§ 76.977   Minority and educational programming used in lieu of designated
commercial leased access capacity.

   (a) A cable operator required by this section to designate channel capacity
   for commercial use pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 532, may use any such channel
   capacity  for  the  provision of programming from a qualified minority
   programming source or from any qualified educational programming sources,
   whether or not such source is affiliated with cable operator. The channel
   capacity used to provide programming from a qualified minority programming
   source or from any qualified educational programming source pursuant to this
   section  may  not exceed 33 percent of the channel capacity designated
   pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 532 and must be located on a tier with more than 50
   percent subscriber penetration.

   (b) For purposes of this section, a qualified minority programming source is
   a programming source that devotes substantially all of its programming to
   coverage of minority viewpoints, or to programming directed at members of
   minority groups, and which is over 50 percent minority-owned.

   (c) For purposes of this section, a qualified educational programming source
   is a programming source that devotes substantially all of its programming to
   educational or instructional programming that promotes public understanding
   of  mathematics,  the  sciences, the humanities, or the arts and has a
   documented annual expenditure on programming exceeding $15 million. The
   annual expenditure on programming means all annual costs incurred by the
   programming source to produce or acquire programs which are scheduled to be
   televised,  and  specifically excludes marketing, promotion, satellite
   transmission and operational costs, and general administrative costs.

   (d) For purposes of paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, substantially
   all means that 90% or more of the programming offered must be devoted to
   minority or educational purposes, as defined in paragraphs (b) and (c) of
   this section, respectively.

   (e) For purposes of paragraph (b) of this section, “minority” is defined as
   in  47  U.S.C. 309(i)(3)(c)(ii) to include Blacks, Hispanics, American
   Indians, Alaska Natives, Asians and Pacific Islanders.

   [ 58 FR 29753 , May 21, 1993, as amended at  62 FR 11382 , Mar. 12, 1997]

   return arrow Back to Top