I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4635 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for greater access 
to in-State television broadcast programming, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 9, 2014 
Mr. ADERHOLT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 
the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for 
greater access to in-State television broadcast program-
ming, 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 ‘‘Orphan County Tele-
communications Rights Act of 2014’’. 
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SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF LOCAL TELEVISION MARKETS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part I of title III of the Commu-
nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 343. MODIFICATION OF LOCAL TELEVISION MAR-
KETS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The adjacent underserved coun-
ty of a television broadcast station may file with the Com-
mission a petition for the inclusion of such county in the 
local market of such station. Not later than 120 days after 
receiving such a petition, the Commission shall grant such 
petition by modifying the local market of such station by 
including such county in such market. 
‘‘(b) MULTIPLE MARKETS.—The Commission may 
determine under subsection (a) that a particular county 
is part of the local market of more than one television 
broadcast station affiliated with the same television net-
work. 
‘‘(c) SINGLE PETITION.—A county may request the 
inclusion of such county in the local market of more than 
one television broadcast station in a single petition filed 
under subsection (a). 
‘‘(d) POINT OF CONTACT WITH COUNTY.—A county 
that files a petition under subsection (a) shall designate 
an official or body to communicate with the Commission 
about matters relating to such petition. 
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‘‘(e) CARRIAGE
DURING
PENDENCY
OF
PRO-
CEEDING.—During the pendency of a proceeding on a pe-
tition under subsection (a) for the inclusion of a county 
in the local market of a television broadcast station, a mul-
tichannel video programming distributor may not delete 
from carriage the signal of a television broadcast station— 
‘‘(1) that is affiliated with the same television 
network; and 
‘‘(2) the local market of which includes such 
county. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ADJACENT MARKET.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘adjacent 
market’ means, with respect to a television 
broadcast station, any designated market area 
adjacent to, and partially but not entirely in the 
same State as, the designated market area in 
which the station’s community of license is lo-
cated. 
‘‘(B) TREATMENT
OF
CERTAIN
COUN-
TIES.—In the case of a county that is not with-
in the local market or the adjacent market (as 
defined in subparagraph (A)) of any network 
station licensed to a community in the State in 
which such county is located, such county shall 
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be considered to be within the adjacent market 
of any television broadcast station licensed to a 
community in the nearest designated market 
area— 
‘‘(i) that is located in whole or in part 
within such State; and 
‘‘(ii) with respect to which the com-
munity of license of at least one network 
station is located both in such designated 
market area and in such State. 
‘‘(2) ADJACENT UNDERSERVED COUNTY.—The 
term ‘adjacent underserved county’ means, with re-
spect to a television broadcast station, a county 
within the station’s adjacent market that is both— 
‘‘(A) located in the same State as the sta-
tion’s community of license; and 
‘‘(B) not within the local market of any 
other station that is both affiliated with the 
same television network and located in the same 
State. 
‘‘(3) CABLE OPERATOR.—The term ‘cable oper-
ator’ has the meaning given such term in section 
602. 
‘‘(4) COUNTY.—The term ‘county’ means a 
county, parish, or similar political subdivision of a 
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State of the type generally used in determining the 
boundaries of designated market areas. 
‘‘(5) DESIGNATED MARKET AREA.—The term 
‘designated market area’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 122(j)(2)(C) of title 17, United 
States Code. 
‘‘(6) LOCAL MARKET.—The term ‘local market’ 
means, with respect to a television broadcast sta-
tion— 
‘‘(A) for purposes of carriage of such sta-
tion by satellite carriers, the local market of 
such station as determined under section 
122(j)(2) of title 17, United States Code; and 
‘‘(B) for purposes of carriage of such sta-
tion by cable operators, the television market of 
such station as determined under section 
614(h)(1)(C). 
‘‘(7) MULTICHANNEL
VIDEO
PROGRAMMING 
DISTRIBUTOR.—The term ‘multichannel video pro-
gramming distributor’ has the meaning given such 
term in section 602. 
‘‘(8) NETWORK STATION.—The term ‘network 
station’ has the meaning given such term in section 
119(d) of title 17, United States Code. 
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‘‘(9) SATELLITE CARRIER.—The term ‘satellite 
carrier’ has the meaning given such term in section 
119(d) of title 17, United States Code. 
‘‘(10) TELEVISION BROADCAST STATION.—The 
term ‘television broadcast station’ has the meaning 
given such term in section 325(b). 
‘‘(11) TELEVISION NETWORK.—The term ‘tele-
vision network’ has the meaning given such term in 
section 339(d).’’. 
(b) EFFECT FOR PURPOSES OF CABLE CARRIAGE.— 
Section 614(h)(1)(C) of the Communications Act of 1934 
(47 U.S.C. 534(h)(1)(C)) is amended— 
(1) by moving the margin of clause (iv) two ems 
to the left; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(v) If the Commission modifies the local 
market of a television broadcast station under 
section 343 by including a county in such mar-
ket, the Commission shall include within the 
television market of such station for purposes of 
this section all of the communities within such 
county.’’. 
(c) EFFECT
FOR PURPOSES
OF SATELLITE CAR-
RIAGE.—Section 122(j)(2) of title 17, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(E) MODIFICATION BY FCC.—If the Fed-
eral Communications Commission modifies the 
local market of a television broadcast station 
under section 343 of the Communications Act 
of 1934, such modification shall modify the 
local market of such station as determined 
under this paragraph.’’. 
Æ 
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