all of the listed activities are necessarily required in each case to 
demonstrate a substantial showing, and there may be activities not 
listed herein which would contribute to such a showing.
    (r) Class I cable television channel. A signaling path provided by a 
cable television system to relay to subscriber terminals television 
broadcast programs that are received off-the-air or are obtained by 
microwave or by direct connection to a television broadcast station.
    (s) Class II cable television channel. A signaling path provided by 
a cable television system to deliver to subscriber terminals television 
signals that are intended for reception by a television broadcast 
receiver without the use of an auxilliary decoding device and which 
signals are not involved in a broadcast transmission path.
    (t) Class III cable television channel. A signaling path provided by 
a cable television system to deliver to subscriber terminals signals 
that are intended for reception by equipment other than a television 
broadcast receiver or by a television broadcast receiver only when used 
with auxiliary decoding equipment.
    (u) Class IV cable television channel. A signaling path provided by 
a cable television system to transmit signals of any type from a 
subscriber terminal to another point in the cable television system.
    (v) Subscriber terminal. The cable television system terminal to 
which a subscriber's equipment is connected. Separate terminals may be 
provided for delivery of signals of various classes.

    Note: Terminal devices interconnected to subscriber terminals of a 
cable system shall comply with subpart H of part 15.

    (w) System noise. That combination of undesired and fluctuating 
disturbances within a cable television channel that degrades the 
transmission of the desired signal and that is due to modulation 
processes or thermal or other noise-producing effects, but does not 
include hum and other undesired signals of discrete frequency. System 
noise is specified in terms of its rms voltage or its mean power level 
as measured in the 4 MHz bandwidth between 1.25 and 5.25 MHz above the 
lower channel boundary of a cable television channel.
    (x) Terminal isolation. The attenuation, at any subscriber terminal, 
between that terminal and any other subscriber terminal in the cable 
television system.
    (y) Visual signal level. The rms voltage produced by the visual 
signal during the transmission of synchronizing pulses.
    (z) Affiliate. When used in relation to any person, another person 
who owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common 
ownership or control with, such person.
    (aa) Person. An individual, partnership, association, joint stock 
company, trust, corporation, or governmental entity.
    (bb) Significant interest. A cognizable interest for attributing 
interests in broadcast, cable, and newspaper properties pursuant to 
Secs. 73.3555, 73.3615, and 76.501.
    (cc) Cable system operator. Any person or group of persons (1) who 
provides cable service over a cable system and directly or through one 
or more affiliates owns a significant interest in such cable system; or 
(2) who otherwise controls or is responsible for, through any 
arrangement, the management and operation of such a cable system.
    (dd) System community unit: Community unit. A cable television 
system, or portion of a cable television system, that operates or will 
operate within a separate and distinct community or

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municipal entity (including unincorporated communities within 
unincorporated areas and including single, discrete unincorporated 
areas).
    (ee) Subscribers. A member of the general public who receives 
broadcast programming distributed by a cable television system and does 
not further distribute it.
    (ff) Cable service. The one-way transmission to subscribers of video 
programming, or other programming service; and, subscriber interaction, 
if any, which is required for the selection or use of such video 
programming or other programming service. For the purposes of this 
definition, ``video programming'' is programming provided by, or 
generally considered comparable to programming provided by, a television 
broadcast station; and, ``other programming service'' is information 
that a cable operator makes available to all subscribers generally.
    (gg)  [Reserved]
    (hh) Input selector switch. Any device that enables a viewer to 
select between cable service and off-the-air television signals. Such a 
device may be more sophisticated than a mere two-sided switch, may 
utilize other cable interface equipment, and may be built into consumer 
television receivers.
    (ii) A syndicated program is any program sold, licensed, distributed 
or offered to television station licensees in more than one market 
within the United States other than as network programming as defined in 
Sec. 76.5(o).
    (jj) Rural area. A community unit with a density of less than 19 
households per route kilometer or thirty households per route mile of 
coaxial and/or fiber optic cable trunk and feeder line.
    (kk) Technically integrated. Having 75% or more of the video 
channels received from a common headend.
    (ll) Cable home wiring. The internal wiring contained within the 
premises of a subscriber which begins at the demarcation point. Cable 
home wiring includes passive splitters on the subscriber's side of the 
demarcation point, but does not include any active elements such as 
amplifiers, converter or decoder boxes, or remote control units.
    (mm) Demarcation point. (1) For new and existing single unit 
installations, the demarcation point shall be a point at (or about) 
twelve inches outside of where the cable wire enters the subscriber's 
premises.
    (2) For new and existing multiple unit installations, the 
demarcation point shall be a point at (or about) twelve inches outside 
of where the cable wire enters the subscriber's dwelling unit, but shall 
not include loop through or other similar series cable wire.
    (nn) Activated channels. Those channels engineered at the headend of 
a cable system for the provision of services generally available to 
residential subscribers of the cable system, regardless of whether such 
services actually are provided, including any channel designated for 
public, educational or governmental use.
    (oo) Usable activated channels. Those activated channels of a cable 
system, except those channels whose use for the distribution of 
broadcast signals would conflict with technical and safety regulations. 
See part 76, subpart K.
    (pp) Principal headend. (1) The headend, in the case of a cable 
system with a single headend or,
    (2) In the case of a cable system with more than one headend, the 
principal headend designated by the cable operator, except that such 
designation shall not undermine or evade the requirements of subpart D 
of this part. The designation of a principal headend shall be made by 
May 3, 1993, and each cable system shall place in its public file the 
location of its designated principal headend by June 17, 1993, as 
provided in Sec. 76.302. Except for good cause, an operator may not 
change its choice of principal headend.
    (qq) Emergency Alert System (EAS). The EAS is composed of broadcast 
networks; cable networks and program suppliers; AM, FM and TV broadcast 
stations; Low Power TV (LPTV) stations; subject cable systems; and other 
entities and industries operating on an organized basis during 
emergencies at the National, State, or local levels.

[ 37 FR 3278 , Feb. 12, 1972]

    Editorial Note: For Federal Register citations affecting Sec. 76.5, 
see the List of CFR Sections Affected in the Finding Aids section of 
this volume.

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    Effective Date Note: At  61 FR 6137 , Feb. 16, 1996, in Sec. 76.5, 
paragraph (ll) was revised. Paragraph (ll) contains information 
collection and recordkeeping requirements and will not become effective 
until approval has been given by the Office of Management and Budget.