Calendar No. 422

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1485

A BILL

To extend certain satellite carrier compulsory

M

licenses, and for other purposes.

AY 5 (legislative day, MAY 2), 1994

Reported with an amendment
II

Calendar No. 422

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1485

To extend certain satellite carrier compulsory licenses, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 22 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 7), 1993

Mr. DECONCINI (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. HEFLIN, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr.

GREGG, Mr. HATCH, Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN, Mr. THURMOND, Mr. CRAIG,

and Mr. PRESSLER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice

and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

MAY 5 (legislative day, MAY 2), 1994

Reported by Mr. BIDEN, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To extend certain satellite carrier compulsory licenses, and

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Satellite Carrier Com5 pulsory License Extension Act of 1993’’.
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1 SEC. 2. STATUTORY LICENSE FOR SATELLITE CARRIERS.

2 Section 119 of title 17, United States Code, is

3 amended—

4 (1) in subsection (a)(2)—

5 (A) in subparagraph (C)—

6 (i) by striking out ‘‘90 days after the

7 effective date of the Satellite Home Viewer

8 Act of 1988, or’’;

9 (ii) by striking out ‘‘whichever is

10 later,’’;

11 (iii) by inserting ‘‘name and’’ after

12 ‘‘identifying (by’’ each place it appears;

13 and

14 (iv) by striking out ‘‘, on or after the

15 effective date of the Satellite Home Viewer

16 Act of 1988,’’; and

17 (B) by adding at the end thereof the fol18 lowing new subparagraph:

19 ‘‘(D) SAMPLE SITE MEASUREMENTS.—On

20 or before January 1, 1995, and thereafter on or

21 before each January 1, upon the request of a

22 network each satellite carrier referred to under

23 subparagraph (C) shall, jointly with that net24 work, conduct measurements of the reception of

25 over-the-air television broadcast signals of net26 work stations affiliated with that network. The
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1 foregoing measurements shall be conducted

2 within the predicted Grade B contours of up to

3 5 network affiliated stations selected by the net4 work and taken at up to 20 subscriber house5 holds per affiliated station that are selected by

6 the network.’’;

7 (2) in subsection (a)(5)(C) by striking out ‘‘the

8 Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1988’’ and inserting in

9 lieu thereof ‘‘this section’’;

10 (3) in subsection (b)(1)(B)—

11 (A) in clause (i) by striking out ‘‘12 cents’’

12 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘17.5 cents per

13 subscriber in the case of superstations not sub14 ject to syndicated exclusivity under the regula15 tions of the Federal Communications Commis16 sion, and 14 cents per subscriber in the case of

17 superstations subject to such syndicated exclu18 sivity’’; and

19 (B) in clause (ii) by striking out ‘‘3’’ and

20 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘6’’;

21 (4) in subsection (c)—

22 (A) in the heading by striking out ‘‘DE23 TERMINATION’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

24 ‘‘ADJUSTMENT’’;

25 (B) in paragraph (1)—
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1 (i) by striking out ‘‘December 31,

2 1992, unless’’; and

3 (ii) by striking out ‘‘After that date,’’

4 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘All adjust5 ments of’’;

6 (C) in paragraph (2)—

7 (i) in subparagraph (A) by striking

8 out ‘‘July 1, 1991,’’ and inserting in lieu

9 thereof ‘‘January 1, 1996, and every 5

10 years thereafter,’’; and

11 (ii) in subparagraph (D) by striking

12 out ‘‘until December 31, 1994’’ and insert13 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘in accordance with the

14 terms of the agreement’’; and

15 (D) in paragraph (3)—

16 (i) in subparagraph (A) by striking

17 out ‘‘December 31, 1991,’’ and inserting in

18 lieu thereof ‘‘July 1, 1996, and every 5

19 years thereafter,’’;

20 (ii) in subparagraph (E) by striking

21 out ‘‘60’’ and inserting in lieu thereof

22 ‘‘180’’; and

23 (iii) in subparagraph (G) by striking

24 out ‘‘, or until December 31, 1994’’; and

25 (5) in subsection (d)—
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1 (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as

2 follows:

3 ‘‘(2) NETWORK STATION.—The term ‘network

4 station’ means a television broadcast station, includ5 ing any translator station or terrestrial satellite sta6 tion that rebroadcasts all or substantially all of the

7 programming broadcast by a network station, that is

8 owned or operated by, or affiliated with, one or more

9 of the television networks in the United States which

10 offer an interconnected program service on a regular

11 basis for 15 or more hours per week to at least 25

12 of its affiliated television licensees in 10 or more

13 States.’’; and

14 (B) in paragraph (6) by inserting ‘‘, and

15 operates in the Fixed Satellite Service under

16 part 25 of title 47 of the Code of Federal Regu17 lations or the Direct Broadcast Satellite Service

18 under part 100 of title 47 of the Code of Fed19 eral Regulations,’’ after ‘‘Commission’’.

20 SEC. 3. CABLE COMPULSORY LICENSE.

21 Section 111(f) of title 17, United States Code, is

22 amended in the paragraph relating to the definition of

23 ‘‘cable system’’ by striking out ‘‘wires, cables’’ and insert24 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘wires, microwave cables, terrestrially

25 based transmission paths,’’.
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Satellite Compulsory

3 License Extension Act of 1994’’.

4 SEC. 2. STATUTORY LICENSE FOR SATELLITE CARRIERS.

5 Section 119 of title 17, United States Code, is amend6 ed—

7 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(C)—

8 (A) by striking out ‘‘90 days after the effec9 tive date of the Satellite Home Viewer Act of

10 1988, or’’;

11 (B) by striking out ‘‘whichever is later,’’;

12 (C) by inserting ‘‘name and’’ after ‘‘identi13 fying (by’’ each place it appears; and

14 (D) by striking out ‘‘, on or after the effec15 tive date of the Satellite Home Viewer Act of

16 1988,’’;

17 (2) in subsection (a)(5)—

18 (A) in subparagraph (C) by striking out

19 ‘‘the Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1988’’ and in20 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘this section’’; and

21 (B) by adding at the end thereof the follow22 ing new subparagraphs:

23 ‘‘(D) BURDEN OF PROOF.—In any action

24 brought under this subsection, the satellite car25 rier shall have the burden of proof (in the case
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1 of a primary transmission by a network station)

2 that a subscriber is an unserved household.

3 ‘‘(E) SIGNAL INTENSITY MEASUREMENT;

4 LOSER PAYS.—

5 ‘‘(i) GRADE B CONTOUR.—(I) Within

6 the Grade B Contour, upon a challenge by

7 a network affiliate regarding whether a sub8 scriber is an unserved household, the sat9 ellite carrier shall—

10 ‘‘(aa) deauthorize service to that

11 household; or

12 ‘‘(bb) conduct a measurement of

13 the signal intensity of the subscriber’s

14 household to determine whether the

15 household is unserved.

16 ‘‘(II) If the carrier conducts a signal

17 intensity measurement under subclause (I)

18 and the measurement indicates that—

19 ‘‘(aa) the household is not an

20 unserved household, the carrier shall

21 immediately deauthorize the service to

22 that household; or

23 ‘‘(bb) the household is an unserved

24 household, the affiliate challenging the

25 service shall reimburse the carrier for
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1 the costs of the signal measurement,

2 within 45 days after receipt of the

3 measurement results and a statement

4 of the costs.

5 ‘‘(III)(aa) Notwithstanding subclause

6 (II), a carrier may not be required to test

7 in excess of 5 percent of the subscribers that

8 have subscribed to service before the effective

9 date of the Satellite Compulsory License

10 Extension Act of 1994, within any market

11 during a calendar year.

12 ‘‘(bb) If a network affiliate challenges

13 whether a subscriber is an unserved house14 hold in excess of the 5 percent of the sub15 scribers within any market, the affiliate

16 may conduct its own signal intensity meas17 urement. If such measurement indicates

18 that the household is not an unserved house19 hold, the carrier shall immediately de20 authorize service to that household and re21 imburse the affiliate, within 45 days after

22 receipt of the measurement and a statement

23 of costs.

24 ‘‘(ii) OUTSIDE THE GRADE B CON25 TOUR.—(I) Outside the Grade B Contour, if
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1 a network affiliate challenges whether a sub2 scriber is an unserved household the affiliate

3 shall conduct a signal intensity measure4 ment of the subscriber’s household to deter5 mine whether the household is unserved.

6 ‘‘(II) If the affiliate conducts a signal

7 intensity measurement under subclause (I)

8 and the measurement indicates that—

9 ‘‘(aa) the household is not an

10 unserved household, the affiliate shall

11 forward the results to the carrier who

12 shall immediately deauthorize service

13 to the household, and reimburse the af14 filiate within 45 days after receipt of

15 the results and a statement of the costs;

16 or

17 ‘‘(bb) the household is an unserved

18 household, the affiliate shall pay the

19 costs of the measurement.

20 ‘‘(iii) RECOVERY OF MEASUREMENT

21 COSTS IN A CIVIL ACTION.—In any civil ac22 tion filed relating to the eligibility of sub23 scribing households, a challenging affiliate

24 shall reimburse a carrier for any signal in-
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1 tensity measurement that indicates the

2 household is an unserved household.’’;

3 (3) in subsection (b)(1)(B)—

4 (A) in clause (i) by striking out ‘‘12 cents’’

5 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘17.5 cents per sub6 scriber in the case of superstations not subject to

7 syndicated exclusivity under the regulations of

8 the Federal Communications Commission, and

9 14 cents per subscriber in the case of

10 superstations subject to such syndicated exclusiv11 ity’’; and

12 (B) in clause (ii) by striking out ‘‘3’’ and

13 inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘6’’;

14 (4) in subsection (c)—

15 (A) in the heading for paragraph (1) by

16 striking out ‘‘DETERMINATION’’ and inserting in

17 lieu thereof ‘‘ADJUSTMENT’’;

18 (B) in paragraph (1)—

19 (i) by striking out ‘‘December 31, 1992,

20 unless’’; and

21 (ii) by striking out ‘‘After that date,’’

22 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘All adjust23 ments of’’;

24 (C) in paragraph (2)—
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1 (i) in subparagraph (A) by striking

2 out ‘‘July 1, 1991,’’ and inserting in lieu

3 thereof ‘‘January 1, 1996,’’; and

4 (ii) in subparagraph (D) by striking

5 out ‘‘until December 31, 1994’’ and insert6 ing in lieu thereof ‘‘in accordance with the

7 terms of the agreement’’; and

8 (D) in paragraph (3)(A) by striking out

9 ‘‘December 31, 1991,’’ and inserting in lieu

10 thereof ‘‘July 1, 1996,’’; and

11 (5) in subsection (d)—

12 (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as

13 follows:

14 ‘‘(2) NETWORK STATION.—The term ‘network

15 station’ means—

16 ‘‘(A) a television broadcast station, includ17 ing any translator station or terrestrial satellite

18 station that rebroadcasts all or substantially all

19 of the programming broadcast by a network sta20 tion, that is owned or operated by, or affiliated

21 with, one or more of the television networks in

22 the United States which offer an interconnected

23 program service on a regular basis for 15 or

24 more hours per week to at least 25 of its affili25 ated television licensees in 10 or more States; or
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1 ‘‘(B) any noncommercial educational sta2 tion, as defined in section 111(f) of this title,

3 that is a member of the public broadcasting serv4 ice.’’; and

5 (B) in paragraph (6) by inserting ‘‘and op6 erates in the Fixed Satellite Service under part

7 25 of title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations

8 or the Direct Broadcast Satellite Service under

9 part 100 of title 47 of the Code of Federal Regu10 lations,’’ after ‘‘Commission,’’.

11 SEC. 3. CABLE COMPULSORY LICENSE.

12 Section 111(f) of title 17, United States Code, is

13 amended—

14 (1) in the paragraph relating to the definition of

15 ‘‘cable system’’ by striking out ‘‘wires, cables’’ and in16 serting in lieu thereof ‘‘wires, microwave, cables’’; and

17 (2) in the paragraph relating to the definition of

18 ‘‘local service area of a primary transmitter’’—

19 (A) by striking out ‘‘comprises the area’’

20 and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘comprises either

21 the area’’; and

22 (B) by inserting after ‘‘April 15, 1976,’’ the

23 following: ‘‘or such station’s television market as

24 defined in section 76.55(e) of title 47, Code of

25 Federal Regulations (as in effect on September
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1 18, 1993), or any subsequent modifications to

2 such television market made pursuant to section

3 76.55(e) or 76.59 of title 47 of the Code of Fed4 eral Regulations,’’.

5 SEC. 4. TERMINATION.

6 (a) EXPIRATION OF AMENDMENTS.—Section 119 of

7 title 17, United States Code, as amended by section 2 of

8 this Act, ceases to be effective on December 31, 1999.

9 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Sec10 tion 207 of the Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1988 (17

11 U.S.C. 119 note) is repealed.

12 SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under sub14 section (b), the provisions of this Act and amendments made

15 by this Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment

16 of this Act.

17 (b) BURDEN OF PROOF PROVISIONS.—The provisions

18 of section 119(a)(5)(D) of title 17, United States Code, (as

19 added by section 2(2)(B) of this Act) relating to the burden

20 of proof of satellite carriers, shall take effect on January

21 1, 1997, with respect to civil actions relating to the eligi22 bility of subscribers who subscribed to service as an

23 unserved household before the date of the enactment of this

24 Act.