DSE SCHEDULE. PAGE 10.
All cable sys-
tems filing SA3 (Long Form) must pay at least the minimum fee, which is
1.064 percent of gross receipts. The cable system pays either the minimum
fee or the sum of the base rate fee and the 3.75 percent fee, whichever is
larger, and a Syndicated Exclusivity Surcharge, as applicable.
A permitted station refers to a distant
station whose carriage is not subject to the 3.75 percent rate but is sub-
ject to the base rate and, where applicable, the Syndicated Exclusivity
Surcharge. A permitted station would include the following:
1) A station actually carried within any portion of a cable system prior
to June 25, 1981, pursuant to the former FCC rules.
2) A station first carried after June 24, 1981, which could have been
carried under FCC rules in effect on June 24, 1981, if such carriage
would not have exceeded the market quota imposed for the importa-
tion of distant stations under those rules.
3) A station of the same type substituted for a carried network, non-
commercial educational, or regular independent station for which a
quota was or would have been imposed under FCC rules (47 CFR
76.59 (b),(c), 76.61 (b),(c),(d), and 767.63 (a) [referring to 76.61 (b),(d)])
in effect on June 24, 1981.
4) A station carried pursuant to an individual waiver granted between
April 16, 1976, and June 25, 1981, under the FCC rules and regulations
in effect on April 15, 1976.
5) In the case of a station carried prior to June 25, 1981, on a part-time
and/or substitute basis only, that fraction of the current DSE repre-
sented by prior carriage.
If your cable system carried a station that you believe qualifies
as a permitted station but does not fall into one of the above catego-
ries, please attach written documentation to the statement of account
detailing the basis for its classification.
Under section 76.65 of the
former FCC rules, a cable system was not required to delete any station
that it was authorized to carry or was lawfully carrying prior to March 31,
1972, even if the total number of distant stations carried exceeded the
market quota imposed for the importation of distant stations. Carriage
of these grandfathered stations is not subject to the 3.75 percent rate,
but is subject to the Base Rate, and where applicable, the Syndicated
Exclusivity Surcharge. The Copyright Royalty Tribunal has stated its
view that, since section 76.65 of the former FCC rules would not have
permitted substitution of a grandfathered station, the 3.75 percent Rate
applies to a station substituted for a grandfathered station if carriage
of the station exceeds the market quota imposed for the importation
of distant stations.
• Determine which distant stations were carried by the system pursuant
to former FCC rules in effect on June 24, 1981.
• Identify any station carried prior to June 25, 198l, on a substitute and/or
part-time basis only and complete the log to determine the portion of
the DSE exempt from the 3.75 percent rate.
• Subtract the number of DSEs resulting from this carriage from the num-
ber of DSEs reported in part 5 of the DSE Schedule. This is the total
number of DSEs subject to the 3.75 percent rate. Multiply these DSEs
by gross receipts by .0375. This is the 3.75 fee.
• Determine if any portion of the cable system is located within a top 100
major television market as defined by the FCC rules and regulations in
effect on June 24, 1981. If no portion of the cable system is located in
a major television market, part 7 does not have to be completed.
• Determine which station(s) reported in block B, part 6 are commercial
VHF stations and place a grade B contour, in whole, or in part, over the
cable system. If none of these stations are carried, part 7 does not have
to be completed.
• Determine which of those stations reported in block b, part 7 of the
DSE Schedule were carried before March 31,1972. These stations are
exempt from the FCC’s syndicated exclusivity rules in effect on June 24,
1981. If you qualify to calculate the royalty fee based upon the carriage
of partially-distant stations, and you elect to do so, you must compute
the surcharge in part 9 of this schedule.
• Subtract the exempt DSEs from the number of DSEs determined in block
B of part 7. This is the total number of DSEs subject to the Syndicated
Exclusivity Surcharge.
• Compute the Syndicated Exclusivity Surcharge based upon these DSEs
and the appropriate formula for the system’s market position.
The term “distant signal equivalent” (DSE) generally refers to the numerical
value given by the Copyright Act to each distant television station carried
by a cable system during an accounting period. Your system’s total number
of DSEs determines the royalty you owe. For the full definition, see page
(v) of the General Instructions.
There are two different formulas for computing DSEs: (1) a basic formula
for all distant stations listed in space G (page 3), and (2) a special for-
mula for those stations carried on a substitute basis and listed in space
I (page 5). (Note that if a particular station is listed in both space G and
space I, a DSE must be computed twice for that station: once under the
basic formula and again under the special formula. However, a station’s
total DSE is not to exceed its full type-value. If this happens, contact the
Licensing Division.)
For purposes of computing
DSEs, the Copyright Act gives different values to distant stations depend-
ing upon their type. If, as shown in space G of your statement of account
(page 3), a distant station is:
• its type-value is ........................................................1.00
• its type-value is ...............................................................0.25
• its type-value is .............................0.25
Note that local stations are not counted at all in computing DSEs.
The DSE of
a station also depends on its basis of carriage. If, as shown in space G
of your Form SA3, the station was carried part time because of lack of
activated channel capacity, its basis of carriage value is determined by (1)
calculating the number of hours the cable system carried the station during
the accounting period, and (2) dividing that number by the total number of
hours the station broadcast over the air during the accounting period. The
basis of carriage value for all other stations listed in space G is 1.0.
Multiply the result of step 1 by the result of step 2. This gives
you the particular station’s DSE for the accounting period. (Note that for
stations other than those carried on a part-time basis due to lack of ac-
tivated channel capacity, actual multiplication is not necessary since the
DSE will always be the same as the type value.)
For each station, calculate the number of programs that, during the
accounting period, were broadcast live by the station and were substituted
for programs deleted at the option of the cable system.
(These are programs for which you have entered “Yes” in column 2and
“P” in column 7 of space I.)
: Divide the result of step 1 by the total number of days in the
calendar year (365—or 366 in a leap year). This gives you the particular
station’s DSE for the accounting period.
In part 5 of this schedule you are asked to add up the DSEs for all of the
distant television stations your cable system carried during the accounting
period. This is the total sum of all DSEs computed by the basic formula
and by the special formula.
The total royalty fee is determined by calculating the minimum fee and
the base rate fee. In addition, cable systems located within certain televi-
sion market areas may be required to calculate the 3.75 fee and/or the
Syndicated Exclusivity Surcharge. Distant multicast streams are not
subject to the 3.75 fee or the Syndicated Exclusivity Surcharge.
If a cable system located in whole or in part within a
television market added stations after June 24, 1981, that would not have
been permitted under FCC rules, regulations, and authorizations (hereaf-
ter referred to as “the former FCC rules”) in effect on June 24, 1981, the
system must compute the 3.75 fee using a formula based on the number
of DSEs added. These DSEs used in computing the 3.75 fee will not be
used in computing the base rate fee and Syndicated Exclusivity Surcharge.
Cable systems located in
whole or in part within a major television market, as defined by FCC rules
and regulations, must calculate a Syndicated Exclusivity Surcharge for the
carriage of any commercial VHF station that places a grade B contour, in
whole or in part, over the cable system that would have been subject to
the FCC’s syndicated exclusivity rules in effect on June 24, 1981.