I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1027
To provide for the carriage by satellite carriers of local broadcast station
signals, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 8, 1999
Mr. COBLE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Commerce, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned
A BILL
To provide for the carriage by satellite carriers of local
broadcast station 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 ‘‘Satellite Television Im-
provement Act’’.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE 17, UNITED STATES CODE.
Section 119 of title 17, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(6)’’
and inserting ‘‘(5)’’;
(B) in paragraph (2)—
(i) by striking
‘‘(2) NETWORK STATIONS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the provi-
sions of subparagraphs (B) and (C) of this
paragraph and paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and
(6)’’
and inserting
‘‘(2) NETWORK STATIONS.—Subject to the pro-
visions of paragraphs (3), (4), and (5)’’ and running
in the remaining text of the subparagraph; and
(ii) by striking subparagraphs (B) and
(C);
(C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘, or has
failed to make the submissions to networks re-
quired by paragraph (2)(C)’’; and
(D) by striking paragraphs (5), (8), (9),
and (10) and redesignating paragraphs (6) and
(7) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and
(2) in subsection (d), by striking paragraphs
(10) and (11).
SEC. 3. RETRANSMISSION CONSENT.
Section 325(b) of the Communications Act of 1934
(47 U.S.C. 325(b)) is amended—
(1) by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and in-
serting the following:
‘‘(b)(1) No cable system or other multichannel video
programming distributor shall retransmit the signal of a
broadcasting station, or any part thereof, except—
‘‘(A) with the express authority of the station;
‘‘(B) pursuant to section 614, in the case of a
station electing, in accordance with this subsection,
to assert the right to carriage under such section; or
‘‘(C) pursuant to section 337, in the case of a
station electing, in accordance with this subsection,
to assert the right to carriage under such section.
‘‘(2) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply
to—
‘‘(A) retransmission of the signal of a non-
commercial broadcasting station;
‘‘(B) retransmission of the signal of a supersta-
tion by a satellite carrier to subscribers for private
home viewing if the originating station was a super-
station on May 1, 1991;
‘‘(C) retransmission of the signal of a broad-
casting station that is owned or operated by, or af-
filiated with, a broadcasting network directly to a
home satellite antenna, if the household receiving
the signal is located in an area in which such station
may not assert its rights not to have its signal dupli-
cated under the Commission’s network nonduplica-
tion regulations; or
‘‘(D) retransmission by a cable operator or
other multichannel video programming distributor of
the signal of a superstation if such signal was ob-
tained from a satellite carrier and the originating
station was a superstation on May 1, 1991.’’;
(2) by adding at the end of paragraph (3) the
following new subparagraph:
‘‘(C) Within 45 days after the effective date of the
Satellite Television Improvement Act, the Commission
shall commence a rulemaking proceeding to revise the reg-
ulations governing the exercise by television broadcast sta-
tions of the right to grant retransmission consent under
this subsection, and such other regulations as are nec-
essary to administer the limitation contained in paragraph
(2). Such regulations shall establish election time periods
that correspond with those regulations adopted under sub-
paragraph (B). The rulemaking shall be completed within
180 days after the effective date of the Satellite Television
Improvement Act.’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(7) For purposes of this subsection:
‘‘(A) The term ‘superstation’ means a television
broadcast station, other than a network station, li-
censed by the Commission that is secondarily trans-
mitted by a satellite carrier.
‘‘(B) The term ‘satellite carrier’ has the mean-
ing given that term in section 119(d) of title 17,
United States Code.’’.
SEC. 4. MUST-CARRY FOR SATELLITE CARRIERS RE-
TRANSMITTING TELEVISION BROADCAST SIG-
NALS.
Title III of the Communications Act of 1934 is
amended by inserting after section 336 the following new
section:
‘‘SEC. 337. CARRIAGE OF LOCAL TELEVISION SIGNALS BY
SATELLITE CARRIERS.
‘‘(a) CARRIAGE OBLIGATIONS.—Each satellite carrier
providing direct to home service of a television broadcast
station to subscribers located within the local market of
such station shall, not later than January 1, 2002, carry
all television broadcast stations located within that local
market. Carriage of additional television broadcast sta-
tions within the local market shall be at the discretion of
the satellite carrier, subject to section 325(b).
‘‘(b) GOOD SIGNAL REQUIRED.—
‘‘(1) COSTS.—A television broadcast station eli-
gible for carriage under subsection (a) shall be re-
quired to bear the costs associated with delivering a
good quality signal to the designated local receive fa-
cility of the satellite carrier. The selection of a local
receive facility by a satellite carrier shall not be
made in a manner that frustrates the purposes of
this section.
‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The regulations issued
under subsection (g) shall set forth the obligations
necessary to carry out this subsection.
‘‘(c) DUPLICATION NOT REQUIRED.—Notwithstand-
ing subsection (a), a satellite carrier shall not be required
to carry the signal of any local television broadcast station
that substantially duplicates the signal of another local tel-
evision broadcast station which is secondarily transmitted
by the satellite carrier, or to carry the signals of more
that one local television broadcast station affiliated with
a particular broadcast network (as the term is defined by
regulation).
‘‘(d) CHANNEL POSITIONING.—Each signal carried
in fulfillment of the carriage obligations of a satellite car-
rier under this section shall be carried on the satellite car-
rier channel number on which the local television broad-
cast station is broadcast over the air, or on the channel
on which it was broadcast on January 1, 1985, or on the
channel it was broadcast on January 1, 1998, at the elec-
tion of the station, or on such other channel number as
is mutually agreed upon by the station and the satellite
carrier. Any dispute regarding the positioning of local tele-
vision broadcast stations shall be resolved by the Commis-
sion.
‘‘(e) COMPENSATION
FOR CARRIAGE.—A satellite
carrier shall not accept or request monetary payment or
other valuable consideration in exchange either for car-
riage of local television broadcast stations in fulfillment
of the requirements of this section or for channel position-
ing rights provided to such stations under this section, ex-
cept that any such station may be required to bear the
costs associated with delivering a good quality signal to
the principal headend of the satellite carrier.
‘‘(f) REMEDIES.—
‘‘(1) COMPLAINTS BY BROADCAST STATIONS.—
Whenever a local television broadcast station believes
that a satellite carrier has failed to meet its obliga-
tions under this section, such station shall notify the
carrier, in writing, of the alleged failure and identify
‘‘(3) REMEDIAL ACTIONS; DISMISSAL.—Within
120 days after the date a complaint is filed, the
Commission shall determine whether the satellite
carrier has met its obligations under this section. If
the Commission determines that the satellite carrier
has failed to meet such obligations, the Commission
shall order the satellite carrier to reposition the com-
plaining station or, in the case of an obligation to
carry a station, to commence carriage of the station
and to continue such carriage for at least 12
months. If the Commission determines that the sat-
ellite carrier has fully met the requirements of this
section, it shall dismiss the complaint.
‘‘(g) REGULATIONS BY COMMISSION.—Within 180
days after the effective date of this section, the Commis-
sion shall, following a rulemaking proceeding, issue regula-
tions implementing the requirements imposed by this sec-
tion.
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
‘‘(1) TELEVISION
BROADCAST
STATION.—The
term ‘television broadcast station’ means a full-
power television broadcast station, and does not in-
clude a low-power or translator television broadcast
station.
‘‘(2) LOCAL MARKET.—The term ‘local market’
means the designated market area in which a station
is located and—
‘‘(A) for a commercial television broadcast
station located in any of the 150 largest des-
ignated market areas, all commercial television
broadcast stations licensed to a community
within the same designated market area are
within the same local market;
‘‘(B) for a commercial television broadcast
station that is located in a designated market
area that is not one of the 150 largest, the local
market includes, in addition to all commercial
television broadcast stations licensed to a com-
munity within the same designated market
area, any station that is significantly viewed, as
such term is defined in section 76.54 of the
Commission’s regulations (47 C.F.R. 76.54);
and
‘‘(C) for a noncommercial educational tele-
vision broadcast station, the local market in-
cludes any station that is licensed to a commu-
nity within the same designated market area as
the noncommercial educational television broad-
cast station.
‘‘(3) DESIGNATED MARKET AREA.—The term
‘designated market area’ means a designated market
area, as determined by the Nielsen Media Research
and published in the DMA Market and Demographic
Report.’’.
SEC. 5. NETWORK NONDUPLICATION; SYNDICATED EXCLU-
SIVITY AND SPORTS BLACKOUT.
(a) REGULATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Within 45 days after the ef-
fective date of this Act, the Federal Communications
Commission shall commence a rulemaking to estab-
lish regulations that apply network nonduplication
protection, syndicated exclusivity protection, and
sports blackout protection to the retransmission of
broadcast signals by satellite carriers to subscribers.
To the extent possible, such regulations shall, sub-
ject to paragraph (2), include the same level of pro-
tection accorded retransmissions of television broad-
cast signals by cable systems for network non-
duplication (47 C.F.R. 76.92), syndicated exclusivity
(47 C.F.R. 151), and sports blackout (47 C.F.R.
76.67).
(2) NETWORK NONDUPLICATION.—The network
nonduplication regulations required under paragraph
(1) shall allow a television broadcast station to as-
sert nonduplication rights—
(A) against a satellite carrier throughout
that station’s local market if that satellite car-
rier is providing retransmissions of television
signals in that market to subscribers of another
television broadcast station located within that
local market; or
(B) against a satellite carrier in the geo-
graphic area in which the signal of that tele-
vision broadcast station is of Grade B intensity
based upon the Individually Located Longley-
Rice methodology described by the Federal
Communications Commission in its Docket No.
98–201, but such geographic area shall not ex-
tend beyond the local market of such station.
(3) WAIVERS.—(A) the network nonduplication
protection described in paragraph (2)(b) shall not
apply to a subscriber located in the geographic area
that is identified by the Individually Located
Longley-Rice methodology described by the Federal
Communications Commission in its Docket No. 98–
201 who files with the satellite carrier a written
waiver obtained from the network station whose
local market is in that geographic area, allowing the
subscriber to receive satellite service of another net-
work station affiliated with that same network. The
local network station and the satellite carrier shall
maintain a file available to the public that contains
such waiver.
(B) If a subscriber within the local market of
a network station petitions the Federal Communica-
tions Commission with the written findings and con-
clusions of a test conducted in accordance with the
provisions of section 73.686(d) of title 47, Code of
Federal Regulations, as in effect on March 1, 1999,
demonstrating that the subscriber does not receive
an over-the-air signal of the network station of
Grade B intensity, the network station shall have 30
days in which to file with the Commission an objec-
tion to the petition. If the network station does not
file a timely objection, then the station may not as-
sert network nonduplication protection described in
paragraph (2)(B) against that subscriber. If the sta-
tion does file a timely objection, then the Commis-
sion shall have 120 days in which to determine the
sufficiency of the subscriber’s petition. If the Com-
mission determines that the petition is sufficient,
then The network nonduplication protection de-
scribed in paragraph (2)(B) shall not apply to that
subscriber.
(4) LOCAL MARKET DEFINED.—The term ‘‘local
market’’ has the meaning provided in section 337(h)
of the Communications Act of 1934, as added by
section 3 of this Act.
(b) DEFERRED APPLICABILITY OF AMENDMENTS TO
SECTION 119 OF TITLE 17, UNITED STATES CODE.—
Notwithstanding the amendments to section 119 of title
17, United States Code, made by this Act, until the regu-
lations regarding network nonduplication protection are
established under subsection (a), the statutory license
under subsection (a) of such section 119 for secondary
transmissions of primary transmissions of programming
contained in a primary transmission made by a network
station (as defined in section 119(d) of title 17, United
States Code, as in effect on the day before the effective
date of this Act) shall be limited to secondary trans-
missions to persons who reside in unserved households (as
defined in section 119(d) of title 17, United States Code,
as in effect on the day before the effective date of this
Act).