FCC Order Cuts Duplicate CBS Programming from Rochester Cable

The FCC has granted a petition for special relief from the Rochester market’s CBS affiliate and issued an order that will result in WCCO-TV’s CBS programming being dropped from cable in the Med City.

The petition from Allen Media’s KIMT/3 (Mason City, IA) was first reported here last year. KIMT is the official CBS affiliate for Rochester and presents newscasts from a studio in the city, but has long competed for CBS viewership on cable due to the status of WCCO-TV/4 (Minneapolis) as a “significantly-viewed” station in Rochester.

The significantly-viewed list was originally developed in 1972, showing which stations had significant broadcast viewership in each location. Cable systems are allowed to carry out-of-market stations if they are on the list for their county or city.

In the analog era, WCCO’s former VHF Low analog signal may have been easier to receive than the present-day UHF digital signal. A coverage map from RabbitEars.info shows over-the-air reception of WCCO may only be possible in limited parts of Rochester and would require a rooftop antenna.

KIMT submitted a petition for special relief showing that viewing patterns have changed since the significantly-viewed list was created. The petition included ratings data showing that WCCO no longer meets the threshold of broadcast viewership to be considered significantly-viewed in Rochester. (Cable households do not count for the purposes of determining significantly-viewed status under FCC rules.)

In 2019 WCCO-TV had no measurable viewing, and in 2020 it reached a 0.02 percent share of total viewing hours and 1.81 percent net weekly circulation including one standard error. Accordingly, we conclude that the Petitioner has met its burden and demonstrates that WCCO-TV fails to meet the requirements to maintain its status as significantly viewed in Rochester.

FCC memorandum opinion and order

The FCC’s memorandum opinion and order approving KIMT’s petition for relief does not specify when WCCO-TV’s CBS and syndicated programming must be dropped from Spectrum’s Rochester cable system.

The FCC’s order concerns only WCCO-TV and does not affect Minneapolis FOX affiliate KMSP, which is also carried on Rochester cable. St. Paul ABC affiliate KSTP is also included in Spectrum’s Rochester listings but is subject to blackouts.

As noted here previously, the Rochester area makes up about half of the households in the Rochester-Austin-Mason City market. Historically, only Gray TV NBC affiliate KTTC/10 was located in Rochester, but both KIMT and Hubbard ABC affiliate KAAL/6 (Austin) have begun originating full newscasts from the city in recent years.

Disclosure: Jon Ellis was an employee of Gray Media Group at the time this item was posted. The statements and views expressed in this posting are his own and do not reflect those of Gray Media Group.