I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1856 
To repeal certain provisions of the Communications Act of 1934, title 17 
of the United States Code, and certain regulations, to allow for interim 
carriage of television broadcast signals, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 11, 2021 
Mr. SCALISE (for himself and Ms. ESHOO) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition 
to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To repeal certain provisions of the Communications Act of 
1934, title 17 of the United States Code, and certain 
regulations, to allow for interim carriage of television 
broadcast signals, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Modern Television Act 
of 2021’’. 
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SEC. 2. AGREEMENTS FOR CARRIAGE OF BROADCAST PRO-
GRAMMING. 
(a) AGREEMENTS
FOR CARRIAGE
OF BROADCAST 
PROGRAMMING.—Section 325 of the Communications Act 
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(3)(C)— 
(A) by striking clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv); 
and 
(B) by redesignating clauses (v) and (vi) 
as clauses (ii) and (iii), respectively; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) REQUIREMENTS
FOR MARKETPLACE AGREE-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(1) NEGOTIATION REQUIREMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 90 
days after the date of the enactment of the 
Modern Television Act of 2021, the Commission 
shall, by regulation— 
‘‘(i) require a television broadcast sta-
tion and multichannel video programming 
distributor (and any large station group or 
qualified MVPD buying group negotiating 
for a marketplace agreement on behalf of 
a television broadcast station or multi-
channel video programming distributor, re-
spectively) to negotiate in good faith in any 
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effort to reach a marketplace agreement; 
and 
‘‘(ii) prohibit a television broadcast 
station from coordinating negotiations or 
negotiating on a joint basis with another 
television broadcast station in the same 
local market in an effort to reach a mar-
ketplace agreement with a multichannel 
video programming distributor, unless such 
stations are directly or indirectly under 
common de jure control permitted under 
the regulations of the Commission. 
‘‘(B) GOOD FAITH REQUIREMENTS.—The 
regulations 
promulgated 
under 
paragraph 
(1)(A) shall provide— 
‘‘(i) that it is a violation of the re-
quirement under paragraph (1)(A)(i)— 
‘‘(I) for a multichannel video pro-
gramming 
distributor, 
a 
qualified 
MVPD buying group, a television 
broadcast station, or a large station 
group to refuse to declare an impasse 
for the sole purpose of avoiding bind-
ing arbitration under subsection (g), 
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as added by the Modern Television 
Act of 2021; or 
‘‘(II) for a large station group to 
prohibit a qualified MVPD buying 
group from permitting a multichannel 
video programming distributor with 
which the large station group has an 
existing marketplace agreement to 
join a new marketplace agreement ne-
gotiated by the large station group 
and the qualified MVPD buying group 
upon the expiration of the existing 
marketplace agreement, if the multi-
channel 
video 
programming 
dis-
tributor was unable to join the new 
marketplace agreement at the time of 
the execution of the agreement be-
cause of the existing marketplace 
agreement; 
‘‘(ii) that is not a violation of the re-
quirement under paragraph (1)(A)(i)— 
‘‘(I) for a television broadcast 
station or large station group to enter 
into marketplace agreements con-
taining different terms and conditions, 
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including price terms and royalty fees, 
with different multichannel video pro-
gramming distributors or with dif-
ferent qualified MVPD buying groups 
if such different terms and conditions 
are based on competitive marketplace 
considerations; or 
‘‘(II) for a multichannel video 
programming distributor or a quali-
fied MVPD buying group to enter into 
marketplace agreements containing 
different terms and conditions, includ-
ing price terms and royalty fees, with 
different television broadcast stations 
or with different large station groups 
if such different terms and conditions 
are based on competitive marketplace 
considerations; 
‘‘(iii) that a multichannel video pro-
gramming distributor may satisfy its obli-
gations under paragraph (1)(A)(i) by des-
ignating a qualified MVPD buying group 
to negotiate on its behalf, so long as the 
qualified MVPD buying group itself nego-
tiates in good faith; and 
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‘‘(iv) that a qualified MVPD buying 
group may satisfy any obligations under 
paragraph (1)(A)(i) to designate a rep-
resentative with authority to make binding 
representations by designating such a rep-
resentative that can make binding rep-
resentations on the qualified MVPD buy-
ing group’s behalf. 
‘‘(2) INTERIM CARRIAGE.—Not later than 90 
days after the date of the enactment of the Modern 
Television Act of 2021, the Commission shall, by 
regulation, require a multichannel video program-
ming distributor to retransmit a signal of a tele-
vision broadcast station and the television broadcast 
station to permit the retransmission of that signal— 
‘‘(A) for a period not longer than 60 days 
beginning on the date on which a marketplace 
agreement entered into by the television broad-
cast station and the multichannel video pro-
gramming distributor (or by any large station 
group or qualified MVPD buying group negoti-
ating for a marketplace agreement on behalf of 
a television broadcast station or multichannel 
video programming distributor, respectively) ex-
pires; and 
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‘‘(B) under the terms and conditions of 
such expired agreement. 
‘‘(3) RETROACTIVITY OF MARKETPLACE AGREE-
MENT.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of the Modern Television Act of 2021, the 
Commission shall require, by regulation, each mar-
ketplace agreement entered into on or after such 
date of enactment by a television broadcast station 
and a multichannel video programming distributor 
(or by any large station group or qualified MVPD 
buying group negotiating for a marketplace agree-
ment on behalf of a television broadcast station or 
multichannel video programming distributor, respec-
tively) to include a clause making the terms of the 
agreement retroactive to the expiration date of the 
most recent marketplace agreement entered into by 
or on behalf of the station and the distributor if the 
station and the distributor— 
‘‘(A) had previously entered into a market-
place agreement; and 
‘‘(B) are required to retransmit a signal or 
permit the retransmission of a signal, as the 
case may be, under paragraph (2) or subsection 
(g), as added by the Modern Television Act of 
2021. 
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‘‘(4) PROHIBITION
ON
REQUIRING
CERTAIN 
PAYMENTS.—Not later than 90 days after the date 
of the enactment of the Modern Television Act of 
2021, the Commission shall, by regulation, prohibit 
a television broadcast station from requiring pay-
ment, either directly or indirectly, from a multi-
channel video programming distributor for cus-
tomers of the multichannel video programming dis-
tributor who do not receive the signals of the tele-
vision broadcast station from that distributor. 
‘‘(5) LIMITATION.—The requirements under 
this subsection do not apply with respect to manda-
tory carriage of the signal of a television broadcast 
station that elects mandatory carriage under section 
338, 614, or 615. 
‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) LARGE STATION GROUP.—The term 
‘large station group’ means a group of tele-
vision broadcast stations that— 
‘‘(i) are directly or indirectly under 
common de jure control permitted by the 
regulations of the Commission; 
‘‘(ii) generally negotiate agreements 
for retransmission consent under this sec-
tion as a single entity; and 
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‘‘(iii) include only television broadcast 
stations that collectively have a national 
audience reach of more than 20 percent. 
‘‘(B) LOCAL
MARKET.—The term ‘local 
market’ has the meaning given such term in 
section 122(j) of title 17, United States Code. 
‘‘(C) MARKETPLACE
AGREEMENT.—The 
term ‘marketplace agreement’ means an agree-
ment, or agreements, for— 
‘‘(i) the exclusive right under section 
106 of title 17, United States Code, to 
transmit a performance or display of a 
work embodied in primary transmission (as 
defined in section 111(f) of such title) of 
a television broadcast station and the roy-
alty fee payable; or 
‘‘(ii) retransmission consent under 
subsection (b), as in effect before the re-
peal made by the Modern Television Act of 
2021. 
‘‘(D) MULTICHANNEL
VIDEO
PROGRAM-
MING
DISTRIBUTOR.—The term ‘multichannel 
video programming distributor’ has the mean-
ing given such term in section 602. 
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‘‘(E) QUALIFIED MVPD BUYING GROUP.— 
The term ‘qualified MVPD buying group’ 
means an entity that, with respect to a negotia-
tion with a large station group for retrans-
mission consent under this section— 
‘‘(i) negotiates on behalf of two or 
more multichannel video programming dis-
tributors— 
‘‘(I) none of which is a multi-
channel 
video 
programming 
dis-
tributor 
that 
serves 
more 
than 
500,000 subscribers nationally; and 
‘‘(II) that do not collectively 
serve more than 25 percent of all 
households served by multichannel 
video programming distributors in any 
single local market in which the appli-
cable large station group operates; 
and 
‘‘(ii) negotiates agreements for such 
retransmission consent— 
‘‘(I) that contain standardized 
contract provisions, including billing 
structures and technical quality stand-
ards, for each multichannel video pro-
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gramming distributor on behalf of 
which the entity negotiates; and 
‘‘(II) under which the entity as-
sumes liability to remit to the applica-
ble large station group all fees re-
ceived from the multichannel video 
programming distributors on behalf of 
which the entity negotiates. 
‘‘(F) TELEVISION BROADCAST STATION.— 
The term ‘television broadcast station’ means 
an over-the-air commercial or noncommercial 
television broadcast station licensed by the 
Commission under subpart E of part 73 of title 
47, Code of Federal Regulations, except that 
such term does not include a low-power or 
translator television station.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section, and the amend-
ments made by this section, shall take effect on the date 
that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
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SEC. 3. REPEAL OF REGULATORY INTERVENTION IN THE 
TELEVISION 
MARKETPLACE 
UNDER 
THE 
COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934. 
(a) REPEAL.—The following sections of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) are hereby 
repealed: 
(1) Section 325(b) (47 U.S.C. 325(b)). 
(2) Section 325(e) (47 U.S.C. 325(e)). 
(3) Section 339 (47 U.S.C. 339). 
(4) Section 340 (47 U.S.C. 340). 
(5) Section 341 (47 U.S.C. 341). 
(6) Section 342 (47 U.S.C. 342). 
(7) Section 612 (47 U.S.C. 532). 
(8) Section 712 (47 U.S.C. 612). 
(b) ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) SECTION 338.—Section 338 of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 338) is amended— 
(A) in subsection (a)— 
(i) in paragraph (1)— 
(I) by inserting ‘‘or under a mar-
ketplace agreement (as that term is 
defined 
in 
section 
325),’’ 
after 
‘‘Code,’’; and 
(II) by striking ‘‘, subject to sec-
tion 325(b)’’; 
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(ii) in paragraph (2), by striking 
‘‘501(f)’’ each place it appears and insert-
ing ‘‘501(e)’’; 
(iii) in paragraph (3)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘whose signals’’ 
and all that follows through ‘‘of title 
17, United States Code,’’; and 
(II) by inserting ‘‘or a market-
place agreement’’ after ‘‘such title’’; 
(iv) by amending paragraph (5) to 
read as follows: 
‘‘(5) NONDISCRIMINATION
IN
CARRIAGE
OF 
HIGH
DEFINITION
SIGNALS
OF
NONCOMMERCIAL 
EDUCATIONAL
TELEVISION
STATIONS.—If, on or 
after the date of enactment of the Satellite Tele-
vision Extension and Localism Act of 2010, an eligi-
ble satellite carrier initiates the provision of any sec-
ondary transmission in high definition format to 
subscribers located within the local market of a tele-
vision broadcast station of a primary transmission 
made by that station, then such satellite carrier shall 
carry the signals in high-definition format of all 
qualified noncommercial educational television sta-
tions located within that local market.’’; and 
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(B) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘seeking 
carriage under subsection (a)(1)’’ after ‘‘signal 
of a local television broadcast station’’; 
(C) by striking subsection (h); 
(D) by redesignating subsections (i), (j), 
(k), and (l) as subsections (h), (i), (j), and (k), 
respectively; 
(E) in subsection (j), as so redesignated— 
(i) by striking paragraph (1); 
(ii) by redesignating paragraphs (2), 
(3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), and (10) as 
paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), 
(8), and (9), respectively; 
(iii) in paragraph (3), as so redesig-
nated, by striking ‘‘122(j)’’ and inserting 
‘‘122(g)’’; 
(iv) in paragraph (6), as so redesig-
nated, by striking ‘‘119(d)’’ and inserting 
‘‘111(f)’’; 
(v) in paragraph (7), as so redesig-
nated, by striking ‘‘119(d)’’ and inserting 
‘‘111(f)’’; 
(vi) in paragraph (8), as so redesig-
nated, by striking ‘‘122(j)’’ and inserting 
‘‘122(g)’’; and 
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(vii) in paragraph (9), as so redesig-
nated, by striking ‘‘325(b)(7)’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘325’’; and 
(F) in subsection (k), as so redesignated, 
by striking paragraph (5). 
(2) SECTION 623.—Section 623 of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 543) is amended— 
(A) by striking subsections (a), (b), (c), 
(d), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n), and (o); 
(B) by redesignating subsections (e) and 
(f) as subsections (a) and (b), respectively; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) REGULATION OF RATES AND BROADCAST SIG-
NAL CARRIAGE.—No Federal agency, State, or fran-
chising authority may regulate— 
‘‘(1) the rates for the provision of multichannel 
video programming services of a multichannel video 
programming distributor; or 
‘‘(2) the retransmission of television broadcast 
signals by a multichannel video programming dis-
tributor except in accordance with the requirements 
of sections 325, 338, 614, and 615.’’. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
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(1) SECTION 343.—Section 343 of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 343) is redesig-
nated as section 339 of such Act. 
(2) SECTION 615.—Section 615 of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 535) is amended— 
(A) by striking subsection (f); and 
(B) in subsection (l), by striking para-
graph (1) and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) 
QUALIFIED
NONCOMMERCIAL
EDU-
CATIONAL TELEVISION STATION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 
noncommercial educational television station’ 
means any full-power television broadcast sta-
tion which— 
‘‘(i) under the rules and regulations of 
the Commission in effect on March 29, 
1990, is licensed by the Commission as a 
noncommercial 
educational 
television 
broadcast station and is owned and oper-
ated by a public agency, nonprofit founda-
tion, nonprofit corporation, or nonprofit 
association; or 
‘‘(ii) is owned and operated by a mu-
nicipality and transmits predominantly 
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noncommercial programs for educational 
purposes. 
‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—Such term includes— 
‘‘(i) the translator of any noncommer-
cial educational television station with five 
watts or higher power serving the franchise 
area; 
‘‘(ii) a full-service station or trans-
lator if such station or translator is li-
censed to a channel reserved for non-
commercial educational use pursuant to 
section 73.606 of title 47, Code of Federal 
Regulations, or any successor regulations 
thereto; and 
‘‘(iii) such stations and translators op-
erating on channels not so reserved as the 
Commission determines are qualified as 
noncommercial educational stations.’’. 
(3) SECTION 621.—Section 621(b)(3)(D) of the 
Communications 
Act 
of 
1934 
(47 
U.S.C. 
541(b)(3)(D)) is amended by striking ‘‘sections 611 
and 612’’ and inserting ‘‘section 611’’. 
(4) SECTION 622.—Section 622(c) of the Com-
munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 542(c)) is 
amended by striking ‘‘pursuant to section 623’’. 
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(5) SECTION 625.—Section 625 of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 545) is amended— 
(A) in subsection (c)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘rearrange, replace,’’ 
and inserting ‘‘replace’’; 
(ii) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘; 
or’’ and inserting a period; 
(iii) by striking paragraph (2); and 
(iv) by striking ‘‘franchise if—’’ and 
all that follows through ‘‘such service is no 
longer’’ and inserting ‘‘franchise if such 
service is no longer’’; and 
(B) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘, if the 
rates’’ and all that follows and inserting a pe-
riod. 
(6) SECTION 632.—Section 632(c) of the Com-
munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 552(c)) is 
amended by striking ‘‘section 623(b)(6) or’’. 
(7) SECTION 638.—Section 638 of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 558) is amended 
by striking ‘‘governmental use or on any other chan-
nel obtained under section 612 or under similar ar-
rangements’’ and inserting ‘‘or governmental use’’. 
(8) SECTION 653.—Section 653 of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 573) is amended— 
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(A) in subsection (b)(1)— 
(i) in subparagraph (C), by adding 
‘‘and’’ at the end; and 
(ii) by striking subparagraph (D) and 
redesignating subparagraph (E) as sub-
paragraph (D); and 
(B) in subsection (c)(1)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘(other than sub-
section (a) thereof)’’; and 
(II) by striking ‘‘623(f)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘623(b)’’; 
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘, and section 325 of title III,’’; and 
(iii) in subparagraph (C)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘sections 612 and 
617’’ and inserting ‘‘section 617’’; 
and 
(II) by striking ‘‘623(f)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘623(b)’’. 
SEC. 4. BINDING ARBITRATION. 
Section 325 of the Communications Act of 1934, as 
amended by sections 2 and 3, is further amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘(g) BINDING ARBITRATION.— 
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‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Beginning on the date 
that is 90 days after the date on which this sub-
section takes effect, the Commission shall, by regula-
tion— 
‘‘(A) provide that the Commission may re-
quire a television broadcast station and multi-
channel video programming distributor negoti-
ating a marketplace agreement (and any large 
station group or qualified MVPD buying group 
negotiating for a marketplace agreement on be-
half of a television broadcast station or multi-
channel video programming distributor, respec-
tively) to submit to binding arbitration— 
‘‘(i) upon— 
‘‘(I) a declaration of an impasse 
in negotiations by all parties negoti-
ating the agreement; 
‘‘(II) a preliminary finding by the 
Commission of a violation of the good 
faith requirement under subsection 
(f)(1)(A)(i); or 
‘‘(III) the failure of the television 
broadcast station and multichannel 
programming distributor (or any large 
station group or qualified MVPD buy-
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ing group negotiating for a market-
place agreement on behalf of a tele-
vision broadcast station or multi-
channel 
video 
programming 
dis-
tributor, respectively) to reach a mar-
ketplace agreement by the date that is 
60 days after the date on which a 
marketplace agreement entered into 
by the television broadcast station and 
the multichannel video programming 
distributor (or by any large station 
group or qualified MVPD buying 
group negotiating for a marketplace 
agreement on behalf of a television 
broadcast station or multichannel 
video programming distributor, re-
spectively) expires; and 
‘‘(ii) in a form substantially similar to 
that imposed in Section VII of Appendix A 
of the Memorandum Opinion and Order in 
the matter of Applications of Comcast Cor-
poration, General Electric Company and 
NBC Universal, Inc. For Consent to As-
sign Licenses and Transfer Control of Li-
censees that was adopted by the Commis-
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sion on January 18, 2011 (FCC 11–4); 
and 
‘‘(B) provide that the Commission may re-
quire a multichannel video programming dis-
tributor to retransmit a signal of a television 
broadcast station and the television broadcast 
station to permit the retransmission of that sig-
nal— 
‘‘(i) during any period in which the 
television broadcast station and the multi-
channel video programming distributor (or 
any large station group or qualified MVPD 
buying group negotiating for a marketplace 
agreement on behalf of a television broad-
cast station or multichannel video pro-
gramming distributor, respectively) are re-
quired to submit to binding arbitration 
under subparagraph (A); and 
‘‘(ii) in accordance with the interim 
carriage provisions imposed in Section VII 
of Appendix A of the Memorandum Opin-
ion and Order described under subpara-
graph (A)(ii). 
‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 
terms ‘large station group’, ‘marketplace agreement’, 
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‘multichannel video programming distributor’, ‘quali-
fied MVPD buying group’, and ‘television broadcast 
station’ have the meaning given those terms in sub-
section (f).’’. 
SEC. 5. REPEAL OF REGULATORY INTERVENTION IN THE 
COPYRIGHT ACT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) REPEAL.—Section 119 of title 17, United 
States Code, is hereby repealed. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 
sections at the beginning of chapter 1 of title 17, 
United States Code, is amended by striking the item 
related to section 119. 
(b) SECTION 111.—Section 111 of title 17, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(4), by striking ‘‘section 
119 or’’; 
(2) in subsection (c)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘broadcast station licensed 
by the Federal Communications Commission or 
by an appropriate governmental authority of 
Canada or Mexico’’ and inserting ‘‘qualified 
broadcast station’’ each place it appears; and 
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(B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘where 
the carriage’’ and all that follows before the pe-
riod at the end; 
(3) in subsection (d)(1)(A), by striking the sec-
ond sentence; and 
(4) in subsection (f)— 
(A) 
in 
paragraph 
(4), 
by 
striking 
‘‘122(j)(2)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘122(g)(2)(C)’’; 
and 
(B) by adding at the end, the following: 
‘‘(14) QUALIFIED
BROADCAST
STATION.—The 
term ‘qualified broadcast station’ means a broadcast 
station licensed by the Federal Communications 
Commission, or by an appropriate governmental au-
thority of Canada or Mexico, that elects mandatory 
carriage under section 614 or 615 of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934. 
‘‘(15) SATELLITE
CARRIER.—The term ‘sat-
ellite carrier’ means an entity that uses the facilities 
of a satellite or satellite service licensed by the Fed-
eral Communications Commission and operates in 
the Fixed-Satellite Service or the Direct Broadcast 
Satellite Service under part 25 of title 47, Code of 
Federal Regulations, to establish and operate a 
channel of communications for point-to-multipoint 
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distribution of television station signals, and that 
owns or leases a capacity or service on a satellite in 
order to provide such point-to-multipoint distribu-
tion, except to the extent that such entity provides 
such distribution pursuant to tariff under the Com-
munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.), 
other than for private home viewing.’’. 
(c) SECTION 122.—Section 122 of title 17, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘television broadcast stations’’ 
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘qualified tele-
vision broadcast stations’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘television broadcast station’’ 
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘qualified tele-
vision broadcast station’’; 
(3) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
the semicolon at the end and inserting ‘‘; 
and’’; 
(ii) by striking subparagraph (B); and 
(iii) by redesignating subparagraph 
(C) as subparagraph (B); 
(B) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and 
(5); 
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(C) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 
paragraph (2); and 
(D) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 
by striking ‘‘SPECIAL
EXCEPTIONS.—A sec-
ondary transmission of a performance or dis-
play’’ and all that follows through ‘‘In the case 
of a system’’ and inserting ‘‘SPECIAL EXCEP-
TION.—In the case of a system’’; 
(4) by striking subsections (b), (f), and (g); 
(5) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), 
(h), (i), and (j) as subsections (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), 
and (g), respectively; 
(6) in subsection (c), as so redesignated— 
(A) by striking ‘‘television broadcast sta-
tion’’ each place it appears and inserting 
‘‘qualified television broadcast station’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘television broadcast sig-
nals’’ and inserting ‘‘signal of a qualified tele-
vision broadcast stations’’; and 
(C) by striking ‘‘, if the satellite carrier’’ 
and all that follows before the period at the 
end; 
(7) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘television broadcast station’’ each place it 
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appears and inserting ‘‘qualified television broadcast 
station’’; 
(8) in subsection (f), as so redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘and section 119’’; and 
(9) in subsection (g), as so redesignated— 
(A) in paragraph (2)(E), by striking 
‘‘338(l)’’ and inserting ‘‘338(k)’’; 
(B) by amending paragraph (4) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(4) NETWORK STATION.—The term ‘network 
station’ means— 
‘‘(A) a television station licensed by the 
Federal Communications Commission, including 
any translator station or terrestrial satellite sta-
tion that rebroadcasts all or substantially all of 
the programming broadcast by a network sta-
tion, that is owned or operated by, or affiliated 
with, one or more of the television networks in 
the United States that offer an interconnected 
program service on a regular basis for 15 or 
more hours per week to at least 25 of its affili-
ated television licensees in 10 or more States; 
or 
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‘‘(B) a noncommercial educational broad-
cast station (as defined in section 397 of the 
Communications Act of 1934); 
except that the term does not include the signal of 
the Alaska Rural Communications Service, or any 
successor entity to that service.’’. 
(C) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), 
and (7) as paragraphs (6), (7), and (8), respec-
tively; 
(D) by inserting after paragraph (4), the 
following: 
‘‘(5) NON-NETWORK STATION.—The term ‘non- 
network station’ means a television station, other 
than a network station, licensed by the Federal 
Communications Commission, that is secondarily 
transmitted by a satellite carrier.’’; and 
(E) in paragraph (8), as so redesignated— 
(i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘TELE-
VISION BROADCAST STATION’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘QUALIFIED TELEVISION BROADCAST 
STATION’’; 
(ii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 
‘‘, that elects mandatory carriage pursuant 
to section 338 of the Communications Act 
of 1934’’ after ‘‘Regulations’’; and 
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(iii) in subparagraph (B)— 
(I) by inserting ‘‘that elects man-
datory carriage pursuant to section 
338 of the Communications Act of 
1934,’’ after ‘‘Mexico’’; and 
(II) by striking ‘‘as defined in 
section 119(d)(2)(A)’’. 
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Title 17, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) in section 501— 
(A) by striking ‘‘local service area’’ each 
place it appears and inserting ‘‘designated mar-
ket area’’; 
(B) by striking subsection (e); 
(C) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub-
section (e); and 
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) In this section, the term ‘designated market 
area’ means a designated market area, as determined by 
Nielsen Media Research and published in the 1999–2000 
Nielsen Station Index Directory and Nielsen Station Index 
United States Television Household Estimates or any suc-
cessor publication.’’; 
(2) in section 708(a)(10), by striking ‘‘119 or’’; 
(3) in section 801— 
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(A) in subsection (b)(1), by striking 
‘‘119,’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘, 119,’’ each place it ap-
pears; 
(4) in section 803— 
(A) in subsection (b)(1)(A)(i), in the mat-
ter preceding subclause (I), by striking ‘‘, 119’’; 
(B) in subsection (d)(2)(C)(i), by striking 
‘‘, 119’’; 
(C) in subsection (e)(2), by striking ‘‘118, 
or 119’’ and inserting ‘‘or 118’’; and 
(5) in section 804— 
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘, 119’’; 
and 
(B) in subsection (b)(8), by striking ‘‘, 
119,’’. 
SEC. 6. REPEAL OF COMMISSION’S RULES RELATED TO 
REGULATORY INTERVENTION. 
The Federal Communications Commission shall take 
all actions necessary to— 
(1) repeal section 73.658 of the Commission’s 
rules (47 CFR 73.658); 
(2) repeal subpart F of part 76 of the Commis-
sion’s rules; and 
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(3) modify subpart S of part 76 of the Commis-
sion’s rules by eliminating any requirements relating 
to network nonduplication and syndicated exclusivity 
for open video systems. 
SEC. 7. REPORT. 
Section 13 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 163) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting a semicolon; 
(B) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe-
riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(6) if the Commission determines under sub-
section (e)(2) that the totality of the measurements 
have presented a net negative impact in the two 
years preceding the report, include specific policies 
to improve market functioning.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(e) COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY.— 
‘‘(1) STUDY.—Not later than 4 years after the 
date of the enactment of the Modern Television Act 
of 2021, and every two years thereafter, the Comp-
troller General of the United States, in consultation 
with the Commission, shall study the effect of the 
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regime established under such Act, and the amend-
ments made by such Act, by measuring— 
‘‘(A) the price consumers pay for video 
programming, adjusted to reflect national mon-
etary inflation or deflation; 
‘‘(B) the satisfaction of consumers with 
the quality of video programming and the serv-
ices of multichannel video programming dis-
tributors; 
‘‘(C) the— 
‘‘(i) number of interruptions to the 
distribution of programming to consumers 
because of impasses in negotiations be-
tween multichannel video programming 
distributors and television broadcast sta-
tions; 
‘‘(ii) duration of each interruption; 
and 
‘‘(iii) number of consumers impacted 
by each interruption; and 
‘‘(D) consumer access to local program-
ming, including news, weather, sports, and pub-
lic, educational, and governmental program-
ming. 
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‘‘(2) DETERMINATION
BY
COMMISSION.—The 
Commission shall determine under the study de-
scribed in paragraph (1) if the totality of the meas-
urements described in such paragraph present a net 
positive, net negative, or indeterminate impact to 
consumers and to the marketplace. 
‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, the 
terms ‘video programming’ and ‘multichannel video 
programming distributor’ have the meaning given 
those terms in section 602.’’. 
SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this Act or any amendment made 
by this Act, or any application of such provision or amend-
ment to any person or circumstance, is held to be uncon-
stitutional, the remainder of the provisions of this Act and 
the amendments made by this Act, and the application of 
the provision or amendment to any other person or cir-
cumstance, shall not be affected. 
SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
Except as provided in section 2, this Act, and the 
amendments made by this Act, shall take effect on the 
date that is 42 months after the date of the enactment 
of this Act. 
Æ 
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