II 

Calendar No. 709 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2764 

To reauthorize the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization 

Act of 2004, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 10, 2009 

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

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

Science, and Transportation 

DECEMBER 17, 2010 

Reported by Mr. ROCKEFELLER, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and 

Reauthorization Act of 2004, 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 Ex5 tension and Localism Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY. 

2 Section 325(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 

3 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)) is amended— 

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

5 31, 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2014’’; and 

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

7 1, 2010’’ each place it appears in clauses (ii) and 

8 (iii) and inserting ‘‘January 1, 2015’’. 

9 SEC. 3. SIGNIFICANTLY VIEWED STATIONS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 

11 340(b) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 340(b)) are amended to 

12 read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(1) SERVICE LIMITED TO SUBSCRIBERS TAK14 ING LOCAL-INTO-LOCAL SERVICE.—This section shall 

15 apply only to retransmissions to subscribers of a sat16 ellite carrier who receive retransmissions of a signal 

17 from that satellite carrier pursuant to section 338. 

18 ‘‘(2) SERVICE LIMITATIONS.—A satellite carrier 

19 may retransmit to a subscriber in high definition 

20 format the signal of a station determined by the 

21 Commission to be significantly viewed under sub22 section (a) only if such carrier also retransmits in 

23 high definition format the signal of a station located 

24 in the local market of such subscriber and affiliated 

25 with the same network whenever such format is 

26 available from such station.’’. 


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1 (b) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.—Within 180 days after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Commu3 nications Commission shall take all actions necessary to 

4 promulgate a rule to implement the amendments made by 

5 subsection (a). 

6 SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

7 (a) SECTION 338.—Section 338 of the Communica8 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 338) is amended— 

9 (1) by striking ‘‘119(a)(14)’’ in the first para10 graph (3) of subsection (a) and inserting 

11 ‘‘119(a)(15)’’; 

12 (2) by striking the second paragraph (3) of sub13 section (a); and 

14 (3) by striking subsection (g) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(g) CARRIAGE OF LOCAL STATIONS ON A SINGLE

17 RECEPTION ANTENNA.— 

18 ‘‘(1) SINGLE RECEPTION ANTENNA.—Each sat19 ellite carrier that retransmits the signals of local tel20 evision broadcast stations in a local market shall re21 transmit such stations in such market so that a sub22 scriber may receive such stations by means of a sin23 gle reception antenna and associated equipment. 

24 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL RECEPTION ANTENNA.—If 

25 the carrier retransmits the signals of local television 


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1 broadcast stations in a local market in high defini2 tion format, the carrier shall retransmit such signals 

3 in such market so that a subscriber may receive 

4 such signals by means of a single reception antenna 

5 and associated equipment, but such antenna and as6 sociated equipment may be separate from the single 

7 reception antenna and associated equipment used to 

8 comply with paragraph (1).’’. 

9 (b) SECTION 339.—Section 339 of such Act (47 

10 U.S.C. 339) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘Such 

13 two network stations’’ and all that follows 

14 through ‘‘more than two network stations.’’; 

15 and 

16 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

17 (i) in the heading for subparagraph 

18 (A), by striking ‘‘GRANDFATHERED SUB19 SCRIBERS TO ANALOG SIGNALS.—’’ and in20 serting ‘‘CERTAIN GRANDFATHERED SUB21 SCRIBERS.—’’; 

22 (ii) by striking ‘‘Satellite Home View23 er Extension and Reauthorization Act of 

24 2004:’’ and inserting ‘‘Satellite Television 

25 Extension and Localism Act of 2009:’’; 


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1 (iii) in subparagraph (A)— 

2 (I) in the heading for clause (i), 

3 by striking ‘‘ANALOG’’; 

4 (II) in clause (i)— 

5 (aa) by striking ‘‘analog’’ 

6 each place it appears; and 

7 (bb) by striking ‘‘October 1, 

8 2004,’’ and inserting ‘‘October 1, 

9 2009,’’; 

10 (III) in the heading for clause 

11 (ii), by striking ‘‘ANALOG’’; and 

12 (IV) in clause (ii)— 

13 (aa) by striking ‘‘analog’’ 

14 each place it appears; and 

15 (bb) by striking ‘‘2004,’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘2009,’’; 

17 (iv) by amending subparagraph (B) to 

18 read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(B) RULES FOR OTHER SUBSCRIBERS.— 

20 A subscriber of a satellite carrier, other than a 

21 subscriber to whom subparagraph (A) applies, 

22 who was lawfully receiving the distant signal of 

23 a network station on the day before the date of 

24 enactment of the Satellite Television Extension 

25 and Localism Act of 2009 may continue to reVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Dec 18, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2764.RS S2764

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1 ceive such distant signal until such subscriber 

2 chooses to no longer receive such distant signal 

3 from such carrier, whether or not such sub4 scriber elects to subscribe to local signals.’’; 

5 (v) in subparagraph (C)— 

6 (I) by striking ‘‘analog’’; 

7 (II) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘the 

8 Satellite Home Viewer Extension and 

9 Reauthorization Act of 2004;’’ and in10 serting ‘‘the Satellite Television Ex11 tension and Localism Act of 2009;’’; 

12 and 

13 (III) by amending clause (ii) to 

14 read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(ii) either— 

16 ‘‘(I) at the time such person 

17 seeks to subscribe to receive such sec18 ondary transmission, resides in a local 

19 market where the satellite carrier 

20 makes available to that person the 

21 signal of a local network station affili22 ated with the same television network 

23 pursuant to section 338, and the re24 transmission of such signal by such 

25 carrier can reach such subscriber; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) receives from the satellite 

2 carrier the signal of a network station 

3 affiliated with the same network that 

4 is broadcast by a local station in the 

5 market where the subscriber resides, 

6 but is not the local station’s primary 

7 video.’’; 

8 (vi) by striking subparagraph (D) and 

9 inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(D) SPECIAL RULES FOR DISTANT SIG11 NALS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 

13 subscriber of a satellite carrier who, with 

14 respect to a local network station— 

15 ‘‘(I) is a subscriber whose house16 hold is not predicted by the model 

17 specified in subsection (c)(3) of this 

18 section to receive the signal intensity 

19 required under section 73.622(e)(1) or 

20 73.683(a) of 47 of the Code of Fed21 eral Regulations, or a successor regu22 lation, or 

23 ‘‘(II) is in an unserved house24 hold, as determined under section 


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1 119(d)(10)(A) of title 17, United 

2 States Code, 

3 such subscriber is eligible to receive the 

4 signal of a distant network station affili5 ated with the same network under this sec6 tion, subject to the provisions of this sub7 paragraph. 

8 ‘‘(ii) SIGNAL TESTING.—A subscriber 

9 shall be eligible to receive a distant signal 

10 of a distant network station affiliated with 

11 the same network under this section if 

12 such subscriber is determined, based on a 

13 test conducted in accordance with section 

14 73.686(d) of title 47, Code of Federal Reg15 ulations, or any successor regulation, not 

16 to be able to receive a signal that exceeds 

17 the signal intensity standard in section 

18 73.622(e)(1) or 73.683(a) of title 47, Code 

19 of Federal Regulations. 

20 ‘‘(iii) TIME-SHIFTING PROHIBITED.— 

21 In a case in which the satellite carrier 

22 makes available to an eligible subscriber 

23 under this subparagraph the signal of a 

24 local network station pursuant to section 

25 338, the carrier may only provide the disVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Dec 18, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2764.RS S2764

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1 tant signal of a station affiliated with the 

2 same network to that subscriber if, in the 

3 case of any local market in the 48 contig4 uous States of the United States, the dis5 tant signal is the secondary transmission 

6 of a station whose prime time network pro7 gramming is generally broadcast simulta8 neously with, or later than, the prime time 

9 network programming of the affiliate of 

10 the same network in the local market. 

11 ‘‘(iv) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing 

12 in this subparagraph shall be construed to 

13 affect a satellite carrier’s obligations under 

14 section 338.’’; and 

15 (vii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

16 ‘‘distant analog signal or’’ and all that fol17 lows through ‘‘(B), or (D))’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘distant signal’’; and 

19 (2) in subsection (c)— 

20 (A) by striking paragraph (3) and insert21 ing the following: 

22 ‘‘(3) ESTABLISHMENT OF IMPROVED PRE23 DICTIVE MODEL AND ON-LOCATION TESTING RE24 QUIRED.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) PREDICTIVE MODEL.—Within 180 

2 days after the date of the enactment of the Sat3 ellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 

4 2009, the Commission shall take all actions 

5 necessary to develop and prescribe by rule a 

6 point-to-point predictive model for reliably and 

7 presumptively determining the ability of indi8 vidual locations, through the use of an antenna, 

9 to receive signals in accordance with the signal 

10 intensity standard in section 73.622(e)(1) of 

11 title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, including 

12 to account for the continuing operation of 

13 translator stations and low power television sta14 tions. In prescribing such model, the Commis15 sion shall rely on the Individual Location 

16 Longley-Rice model set forth by the Commis17 sion in CS Docket No. 98–201, as previously 

18 revised with respect to analog signals, and as 

19 recommended by the Commission with respect 

20 to digital signals in its Report to Congress in 

21 ET Docket No. 05–182, FCC 05–199 (released 

22 December 9, 2005). The Commission shall es23 tablish procedures for the continued refinement 

24 in the application of the model by the use of ad25 ditional data as it becomes available. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ON-LOCATION TESTING.—The Com2 mission shall issue an order completing its rule3 making proceeding in ET Docket No. 06–94 

4 within 180 days after the date of enactment of 

5 the Satellite Television Extension and Localism 

6 Act of 2009. In conducting such rulemaking, 

7 the Commission shall seek ways to minimize 

8 consumer burdens associated with on-location 

9 testing.’’; 

10 (B) by striking paragraph (4)(A) and in11 serting the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a subscriber’s re13 quest for a waiver under paragraph (2) is re14 jected and the subscriber submits to the sub15 scriber’s satellite carrier a request for a test 

16 verifying the subscriber’s inability to receive a 

17 signal of the signal intensity referenced in 

18 clause (i) of subsection (a)(2)(D), the satellite 

19 carrier and the network station or stations as20 serting that the retransmission is prohibited 

21 with respect to that subscriber shall select a 

22 qualified and independent person to conduct the 

23 test referenced in such clause. Such test shall 

24 be conducted within 30 days after the date the 

25 subscriber submits a request for the test. If the 


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1 written findings and conclusions of a test con2 ducted in accordance with such clause dem3 onstrate that the subscriber does not receive a 

4 signal that meets or exceeds the requisite signal 

5 intensity standard in such clause, the subscriber 

6 shall not be denied the retransmission of a sig7 nal of a network station under section 119 of 

8 title 17, United States Code.’’; 

9 (C) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘the 

10 signal intensity’’ and all that follows through 

11 ‘‘United States Code’’ and inserting ‘‘such req12 uisite signal intensity standard’’; and 

13 (D) in paragraph (4)(E), by striking 

14 ‘‘Grade B intensity’’. 

15 (c) SECTION 340.—Section 340(i) of such Act (47 

16 U.S.C. 340(i)) is amended by striking paragraph (4). 

17 SEC. 5. APPLICATION PENDING COMPLETION OF 

18 RULEMAKINGS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Between the date of enactment of 

20 this Act and the adoption of rules by the Federal Commu21 nications Commission pursuant to the amendments to the 

22 Communications Act of 1934 made by sections 3 and 4 

23 of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall 

24 follow its rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to 

25 sections 338, 339, and 340 of the Communications Act 


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1 of 1934 as in effect on the day before the date of enact2 ment of this Act. 

3 (b) TRANSLATOR STATIONS AND LOW POWER TELE4 VISION STATIONS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), for 

5 purposes of determining whether a subscriber within the 

6 local market served by a translator station or a low power 

7 television station affiliated with a television network is eli8 gible to receive distant signals under section 339 of such 

9 Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall follow 

10 its rules and regulations for determining such subscriber’s 

11 eligibility as in effect on the day before the date of enact12 ment of this Act until the date on which the translator 

13 station or low power television station is licensed to broad14 cast a digital signal. 

15 (c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act: 

16 (1) LOCAL MARKET; LOW POWER TELEVISION

17 STATION; SATELLITE CARRIER; SUBSCRIBER; TELE18 VISION BROADCAST STATION.—The terms ‘‘local 

19 market’’, ‘‘low power television station’’, ‘‘satellite 

20 carrier’’, ‘‘subscriber’’, and ‘‘television broadcast sta21 tion’’ have the meanings given such terms in section 

22 338(k) of the Communications Act of 1934. 

23 (2) NETWORK STATION; TELEVISION NET24 WORK.—The terms ‘‘network station’’ and ‘‘teleVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Dec 18, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2764.RS S2764

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1 vision network’’ have the meanings given such terms 

2 in section 339(d) of such Act. 

3 SEC. 6. SAVINGS CLAUSE REGARDING DEFINITIONS. 

4 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 

5 Act shall be construed to affect the definitions of ‘‘pro6 gram related’’ and ‘‘primary video’’ in the Communica7 tions Act of 1934 or in any regulations promulgated pur8 suant to such Act by the Federal Communications Com9 mission. 

10 SEC. 7. NONDISCRIMINATION IN CARRIAGE OF HIGH DEFI11 NITION DIGITAL SIGNALS OF NONCOMMER12 CIAL EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION STATIONS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 338(a) of the Commu14 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 338(a)) is amended by 

15 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(5) NONDISCRIMINATION IN CARRIAGE OF

17 HIGH DEFINITION SIGNALS OF NONCOMMERCIAL

18 EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION STATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) EXISTING CARRIAGE OF HIGH DEFI20 NITION SIGNALS.—Each eligible satellite carrier 

21 providing, under section 122 of title 17, United 

22 States Code, any secondary transmissions in 

23 high definition to subscribers located within the 

24 local market of a television broadcast station of 

25 a primary transmission made by that station 


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1 prior to the date of enactment of the Satellite 

2 Television Extension and Localism Act of 2009 

3 shall carry the high definition signals of quali4 fied noncommercial educational television sta5 tions located within that local market in accord6 ance with the following schedule: 

7 ‘‘(i) By December 31, 2010, in at 

8 least 50 percent of the markets in which 

9 such satellite carrier provides such sec10 ondary transmissions in high definition. 

11 ‘‘(ii) By December 31, 2011, in every 

12 market in which such satellite carrier pro13 vides such secondary transmissions in high 

14 definition. 

15 ‘‘(B) NEW INITIATION OF SERVICE.—Each 

16 eligible satellite carrier that initiates the provi17 sion, under section 122 of title 17, United 

18 States Code, of any secondary transmissions in 

19 high definition to subscribers located within the 

20 local market of a television broadcast station of 

21 a primary transmission made by that station 

22 after the date of enactment of the Satellite Tel23 evision Extension and Localism Act of 2009 

24 shall carry the high definition signals of all 


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1 qualified noncommercial educational television 

2 stations located within that local market.’’. 

3 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 338(k) of such Act (47 

4 U.S.C. 338(k)) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

6 (8) as paragraphs (3) through (9), respectively; 

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol8 lowing new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE SATELLITE CARRIER.—The term 

10 ‘eligible satellite carrier’ means any satellite carrier 

11 that is not a party to a carriage contract with a 

12 qualified noncommercial educational television sta13 tion or its representative that— 

14 ‘‘(A) governs carriage of more than 30 

15 such stations; and 

16 ‘‘(B) is in force and effect as of the date 

17 of enactment of the Satellite Television Exten18 sion and Localism Act of 2009.’’; 

19 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through 

20 (9) (as previously redesignated) as paragraphs (7) 

21 through (10), respectively; and 

22 (4) by inserting after paragraph (5) (as so re23 designated) the following new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(6) QUALIFIED NONCOMMERCIAL EDU25 CATIONAL TELEVISION STATION.—The term ‘qualiVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Dec 18, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2764.RS S2764

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1 fied noncommercial educational television station’ 

2 has the meaning given such term in section 

3 615(l)(1) of this Act.’’. 

4 SEC. 8. REPORT ON COMMUNICATIONS IMPLICATIONS OF 

5 STATUTORY LICENSING MODIFICATIONS. 

6 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall conduct 

7 a study that analyzes and evaluates the changes to the 

8 carriage requirements currently imposed on multichannel 

9 video programming distributors under the Communica10 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) and the regula11 tions promulgated by the Federal Communications Com12 mission that would be required or beneficial to consumers, 

13 and such other matters as the Comptroller General deems 

14 appropriate, if Congress implemented a phase-out of the 

15 current statutory licensing requirements set forth under 

16 sections 111, 119, and 122 of title 17, United States 

17 Code. Among other things, the study shall consider the 

18 impact such a phase-out and related changes to carriage 

19 requirements would have on consumer prices and access 

20 to programming. 

21 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

23 shall report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 

24 Science, and Transportation and the House of Represent25 atives Committee on Energy and Commerce the results of 


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1 the study, including any recommendations for legislative 

2 or administrative actions. 

3 SEC. 9. SEVERABILITY. 

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

5 this Act, or the application of such provision or amend6 ment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconsti7 tutional, the remainder of this Act, the amendments made 

8 by this Act, and the application of such provisions to any 

9 person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. 

10 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Satellite Television Ex12 tension and Localism Act of 2009’’. 

13 SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY. 

14 Section 325(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

15 U.S.C. 325(b)) is amended— 

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

17 31, 2009’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2014’’; and 

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

19 1, 2010’’ each place it appears in clauses (ii) and 

20 (iii) and inserting ‘‘January 1, 2015’’. 

21 SEC. 3. SIGNIFICANTLY VIEWED STATIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 

23 340(b) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 340(b)) are amended to read 

24 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) SERVICE LIMITED TO SUBSCRIBERS TAKING

2 LOCAL-INTO-LOCAL SERVICE.—This section shall 

3 apply only to retransmissions to subscribers of a sat4 ellite carrier who receive retransmissions of a signal 

5 from that satellite carrier pursuant to section 338. 

6 ‘‘(2) SERVICE LIMITATIONS.—A satellite carrier 

7 may retransmit to a subscriber in high definition for8 mat the signal of a station determined by the Com9 mission to be significantly viewed under subsection 

10 (a) only if such carrier also retransmits in high defi11 nition format the signal of a station located in the 

12 local market of such subscriber and affiliated with the 

13 same network whenever such format is available from 

14 such station.’’. 

15 (b) RULEMAKING REQUIRED.—Within 180 days after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Commu17 nications Commission shall take all actions necessary to 

18 promulgate a rule to implement the amendments made by 

19 subsection (a). 

20 SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

21 (a) SECTION 338.—Section 338 of the Communica22 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 338) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘119(a)(14)’’ in the first para24 graph (3) of subsection (a) and inserting 

25 ‘‘119(a)(15)’’; 


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1 (2) by striking the second paragraph (3) of sub2 section (a); and 

3 (3) by striking subsection (g) and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(g) CARRIAGE OF LOCAL STATIONS ON A SINGLE RE6 CEPTION ANTENNA.— 

7 ‘‘(1) SINGLE RECEPTION ANTENNA.—Each sat8 ellite carrier that retransmits the signals of local tele9 vision broadcast stations in a local market shall re10 transmit such stations in such market so that a sub11 scriber may receive such stations by means of a single 

12 reception antenna and associated equipment. 

13 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL RECEPTION ANTENNA.—If the 

14 carrier retransmits the signals of local television 

15 broadcast stations in a local market in high defini16 tion format, the carrier shall retransmit such signals 

17 in such market so that a subscriber may receive such 

18 signals by means of a single reception antenna and 

19 associated equipment, but such antenna and associ20 ated equipment may be separate from the single re21 ception antenna and associated equipment used to 

22 comply with paragraph (1).’’. 

23 (b) SECTION 339.—Section 339 of such Act (47 U.S.C. 

24 339) is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘Such 

2 two network stations’’ and all that follows 

3 through ‘‘more than two network stations.’’; and 

4 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (i) in the heading for subparagraph 

6 (A), by striking ‘‘GRANDFATHERED SUB7 SCRIBERS TO ANALOG SIGNALS.— and in8 serting ‘‘CERTAIN GRANDFATHERED SUB9 SCRIBERS.—’’; 

10 (ii) by striking ‘‘Satellite Home Viewer 

11 Extension and Reauthorization Act of 

12 2004:’’ and inserting ‘‘Satellite Television 

13 Extension and Localism Act of 2009:’’; 

14 (iii) in subparagraph (A)— 

15 (I) in the heading for clause (i), 

16 by striking ‘‘ANALOG’’; 

17 (II) in clause (i)— 

18 (aa) by striking ‘‘analog’’ 

19 each place it appears; and 

20 (bb) by striking ‘‘October 1, 

21 2004,’’ and inserting ‘‘October 1, 

22 2009,’’; 

23 (III) in the heading for clause 

24 (ii), by striking ‘‘ANALOG’’; and 

25 (IV) in clause (ii)— 


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1 (aa) by striking ‘‘analog’’ 

2 each place it appears; and 

3 (bb) by striking ‘‘2004,’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘2009,’’; 

5 (iv) by amending subparagraph (B) to 

6 read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(B) RULES FOR OTHER SUBSCRIBERS.—A 

8 subscriber of a satellite carrier, other than a sub9 scriber to whom subparagraph (A) applies, who 

10 was lawfully receiving the distant signal of a 

11 network station on the day before the date of en12 actment of the Satellite Television Extension and 

13 Localism Act of 2009 may continue to receive 

14 such distant signal until such subscriber chooses 

15 to no longer receive such distant signal from 

16 such carrier, whether or not such subscriber elects 

17 to subscribe to local signals.’’; 

18 (v) in subparagraph (C)— 

19 (I) by striking ‘‘analog’’; 

20 (II) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘the 

21 Satellite Home Viewer Extension and 

22 Reauthorization Act of 2004;’’ and in23 serting ‘‘the Satellite Television Exten24 sion and Localism Act of 2009;’’; and 


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1 (III) by amending clause (ii) to 

2 read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(ii) either— 

4 ‘‘(I) at the time such person seeks 

5 to subscribe to receive such secondary 

6 transmission, resides in a local market 

7 where the satellite carrier makes avail8 able to that person the signal of a local 

9 network station affiliated with the 

10 same television network pursuant to 

11 section 338, and the retransmission of 

12 such signal by such carrier can reach 

13 such subscriber; or 

14 ‘‘(II) receives from the satellite 

15 carrier the signal of a network station 

16 affiliated with the same network that is 

17 broadcast by a local station in the 

18 market where the subscriber resides, 

19 but is not the local station’s primary 

20 video.’’; 

21 (vi) by striking subparagraph (D) and 

22 inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘(D) SPECIAL RULES FOR DISTANT SIG24 NALS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 

2 subscriber of a satellite carrier who, with re3 spect to a local network station— 

4 ‘‘(I) is a subscriber whose house5 hold is not predicted by the model spec6 ified in subsection (c)(3) of this section 

7 to receive the signal intensity required 

8 under section 73.622(e)(1) or 73.683(a) 

9 of 47 of the Code of Federal Regula10 tions, or a successor regulation, or 

11 ‘‘(II) is in an unserved household, 

12 as determined under section 

13 119(d)(10)(A) of title 17, United States 

14 Code, 

15 such subscriber is eligible to receive the sig16 nal of a distant network station affiliated 

17 with the same network under this section, 

18 subject to the provisions of this subpara19 graph. 

20 ‘‘(ii) SIGNAL TESTING.—A subscriber 

21 shall be eligible to receive a distant signal 

22 of a distant network station affiliated with 

23 the same network under this section if such 

24 subscriber is determined, based on a test 

25 conducted in accordance with section 


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1 73.686(d) of title 47, Code of Federal Regu2 lations, or any successor regulation, not to 

3 be able to receive a signal that exceeds the 

4 signal intensity standard in section 

5 73.622(e)(1) or 73.683(a) of title 47, Code of 

6 Federal Regulations.’’; 

7 ‘‘(iii) TIME-SHIFTING PROHIBITED.— 

8 In a case in which the satellite carrier 

9 makes available to an eligible subscriber 

10 under this subparagraph the signal of a 

11 local network station pursuant to section 

12 338, the carrier may only provide the dis13 tant signal of a station affiliated with the 

14 same network to that subscriber if, in the 

15 case of any local market in the 48 contig16 uous States of the United States, the distant 

17 signal is the secondary transmission of a 

18 station whose prime time network program19 ming is generally broadcast simultaneously 

20 with, or later than, the prime time network 

21 programming of the affiliate of the same 

22 network in the local market. 

23 ‘‘(iv) SAVINGS PROVISION.—Nothing in 

24 this subparagraph shall be construed to afVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:55 Dec 18, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2764.RS S2764

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1 fect a satellite carrier’s obligations under 

2 section 338.’’; and 

3 (vii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

4 ‘‘distant analog signal or’’ and all that fol5 lows through ‘‘(B), or (D))’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘distant signal’’; and 

7 (2) in subsection (c)— 

8 (A) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(3) ESTABLISHMENT OF IMPROVED PREDICTIVE

11 MODEL AND ON-LOCATION TESTING REQUIRED.— 

12 ‘‘(A) PREDICTIVE MODEL.—Within 180 

13 days after the date of the enactment of the Sat14 ellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 

15 2009, the Commission shall take all actions nec16 essary to develop and prescribe by rule a point17 to-point predictive model for reliably and pre18 sumptively determining the ability of individual 

19 locations, through the use of an antenna, to re20 ceive signals in accordance with the signal inten21 sity standard in section 73.622(e)(1) of title 47, 

22 Code of Federal Regulations, including to ac23 count for the continuing operation of translator 

24 stations and low power television stations. In 

25 prescribing such model, the Commission shall 


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1 rely on the Individual Location Longley-Rice 

2 model set forth by the Commission in CS Docket 

3 No. 98–201, as previously revised with respect to 

4 analog signals, and as recommended by the Com5 mission with respect to digital signals in its Re6 port to Congress in ET Docket No. 05–182, FCC 

7 05–199 (released December 9, 2005). The Com8 mission shall establish procedures for the contin9 ued refinement in the application of the model 

10 by the use of additional data as it becomes avail11 able. 

12 ‘‘(B) ON-LOCATION TESTING.—The Commis13 sion shall issue an order completing its rule14 making proceeding in ET Docket No. 06–94 

15 within 180 days after the date of enactment of 

16 the Satellite Television Extension and Localism 

17 Act of 2009. In conducting such rulemaking, the 

18 Commission shall seek ways to minimize con19 sumer burdens associated with on-location test20 ing.’’; 

21 (B) by striking paragraph (4)(A) and in22 serting the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a subscriber’s request 

24 for a waiver under paragraph (2) is rejected and 

25 the subscriber submits to the subscriber’s satellite 


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1 carrier a request for a test verifying the sub2 scriber’s inability to receive a signal of the sig3 nal intensity referenced in clause (i) of sub4 section (a)(2)(D), the satellite carrier and the 

5 network station or stations asserting that the re6 transmission is prohibited with respect to that 

7 subscriber shall select a qualified and inde8 pendent person to conduct the test referenced in 

9 such clause. Such test shall be conducted within 

10 30 days after the date the subscriber submits a 

11 request for the test. If the written findings and 

12 conclusions of a test conducted in accordance 

13 with such clause demonstrate that the subscriber 

14 does not receive a signal that meets or exceeds 

15 the requisite signal intensity standard in such 

16 clause, the subscriber shall not be denied the re17 transmission of a signal of a network station 

18 under section 119 of title 17, United States 

19 Code.’’; 

20 (C) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘the 

21 signal intensity’’ and all that follows through 

22 ‘‘United States Code’’ and inserting ‘‘such req23 uisite signal intensity standard’’; and 

24 (D) in paragraph (4)(E), by striking 

25 ‘‘Grade B intensity’’. 


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1 (c) SECTION 340.—Section 340(i) of such Act (47 

2 U.S.C. 340(i)) is amended by striking paragraph (4). 

3 SEC. 5. APPLICATION PENDING COMPLETION OF 

4 RULEMAKINGS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Between the date of enactment of 

6 this Act and the adoption of rules by the Federal Commu7 nications Commission pursuant to the amendments to the 

8 Communications Act of 1934 made by sections 3 and 4 of 

9 this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall fol10 low its rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to sec11 tions 338, 339, and 340 of the Communications Act of 1934 

12 as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this 

13 Act. 

14 (b) TRANSLATOR STATIONS AND LOW POWER TELE15 VISION STATIONS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), for 

16 purposes of determining whether a subscriber within the 

17 local market served by a translator station or a low power 

18 television station affiliated with a television network is eli19 gible to receive distant signals under section 339 of such 

20 Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall follow 

21 its rules and regulations for determining such subscriber’s 

22 eligibility as in effect on the day before the date of enact23 ment of this Act until the date on which the translator sta24 tion or low power television station is licensed to broadcast 

25 a digital signal. 


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1 (c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this Act: 

2 (1) LOCAL MARKET; LOW POWER TELEVISION

3 STATION; SATELLITE CARRIER; SUBSCRIBER; TELE4 VISION BROADCAST STATION.—The terms ‘‘local mar5 ket’’, ‘‘low power television station’’, ‘‘satellite car6 rier’’, ‘‘subscriber’’, and ‘‘television broadcast station’’ 

7 have the meanings given such terms in section 338(k) 

8 of the Communications Act of 1934. 

9 (2) NETWORK STATION; TELEVISION NETWORK.— 

10 The terms ‘‘network station’’ and ‘‘television network’’ 

11 have the meanings given such terms in section 339(d) 

12 of such Act. 

13 SEC. 6. SAVINGS CLAUSE REGARDING DEFINITIONS. 

14 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this 

15 Act shall be construed to affect the definitions of ‘‘program 

16 related’’ and ‘‘primary video’’ in the Communications Act 

17 of 1934 or in any regulations promulgated pursuant to such 

18 Act by the Federal Communications Commission. 

19 SEC. 7. NONDISCRIMINATION IN CARRIAGE OF HIGH DEFI20 NITION DIGITAL SIGNALS OF NONCOMMER21 CIAL EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION STATIONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 338(a) of the Communica23 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 338(a)) is amended by adding 

24 at the end the following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(5) NONDISCRIMINATION IN CARRIAGE OF HIGH

2 DEFINITION SIGNALS OF NONCOMMERCIAL EDU3 CATIONAL TELEVISION STATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) EXISTING CARRIAGE OF HIGH DEFINI5 TION SIGNALS.—Each eligible satellite carrier 

6 providing, under section 122 of title 17, United 

7 States Code, any secondary transmissions in 

8 high definition to subscribers located within the 

9 local market of a television broadcast station of 

10 a primary transmission made by that station 

11 prior to the date of enactment of the Satellite 

12 Television Extension and Localism Act of 2009 

13 shall carry the high definition signals of quali14 fied noncommercial educational television sta15 tions located within that local market in accord16 ance with the following schedule: 

17 ‘‘(i) By December 31, 2010, in at least 

18 50 percent of the markets in which such sat19 ellite carrier provides such secondary trans20 missions in high definition. 

21 ‘‘(ii) By December 31, 2011, in every 

22 market in which such satellite carrier pro23 vides such secondary transmissions in high 

24 definition. 


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1 ‘‘(B) NEW INITIATION OF SERVICE.—Each 

2 eligible satellite carrier that initiates the provi3 sion, under section 122 of title 17, United States 

4 Code, of any secondary transmissions in high 

5 definition to subscribers located within the local 

6 market of a television broadcast station of a pri7 mary transmission made by that station after 

8 the date of enactment of the Satellite Television 

9 Extension and Localism Act of 2009 shall carry 

10 the high definition signals of all qualified non11 commercial educational television stations lo12 cated within that local market.’’. 

13 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 338(k) of such Act (47 

14 U.S.C. 338(k)) is amended— 

15 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (8) 

16 as paragraphs (3) through (9), respectively; 

17 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol18 lowing new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE SATELLITE CARRIER.—The term 

20 ‘eligible satellite carrier’ means any satellite carrier 

21 that is not a party to a carriage contract with a 

22 qualified noncommercial educational television sta23 tion or its representative that— 

24 ‘‘(A) governs carriage of more than 30 such 

25 stations; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) is in force and effect as of the date of 

2 enactment of the Satellite Television Extension 

3 and Localism Act of 2009.’’; 

4 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (6) through (9) 

5 (as previously redesignated) as paragraphs (7) 

6 through (10), respectively; and 

7 (4) by inserting after paragraph (5) (as so redes8 ignated) the following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(6) QUALIFIED NONCOMMERCIAL EDUCATIONAL

10 TELEVISION STATION.—The term ‘qualified non11 commercial educational television station’ has the 

12 meaning given such term in section 615(l)(1) of this 

13 Act.’’. 

14 SEC. 8. REPORT ON COMMUNICATIONS IMPLICATIONS OF 

15 STATUTORY LICENSING MODIFICATIONS. 

16 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall conduct a 

17 study that analyzes and evaluates the changes to the car18 riage requirements currently imposed on multichannel 

19 video programming distributors under the Communications 

20 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) and the regulations pro21 mulgated by the Federal Communications Commission that 

22 would be required or beneficial to consumers, and such other 

23 matters as the Comptroller General deems appropriate, if 

24 Congress implemented a phase-out of the current statutory 

25 licensing requirements set forth under sections 111, 119, 


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1 and 122 of title 17, United States Code. Among other 

2 things, the study shall consider the impact such a phase3 out and related changes to carriage requirements would 

4 have on consumer prices and access to programming. 

5 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall re7 port to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

8 Transportation and the House of Representatives Com9 mittee on Energy and Commerce the results of the study, 

10 including any recommendations for legislative or adminis11 trative actions. 

12 SEC. 9. LOCAL NETWORK CHANNEL BROADCAST REPORTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning 6 months after the date 

14 of enactment of this Act, each satellite carrier shall submit 

15 a report to the Federal Communications Commission set16 ting forth— 

17 (1) each local market in which it provides sig18 nals of 1 or more network stations licensed to provide 

19 signals in that market; 

20 (2) detailed information regarding the use of sat21 ellite capacity for the provision of local signals into 

22 local markets; 

23 (3) each local market in which it has commenced 

24 providing such signals in the 6-month period covered 

25 by the report; and 


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1 (4) each local market in which it has ceased to 

2 provide such signals in the 6-month period covered by 

3 the report. 

4 (b) FCC STUDY.—As soon as practicable after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Com6 mission shall initiate a study of— 

7 (1) incentives that would induce a satellite car8 rier to provide the signals of 1 or more television sta9 tions licensed to provide signals in local markets in 

10 which the satellite carrier does not provide such sig11 nals; and 

12 (2) the economic and satellite capacity condi13 tions affecting delivery of local signals by satellite 

14 carriers to these markets. 

15 (c) REPORT.—Within 1 year after the date of enact16 ment of this Act, the Commission shall submit a report to 

17 the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans18 portation and the House of Representatives Committee on 

19 Energy and Commerce containing its findings, conclusions, 

20 and recommendations. 

21 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘local 

22 market’’, ‘‘network station’’, ‘‘satellite carrier’’, and ‘‘tele23 vision network’’ have the meaning given such terms in sec24 tion 339(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

25 339(d)). 


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1 SEC. 10. STATE PUBLIC AFFAIRS BROADCASTS. 

2 Section 335(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

3 U.S.C. 335(b)) is amended— 

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘STATE PUBLIC AFFAIRS,’’ after 

5 ‘‘EDUCATIONAL,’’ in the heading; 

6 (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(1) CHANNEL CAPACITY REQUIRED.— 

9 ‘‘(A) Except as provided in subparagraph 

10 (B), the Commission shall require, as a condition 

11 of any provision, initial authorization, or au12 thorization renewal for a provider of direct 

13 broadcast satellite service providing video pro14 gramming, that the provider of such service re15 serve a portion of its channel capacity, equal to 

16 not less than 4 percent nor more than 7 percent, 

17 exclusively for noncommercial programming of 

18 an educational or informational nature. 

19 ‘‘(B) The Commission shall require, as a 

20 condition of any provision, initial authorization, 

21 or authorization renewal for a qualified satellite 

22 provider of direct broadcast satellite service pro23 viding video programming, that such provider 

24 reserve a portion of its channel capacity, equal 

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1 ming of an educational or informational na2 ture.’’; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end of paragraph (5) the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(C) The term ‘qualified satellite provider’ 

6 means any provider of direct broadcast satellite 

7 service that— 

8 ‘‘(i) provides the retransmission of the 

9 State public affairs networks of at least 15 

10 different States; 

11 ‘‘(ii) offers the programming of State 

12 public affairs networks upon reasonable 

13 prices, terms, and conditions as determined 

14 by the Commission under paragraph (4) of 

15 this subsection; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) does not delete any noncommer17 cial programming of an educational or in18 formational nature in connection with the 

19 carriage of a State public affairs network. 

20 ‘‘(D) The term ‘State public affairs network’ 

21 means a non-commercial non-broadcast network 

22 or a noncommercial educational television sta23 tion— 


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1 ‘‘(i) whose programming consists of in2 formation about State government delibera3 tions and public policy events; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) that is operated by— 

5 ‘‘(I) a State government; 

6 ‘‘(II) an organization described in 

7 section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev8 enue Code of 1986 that is exempt from 

9 taxation under section 501(a) of such 

10 Code and that is governed by an inde11 pendent board of directors; or 

12 ‘‘(III) a cable system.’’. 

13 SEC. 11. SEVERABILITY. 

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

15 this Act, or the application of such provision or amendment 

16 to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstitu17 tional, the remainder of this Act, the amendments made by 

18 this Act, and the application of such provisions to any per19 son or circumstance shall not be affected thereby. 


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Calendar No. 709 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2764 

A BILL 

To reauthorize the Satellite Home Viewer Extenother purposes. sion and Reauthorization Act of 2004, and for 

DECEMBER 17, 2010 

Reported with an amendment 


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