II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2799 

To extend the authority of satellite carriers to retransmit certain television 

broadcast station signals, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014 

Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself and Mr. THUNE) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To extend the authority of satellite carriers to retransmit 

certain television broadcast station signals, 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 Television Ac5 cess and Viewer Rights Act. 

6 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934. 

7 Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in 

8 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

9 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other proviVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:17 Sep 12, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2799.IS S2799

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1 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

2 section or other provision of the Communications Act of 

3 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.). 

4 TITLE I—SATELLITE 

5 TELEVISION 

6 SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY. 

7 Section 325(b) (47 U.S.C. 325(b)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ‘‘December 

9 31, 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2019’’; and 

10 (2) in paragraph (3)(C), by striking ‘‘January 

11 1, 2015’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Janu12 ary 1, 2020’’. 

13 SEC. 102. MODIFICATION OF TELEVISION MARKETS TO 

14 FURTHER CONSUMER ACCESS TO RELEVANT 

15 TELEVISION PROGRAMMING. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 338 (47 U.S.C. 338) is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (k)— 

19 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

20 through (10) as paragraphs (2) through (11), 

21 respectively; 

22 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as 

23 redesignated, the following: 

24 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATED MARKET AREA.—The term 

25 ‘designated market area’ means a designated market 


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1 area as determined by Nielsen Media Research or by 

2 any successor system of assigning television broad3 cast stations to local markets adopted by the Com4 mission.’’; and 

5 (C) by amending paragraph (5), as redes6 ignated, to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(5) LOCAL MARKET.—The term ‘local market’, 

8 in the case of both commercial and noncommercial 

9 television broadcast stations, means the designated 

10 market area in which a television broadcast station 

11 is located.’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(l) MARKET DETERMINATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Following a written re15 quest, the Commission may, with respect to a par16 ticular television broadcast station, include addi17 tional communities within its local market or exclude 

18 communities from such station’s local market to bet19 ter effectuate the purposes of this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In considering re21 quests filed under paragraph (1), the Commission— 

22 ‘‘(A) may determine that particular com23 munities are part of more than one local mar24 ket; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) shall afford particular attention to 

2 the value of localism, including promoting a 

3 consumer’s access to television signals that 

4 originate in the consumer’s State of residence, 

5 by taking into account such factors as— 

6 ‘‘(i) whether the station, or other sta7 tions located in the same area— 

8 ‘‘(I) have been historically carried 

9 on the cable system or systems within 

10 such community; and 

11 ‘‘(II) have been historically car12 ried on the satellite carrier or carriers 

13 serving such community; 

14 ‘‘(ii) whether the television station 

15 provides coverage or other local service to 

16 such community; 

17 ‘‘(iii) whether any other television sta18 tion that is eligible to be carried by a sat19 ellite carrier in such community in fulfill20 ment of the requirements of this section 

21 provides news coverage of issues of concern 

22 to such community or provides carriage or 

23 coverage of sporting and other events of 

24 interest to the community; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) evidence of viewing patterns in 

2 households that subscribe and do not sub3 scribe to the services offered by multi4 channel video programming distributors 

5 within the areas served by such multi6 channel video programming distributors in 

7 such community. 

8 ‘‘(3) CARRIAGE OF SIGNALS.—A satellite carrier 

9 shall not delete from carriage the signal of a com10 mercial television station during the pendency of any 

11 proceeding under this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(4) DETERMINATIONS.—Not later than 120 

13 days after the date that a written request is filed 

14 under paragraph (1), the Commission shall grant or 

15 deny the request.’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

17 614(h)(1)(C) (47 U.S.C. 534(h)(1)(C)) is amended— 

18 (1) in clause (ii)— 

19 (A) in the matter preceding subclause (I), 

20 by striking ‘‘localism’’ and inserting ‘‘localism, 

21 including promoting consumer access to tele22 vision signals that originate in a consumer’s 

23 State of residence,’’; 

24 (B) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘commu25 nity’’ and inserting ‘‘community or on the satVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:17 Sep 12, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2799.IS S2799

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1 ellite carrier or carriers serving such commu2 nity’’; and 

3 (C) by amending subclause (IV) to read as 

4 follows: 

5 ‘‘(IV) evidence of viewing pat6 terns in households that subscribe and 

7 do not subscribe to the services of8 fered by multichannel video program9 ming distributors within the areas 

10 served by such multichannel video 

11 programming distributors in such 

12 community.’’; and 

13 (2) by moving the margin of clause (iv) 4 ems 

14 to the left. 

15 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—As part of the rulemaking to 

16 implement the amendments made by this section, the Fed17 eral Communications Commission shall ensure that proce18 dures for the filing and consideration of a written request 

19 under sections 338(l) and 614(h)(1)(C) of the Commu20 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 338, 534) fully effec21 tuate the purposes of the amendments made by this sec22 tion. As part of that process, the Federal Communications 

23 Commission shall update what it considers to be a commu24 nity for purposes of a modification of a market under secVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:17 Sep 12, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2799.IS S2799

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1 tion 338(l) or 614(h)(1)(C) of the Communications Act 

2 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 338, 534). 

3 TITLE II—VIDEO POLICY 

4 REFORMS 

5 SEC. 201. CONSUMER PROTECTIONS IN RETRANSMISSION 

6 CONSENT. 

7 (a) JOINT RETRANSMISSION CONSENT NEGOTIA8 TIONS.—Section 325(b)(3)(C) (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(3)(C)) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

11 (2) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the 

12 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(iv) prohibit a television broadcast 

15 station from coordinating negotiations or 

16 negotiating on a joint basis with another 

17 television broadcast station to grant re18 transmission consent under this section to 

19 a multichannel video programming dis20 tributor, unless such stations are directly 

21 or indirectly under common de jure control 

22 permitted by the Federal Communications 

23 Commission;’’. 

24 (b) PROTECTIONS FOR SIGNIFICANTLY VIEWED AND

25 OTHER TELEVISION SIGNALS.—Section 325(b)(3)(C) (47 


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1 U.S.C. 325(b)(3)(C)), as amended, is further amended by 

2 adding at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘(v) prohibit a television broadcast 

4 station from limiting the ability of a multi5 channel video programming distributor to 

6 carry a television signal that has been 

7 deemed significantly viewed, within the 

8 meaning of section 76.54 of title 47, Code 

9 of Federal Regulations, or any successor 

10 regulation, or any other television broad11 cast signal such distributor is authorized 

12 to carry under section 338 or 614 of this 

13 Act, into the local market of such station, 

14 unless such stations are directly or indi15 rectly under common de jure control per16 mitted by the Commission; and’’. 

17 (c) PER SE VIOLATIONS.—Section 325(b)(3)(C) (47 

18 U.S.C. 325(b)(3)(C)), as amended, is further amended by 

19 adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(vi) following an expiration of a re21 transmission consent agreement between a 

22 television broadcast station and a multi23 channel video programming distributor 

24 under this section, permit the Commis25 sion— 


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1 ‘‘(I) to request from the parties 

2 such information as it deems nec3 essary to ensure that neither party 

4 has committed a per se violation of its 

5 duty to negotiate in good faith under 

6 this paragraph; and 

7 ‘‘(II) to determine, based on the 

8 information collected under subclause 

9 (I) and in accordance with this Act, 

10 that a party to a retransmission con11 sent negotiation has committed a per 

12 se violation of its duty to negotiate in 

13 good faith.’’. 

14 (d) GOOD FAITH.—Section 325(b)(3) (47 U.S.C. 

15 325(b)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(D) UPDATE TO GOOD FAITH RULES.— 

17 The Commission shall commence a rulemaking 

18 to revise the regulations issued pursuant to sub19 paragraph (C). That rulemaking shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) consider whether each of the fol21 lowing constitutes a failure to negotiate in 

22 good faith as required by this paragraph— 

23 ‘‘(I) the blocking of online con24 tent owned or controlled by a tele25 vision broadcast station or a television 


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1 network, or the act of soliciting, en2 couraging, or otherwise seeking to 

3 have another entity block access to 

4 online content, during retransmission 

5 consent negotiations or after the expi6 ration of a retransmission consent 

7 agreement; and 

8 ‘‘(II) allowing a television net9 work to review and approve the rates, 

10 terms, and conditions of a retrans11 mission consent agreement, or the 

12 material terms of such agreement, for 

13 any television broadcast station not 

14 wholly owned by such network; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) review and update the Commis16 sion’s totality of the circumstances test to 

17 ensure that such test encourages parties to 

18 a retransmission consent negotiation to 

19 present bona fide proposals on the material 

20 terms of a retransmission consent agree21 ment during negotiations and engage in 

22 timely negotiations to reach an agree23 ment.’’. 

24 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 325(b)(7) 

25 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(7)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

4 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(C) ‘television network’ means a television 

7 network in the United States which offers an 

8 interconnected program service on a regular 

9 basis for 15 or more hours per week to at least 

10 25 affiliated broadcast stations in 10 or more 

11 States.’’. 

12 (f) MARGIN CORRECTIONS.— 

13 (1) Section 325(b)(3)(C) (47 U.S.C. 

14 325(b)(3)(C)) is further amended by moving the 

15 margin of clause (iii) 4 ems to the left. 

16 (2) Section 325(b) (47 U.S.C. 325(b)) is 

17 amended by moving the margin of paragraph (7), as 

18 amended by this section, 4 ems to the left. 

19 SEC. 202. UPDATE TO CABLE RATES REPORT. 

20 Section 623(k) (47 U.S.C. 543(k)) is amended to 

21 read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(k) REPORTS ON AVERAGE PRICES.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall an24 nually publish statistical reports on the average 

25 rates for basic cable service and other cable proVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:17 Sep 12, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2799.IS S2799

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1 gramming, and for converter boxes, remote control 

2 units, and other equipment of cable systems that the 

3 Commission has found are subject to effective com4 petition under subsection (a)(2) compared with cable 

5 systems that the Commission has found are not sub6 ject to such effective competition. 

7 ‘‘(2) INCLUSION IN ANNUAL REPORT.—The 

8 Commission shall include in its report under para9 graph (1), the aggregate average total amount paid 

10 by cable systems per community in compensation 

11 under section 325.’’. 

12 SEC. 203. COMPETITIVE DEVICE AVAILABILITY. 

13 (a) TERMINATION OF EFFECTIVENESS.— 

14 (1) NEW NAVIGATION DEVICES.—The authority 

15 provided by the second sentence of section 

16 76.1204(a)(1) of title 47, Code of Federal Regula17 tions, terminates effective on the date that is 2 years 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 (2) REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—Not later 

20 than 910 days after the date of enactment of this 

21 Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall 

22 revise its regulations to strike the sentence described 

23 in paragraph (1) and make any necessary con24 forming revisions to its regulations. 

25 (b) WORKING GROUP.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Chairman of 

3 the Federal Communications Commission shall con4 vene a working group of technical experts rep5 resenting a wide range of stakeholders, to identify 

6 and report performance objectives, technical capa7 bilities, and technical standards of a non-burden8 some, uniform, and technology- and platform-neutral 

9 software-based downloadable security system de10 signed to promote the competitive availability of 

11 navigation devices in furtherance of section 629 of 

12 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 549). 

13 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 540 days after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the working group 

15 shall file a report with the Federal Communications 

16 Commission on its work under paragraph (1). 

17 (3) COMMISSION ASSISTANCE.—The Chair18 person of the Federal Communications Commission 

19 may appoint a member of the Commission’s staff— 

20 (A) to moderate and direct the work of the 

21 working group under this subsection; and 

22 (B) to provide technical assistance to mem23 bers of the working group, as appropriate. 


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1 (4) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meeting of 

2 the working group shall take place not later than 

3 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 204. ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS TO EFFECTIVE COM5 PETITION PETITIONS. 

6 Section 623 (47 U.S.C. 543) is amended by adding 

7 at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(o) STREAMLINED PETITION PROCESS FOR SMALL

9 CABLE OPERATORS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

11 after the date of enactment of the Satellite Tele12 vision Access and Viewer Rights Act, the Commis13 sion shall complete a rulemaking to establish a 

14 streamlined process for filing of an effective competi15 tion petition pursuant to this section for small cable 

16 operators, particularly those who serve primarily 

17 rural areas. 

18 ‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub19 section shall be construed to have any effect on the 

20 duty of a small cable operator to prove the existence 

21 of effective competition under this section. 

22 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION OF SMALL CABLE OPER23 ATOR.—In this subsection, the term ‘small cable op24 erator’ has the meaning given the term in subsection 

25 (m).’’. 


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1 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS 

2 SEC. 301. IMPLEMENTATION. 

3 Except as otherwise expressly provided, the Federal 

4 Communications Commission shall prescribe regulations 

5 to implement the requirements of this Act, and any 

6 amendments made by this Act, not later than 270 days 

7 after the date of enactment. 

8 SEC. 302. SEVERABILITY. 

9 If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by 

10 this Act, or the application of such provision or amend11 ment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconsti12 tutional, the remainder of the Act, the amendments made 

13 by the Act, and the application of such provision or 

14 amendment to any person or circumstance shall not be af15 fected thereby. 

Æ 


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