Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act of 2019

To amend title 17, United States Code, to narrow the category of households eligible to receive signals under a distant-signal satellite license, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act of 2019 2. Eligibility to receive signals under a distant-signal satellite license (a) In general Section 119 of title 17, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) in paragraph (2)— (i) in subparagraph (A)— (I) by striking signals, and signals, (II) by inserting , and the carrier provides local-into-local service to all DMAs receiving the secondary transmission (III) by adding at the end the following new sentence: Failure to reach an agreement with network stations to retransmit their signals shall not be construed to affect compliance with providing local-into-local service to all DMAs if the satellite carrier has the capability to retransmit such signals when an agreement is reached. (ii) in subparagraph (B)— (I) by striking clauses (ii) and (iii); and (II) by adding at the end the following: (ii) Short markets In the case of secondary transmissions to households located in short markets, subject to clause (i), the statutory license shall be further limited to secondary transmissions of only those primary transmissions of network stations that embody the programming of networks not offered on the primary stream or the multicast stream transmitted by any network station in that market. ; and (iii) by adding at the end the following: (D) Temporary and limited use of license (i) In general Notwithstanding the requirement under subparagraph (A) that a satellite carrier provide local-into-local service to all DMAs before making a secondary transmission under the license under this section, a satellite carrier that does not provide local-into-local service to all DMAs may make a covered transmission under such license if not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act of 2019 the satellite carrier— (I) demonstrates that it has acted reasonably and made a good faith effort to provide local-into-local service to all DMAs and that it will continue to make a good faith effort to provide local-into-local service to all DMAs; and (II) files a Notice of Temporary Limited Use with the Copyright Office in accordance with clause (ii). (ii) Notice of Temporary Limited Use A Notice of Temporary Limited Use filed with the Copyright Office under this subparagraph shall contain— (I) an affirmation that the carrier intends to make covered transmissions under the license under this section despite not providing local-into-local service to all DMAs; (II) a signed statement that the satellite carrier acted reasonably and made good faith efforts to provide local-into-local service to all DMAs; (III) a list of the designated market areas with respect to which no local-into-local service is provided by the satellite carrier; and (IV) a summary of actions taken by the satellite carrier to make arrangements to provide local-into-local service to all DMAs. (iii) Period of temporary and limited license (I) Initial 90-day period A satellite carrier that meets the requirements of this subparagraph may use the license under this section to make covered transmissions for a 90-day period beginning on the date such carrier files a Notice of Temporary Limited Use with the Copyright Office. (II) Additional periods The initial 90-day period described under clause (I) may be extended for additional periods of 90 days if the satellite carrier files a new Notice of Temporary Limited Use with the Copyright Office on or before the last day of such initial period, and each successive 90-day period thereafter. (iv) Audit and verification of Notices The Register of Copyrights shall issue regulations that are similar in nature to the regulations issued under subsection (b)(2) to permit interested parties to verify and audit Notices of Temporary Limited Use filed by satellite carriers under this subparagraph. (v) Challenge Any owner of a network station for which the primary stream or multicast stream of that network would have been transmitted by a satellite carrier under the license under this section but for the failure of that satellite carrier to provide local-into-local service to all DMAs may bring a civil action to challenge the sufficiency of the reasonable actions and good faith efforts of that satellite carrier to provide local-into-local service to all DMAs, as such actions and efforts are described in the applicable Notice of Temporary Limited Use. (vi) Covered transmission defined In this subparagraph, the term covered transmission . (B) by striking paragraphs (3), (6)(E), (9), (10), and (13); and (C) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (11), (12), and (14) as paragraphs (3) through (10), respectively; (2) in subsection (c)(1)(E)— (A) by striking the comma after in the agreement (B) by striking until December 31, 2019, or (C) by striking , whichever is later until the subscriber for which the royalty is payable is no longer eligible to receive a secondary transmission pursuant to the license under this section (3) in subsection (d)— (A) in paragraph (10)— (i) in subparagraph (D), by striking subsection (a)(11) subsection (a)(8) (ii) by striking subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (E); (iii) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (A); and (iv) by adding at the end the following: (B) is a subscriber located in a short market. ; (B) by striking paragraph (13); (C) by redesignating paragraphs (14) and (15) as paragraphs (13) and (14), respectively; and (D) by adding at the end the following: (15) Local-into-local service to all DMAs The term local-into-local service to all DMAs (16) Short market The term short market ; (4) by striking subsections (e) and (h); and (5) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as subsections (e) and (f). (b) Previously covered subscribers under the STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014 (1) In general A subscriber of a satellite carrier who receives the secondary transmission of a network station under the statutory license in section 119 of title 17, United States Code, as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act, and to whom subsection (a)(2)(B) of such section, as amended by subsection (a), does not apply, shall continue to be eligible to receive that secondary transmission from such carrier under such license, and at the royalty rate established for such license by the Copyright Royalty Board or voluntary agreement, as applicable, until the date that is the earlier of— (A) 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act; or (B) the date on which such carrier provides local-into-local service to all DMAs. (2) Definitions In this subsection, the terms satellite carrier subscriber secondary transmission network station local-into-local service to all DMAs (c) Conforming amendments Title 17, United States Code, is further amended— (1) in section 119, as amended by subsection (a)— (A) in subsection (a)— (i) in paragraph (1), by striking paragraphs (4), (5), and (7) paragraphs (3), (4), and (6) (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking paragraphs (4), (5), (6), and (7) paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (6) (B) in subsection (g), by striking subsection (a)(7)(B) subsection (a)(5)(B) (2) in section 501(e), by striking section 119(a)(5) section 119(a)(3) December 17, 2019 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

Summary: Satellite Television Community Protection and Promotion Act of 2019 This bill permanently reauthorizes a provision that allows satellite television providers to retransmit distant television signals to unserved households under a statutory license. (A statutory license allows a satellite provider to rebroadcast the signals by paying set fees and without negotiating with the relevant copyright holders.) The bill also limits what constitutes an unserved household under this provision. Under the bill, an unserved household is (1) a household in a local market where any of the four most widely viewed television networks nationwide is not transmitted by any network television station in that market, or (2) a recreational vehicle or commercial truck. The bill removes several categories of households that currently qualify as unserved, such as households that can receive a local broadcast signal but received satellite retransmissions on certain dates. To take advantage of the statutory license, a satellite provider generally must provide retransmissions of local television stations in all designated market areas (DMAs). However, a provider that does not provide such retransmissions of local stations to all DMAs may obtain a temporary statutory license by (1) demonstrating that the provider has made reasonable and good faith efforts to do so, and (2) filing a notice with the Copyright Office.