H. R. 4818—619
personally identifiable information concerning any sub-
scriber without the prior written or electronic consent of
the subscriber concerned and shall take such actions as
are necessary to prevent unauthorized access to such
information by a person other than the subscriber or sat-
ellite carrier.
‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—A satellite carrier may disclose such
information if the disclosure is—
‘‘(i) necessary to render, or conduct a legitimate
business activity related to, a satellite service or other
service provided by the satellite carrier to the sub-
scriber;
‘‘(ii) subject to paragraph (9), made pursuant to
a court order authorizing such disclosure, if the sub-
scriber is notified of such order by the person to whom
the order is directed;
‘‘(iii) a disclosure of the names and addresses of
subscribers to any satellite service or other service,
if—
‘‘(I) the satellite carrier has provided the sub-
scriber the opportunity to prohibit or limit such
disclosure; and
‘‘(II) the disclosure does not reveal, directly
or indirectly, the—
‘‘(aa) extent of any viewing or other use
by the subscriber of a satellite service or other
service provided by the satellite carrier; or
‘‘(bb) the nature of any transaction made
by the subscriber over any facilities used by
the satellite carrier; or
‘‘(iv) to a government entity as authorized under
chapter 119, 121, or 206 of title 18, United States
Code, except that such disclosure shall not include
records revealing satellite subscriber selection of video
programming from a satellite carrier.
‘‘(5) ACCESS BY SUBSCRIBER.—A satellite subscriber shall
be provided access to all personally identifiable information
regarding that subscriber which is collected and maintained
by a satellite carrier. Such information shall be made available
to the subscriber at reasonable times and at a convenient
place designated by such satellite carrier. A satellite subscriber
shall be provided reasonable opportunity to correct any error
in such information.
‘‘(6) DESTRUCTION
OF
INFORMATION.—A satellite carrier
shall destroy personally identifiable information if the informa-
tion is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was
collected and there are no pending requests or orders for access
to such information under paragraph (5) or pursuant to a
court order.
‘‘(7) PENALTIES.—Any person aggrieved by any act of a
satellite carrier in violation of this section may bring a civil
action in a United States district court. The court may award—
‘‘(A) actual damages but not less than liquidated dam-
ages computed at the rate of $100 a day for each day
of violation or $1,000, whichever is higher;
‘‘(B) punitive damages; and
H. R. 4818—620
‘‘(C) reasonable attorneys’ fees and other litigation costs
reasonably incurred.
The remedy provided by this subsection shall be in addition
to any other lawful remedy available to a satellite subscriber.
‘‘(8) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this title shall
be construed to prohibit any State from enacting or enforcing
laws consistent with this section for the protection of subscriber
privacy.
‘‘(9) COURT
ORDERS.—Except as provided in paragraph
(4)(B)(iv), a governmental entity may obtain personally identifi-
able information concerning a satellite subscriber pursuant to
a court order only if, in the court proceeding relevant to such
court order—
‘‘(A) such entity offers clear and convincing evidence
that the subject of the information is reasonably suspected
of engaging in criminal activity and that the information
sought would be material evidence in the case; and
‘‘(B) the subject of the information is afforded the
opportunity to appear and contest such entity’s claim.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 338(i) of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 338(i)) as amended by subsection (a) of
this section shall be effective 60 days after the date of enactment
of this Act.
SEC. 207. RECIPROCAL BARGAINING OBLIGATIONS.
(a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 325(b)(3)(C) of the Communications
Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(3)(C)) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘Within 45 days’’ and all that follows through
‘‘1999, the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’;
(2) by striking the second sentence;
(3) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (i);
(4) in clause (ii)—
(A) by striking ‘‘January 1, 2006’’ and inserting
‘‘January 1, 2010’’; and
(B) by striking the period at the end and inserting
‘‘; and’’; and
(5) by adding at the end the following new clause:
‘‘(iii) until January 1, 2010, prohibit a multi-
channel video programming distributor from failing
to negotiate in good faith for retransmission consent
under this section, and it shall not be a failure to
negotiate in good faith if the distributor enters into
retransmission consent agreements containing dif-
ferent terms and conditions, including price terms, with
different broadcast stations if such different terms and
conditions are based on competitive marketplace
considerations.’’.
(b) DEADLINE.—The Federal Communications Commission shall
prescribe regulations to implement the amendment made by sub-
section (a)(5) within 180 days after the date of enactment of this
Act.
SEC. 208. STUDY OF IMPACT ON CABLE TELEVISION SERVICE.
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—No later than 9 months after the date
of enactment of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthor-
ization Act of 2004, the Federal Communications Commission shall
complete an inquiry regarding the impact on competition in the
multichannel video programming distribution market of the current
H. R. 4818—621
retransmission consent, network nonduplication, syndicated exclu-
sivity, and sports blackout rules, including the impact of those
rules on the ability of rural cable operators to compete with direct
broadcast satellite industry in the provision of digital broadcast
television signals to consumers. Such report shall include such
recommendations for changes in any statutory provisions relating
to such rules as the Commission deems appropriate.
(b) REPORT REQUIRED.—The Federal Communications Commis-
sion shall submit a report on the results of the inquiry required
by subsection (a) to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of
the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later than 9 months
after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 209. REDUCTION OF REQUIRED TESTS.
Section 339(c)(4) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
339(c)(4)) is amended by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol-
lowing new subparagraphs:
‘‘(D) REDUCTION
OF
VERIFICATION
BURDENS.—Within
1 year after the date of enactment of the Satellite Home
Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act of 2004, the
Commission shall by rule exempt from the verification
requirements of subparagraph (A) any request for a test
made by a subscriber to a satellite carrier to whom the
retransmission of the signals of local broadcast stations
is available under section 338 from such carrier.
‘‘(E) EXCEPTION.—A satellite carrier may refuse to
engage in the testing process. If the carrier does so refuse,
a subscriber in a local market in which the satellite carrier
does not offer the signals of local broadcast stations under
section 338 may, at his or her own expense, authorize
a signal intensity test to be performed pursuant to the
procedures specified by the Commission in section 73.686(d)
of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, by a tester who
is approved by the satellite carrier and by each affected
network station, or who has been previously approved by
the satellite carrier and by each affected network station
but not previously disapproved. A tester may not be so
disapproved for a test after the tester has commenced
such test. The tester shall give 5 business days advance
written notice to the satellite carrier and to the affected
network station or stations. A signal intensity test con-
ducted in accordance with this subparagraph shall be deter-
minative of the signal strength received at that household
for purposes of determining whether the household is
capable of receiving a Grade B intensity signal.’’.
SEC. 210. SATELLITE CARRIAGE OF TELEVISION STATIONS IN NON-
CONTIGUOUS STATES.
Section 338(a) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C.
338(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(4) CARRIAGE OF SIGNALS OF LOCAL STATIONS IN CERTAIN
MARKETS.—A satellite carrier that offers multichannel video
programming distribution service in the United States to more
than 5,000,000 subscribers shall (A) within 1 year after the
date of the enactment of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension
and Reauthorization Act of 2004, retransmit the signals origi-
nating as analog signals of each television broadcast station
H. R. 4818—622
located in any local market within a State that is not part
of the contiguous United States, and (B) within 30 months
after such date of enactment retransmit the signals originating
as digital signals of each such station. The retransmissions
of such stations shall be made available to substantially all
of the satellite carrier’s subscribers in each station’s local
market, and the retransmissions of the stations in at least
one market in the State shall be made available to substantially
all of the satellite carrier’s subscribers in areas of the State
that are not within a designated market area. The cost to
subscribers of such retransmissions shall not exceed the cost
of retransmissions of local television stations in other States.
Within 1 year after the date of enactment of that Act, the
Commission shall promulgate regulations concerning elections
by television stations in such State between mandatory carriage
pursuant to this section and retransmission consent pursuant
to section 325(b), which shall take into account the schedule
on which local television stations are made available to viewers
in such State.’’.
SEC. 211. CARRIAGE OF TELEVISION SIGNALS TO CERTAIN SUB-
SCRIBERS.
Part I of title III of the Communications Act of 1934 (47
U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 339 the
following:
‘‘SEC. 341. CARRIAGE OF TELEVISION SIGNALS TO CERTAIN SUB-
SCRIBERS.
‘‘(a)(1) IN GENERAL.—A cable operator or satellite carrier may
elect to retransmit, to subscribers in an eligible county.—
‘‘(A) any television broadcast stations that are located in
the State in which the county is located and that any cable
operator or satellite carrier was retransmitting to subscribers
in the county on January 1, 2004; or
‘‘(B) up to 2 television broadcast stations located in the
State in which the county is located, if the number of television
broadcast stations that the cable operator or satellite carrier
is authorized to carry under paragraph (1) is less than 3.
‘‘(2) DEEMED SIGNIFICANTLY VIEWED.—A station described in
subsection (a) is deemed to be significantly viewed in the eligible
county within the meaning of section 76.54 of the Commission’s
regulations (47 CFR 76.54).
‘‘(3) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE COUNTY.—For purposes of this
section, the term ‘eligible county’ means any 1 of 4 counties that—
‘‘(A) are all in a single State;
‘‘(B) on January 1, 2004, were each in designated market
areas in which the majority of counties were located in another
State or States; and
‘‘(C) as a group had a combined total of 41,340 television
households according to the U.S. Television Household Esti-
mates by Nielsen Media Research for 2003–2004.
‘‘(4) LIMITATION.—Carriage of a station under this section shall
be at the option of the cable operator or satellite carrier.
‘‘(b) CERTAIN MARKETS.—Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, a satellite carrier may not carry the signal of a television
station into an adjacent local market that is comprised of only
a portion of a county, other than to unserved households located
in that county.’’.