S.303 - Satellite Television Act of 1999 106th Congress (1999-2000)

[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 303 Reported in Senate (RS)]





                                                       Calendar No. 120

106th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                 S. 303

                          [Report No. 106-51]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

   To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to enhance the ability of 
 direct broadcast satellite and other multichannel video providers to 
   compete effectively with cable television systems, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                              May 20, 1999

                       Reported with an amendment
                                                       Calendar No. 120
106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 303

                          [Report No. 106-51]

   To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to enhance the ability of 
 direct broadcast satellite and other multichannel video providers to 
   compete effectively with cable television systems, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 25, 1999

Mr. McCain (for himself, Mr. Burns, Mr. Enzi, and Mr. Roth) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

                              May 20, 1999

               Reported by Mr. McCain, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to enhance the ability of 
 direct broadcast satellite and other multichannel video providers to 
   compete effectively with cable television systems, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

<DELETED>SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Satellite Television Act of 
1999''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The Congress makes the following findings:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In the Cable Television Consumer Protection 
        and Competition Act of 1992, Congress stated its policy of 
        promoting competition in cable services and making available to 
        the public a diversity of views and information through cable 
        television and other video media.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) In the Telecommunications Act of 1996, 
        Congress stated its policy of securing lower prices and higher 
        quality service for American telecommunications consumers and 
        encouraging the rapid deployment of new telecommunications 
        technologies.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) In most places throughout America, cable 
        television system operators still do not face effective 
        competition from other providers of multichannel video 
        service.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Absent effective competition, the market power 
        exercised by cable television operators enables them to raise 
        the price of cable service to consumers, and to control the 
        price and availability of cable programming services to other 
        multichannel video service providers. Current Federal 
        Communications Commission rules have been inadequate in 
        constraining cable price increases.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) Direct Broadcast Satellite service has over 8 
        million subscribers and constitutes the most significant 
        competitive alternative to cable television service.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) Direct Broadcast Satellite Service currently 
        suffers from a number of statutory, regulatory, and technical 
        barriers that keep it from being an effective competitor to 
        cable television in the provision of multichannel video 
        services.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) The most prominent of these barriers is the 
        inability to provide subscribers with local television 
        broadcast signals by satellite.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) Permitting providers of direct broadcast 
        satellite service to retransmit local television signals to 
        their subscribers would greatly enhance the ability of direct 
        broadcast satellite service to compete more effectively in the 
        provision of multichannel video services.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) Due to capacity limitations and in the 
        interest of providing service in as many markets as possible, 
        providers of direct broadcast satellite service, unlike cable 
        television systems, cannot at this time carry all local 
        television broadcast signals in all the local television 
        markets they seek to serve.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) It would be in the public interest for 
        providers of direct broadcast satellite service to fully comply 
        with the mandatory signal carriage rules at the earliest 
        possible date. In the interim, requiring full compliance with 
        the mandatory signal carriage rules would substantially limit 
        the ability of direct broadcast satellite service providers to 
        compete in the provision of multichannel video services and 
        would not serve the public interest.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (11) Maintaining the viability of free, over-the-
        air local television service is a matter of preeminent public 
        interest.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (12) All subscribers to multichannel video 
        services should be able to receive the signal of at least one 
        station affiliated with each of the major broadcast television 
        networks.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (13) Millions of subscribers to direct broadcast 
        satellite service currently receive the signals of network-
        affiliated stations not located in these subscribers' local 
        television markets. In those cases where cable service is not 
        available and where conventional rooftop antennas are not 
        effective distant network signals may be these subscribers' 
        only source of network television service.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (14) There is a direct link between the widespread 
        carriage of distant network stations in local network 
        affiliates' markets and a local affiliate's loss of audience 
        share and revenues, which could in turn harm the station's 
        ability to serve its local community.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (15) Abrupt termination of satellite carriers' 
        provision of distant network signals could have a negative 
        impact on the ability of direct broadcast satellite service to 
        compete effectively in the provision of multichannel video 
        services.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (16) The public interest would be served by 
        permitting direct broadcast satellite service providers to 
        continue existing carriage of a distant network affiliate 
        station's signal where--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) there is no local network 
                affiliate;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the local network affiliate cannot be 
                adequately received off-air; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) continued carriage would not be likely 
                to materially harm local television service.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. PURPOSE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    The purpose of this Act is to permit subscribers of Direct 
Broadcast Satellite service who currently receive distant network 
stations to continue to receive this service to the extent that the 
Federal Communications Commission affirmatively finds that no local 
station would be likely to sustain audience and revenue loss that would 
materially affect that station's ability to continue to serve its local 
audience.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. MUST-CARRY FOR SATELLITE CARRIERS RETRANSMITTING 
              TELEVISION BROADCAST SIGNALS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Part I of title III of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end thereof the 
following:</DELETED>

<DELETED>``SEC. 337. CARRIAGE OF LOCAL TELEVISION SIGNALS BY SATELLITE 
              CARRIERS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to promote 
competition in the provision of multichannel video services while 
protecting the availability of free, over-the-air television, 
particularly for the 40 percent of American television households that 
do not subscribe to any multichannel video programming service, by--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) enabling providers of direct broadcast 
        service to offer their subscribers the signals of local 
        television stations;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) protecting the availability of free, over-
        the-air television broadcasting by requiring satellite carriers 
        who rely on a compulsory copyright license to carry all local 
        stations; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) accommodating, for an interim period, the 
        inability of providers of direct broadcast service from 
        carrying all local signals in all local television markets they 
        seek to serve.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) Application of Mandatory Carriage to Satellite 
Carriers.--The mandatory carriage provisions of sections 614 and 615 of 
the Communications Act will apply in a local market no later than 
January 1, 2002, to satellite carriers retransmitting any television 
broadcast station in that local market and pursuant to the compulsory 
license provided by section 122 of title 17, United States 
Code.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c) Good Signal Required.--A local television broadcast 
station eligible for carriage under subsection (b) may be required to 
bear the costs associated with delivering a good quality signal to the 
designated local receive facility 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 Act. The 
Commission shall promulgate any regulations necessary to assure that 
selection of local receive facilities is made in compliance with the 
intent of this Act.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(d) Rulemaking Required.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Single rulemaking required.--The Commission 
        shall institute a single rulemaking, compliant with subchapter 
        II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, to examine the 
        extent to which carriage of distant network stations already 
        provided to subscribers on March 1, 1998, may continue without 
        causing a projected loss of audience and revenue of such 
        magnitude as to cause material harm to the viability of local 
        stations.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Determination required.--As part of the 
        rulemaking required by this subsection, the Commission shall 
        determine whether the application of network exclusivity, 
        syndicated exclusivity, or sports exclusivity rules to carriage 
        of distant network stations would serve the public 
        interest.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Timeframe.--The Commission shall complete 
        all actions necessary to prescribe regulations it may adopt as 
        a result of this rulemaking to be effective within 180 days 
        after the enactment of the Satellite Television Act of 
        1999.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) Two-thirds vote required.--Any regulations 
        adopted under this subsection must be adopted by an affirmative 
        vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the 
        Commission.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) Certain dbs signals.--Direct-to-home 
        satellite service providers may continue to carry the signals 
        of distant network stations without regard to the provisions of 
        this subsection in any situation in which such carriage would 
        be consistent with rules adopted by the Commission in CS Docket 
        98-201.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(e) Cable Television System Digital Signal Carriage Not 
Covered.--Nothing in this section applies to the carriage of the 
digital signals of television broadcast stations by cable television 
systems.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(f) No Remission of Liability.--No action taken by the 
Commission pursuant to subsection (d) shall relieve any person from any 
liability for any violation of title 17, United States Code, or from 
the imposition of any remedy therefor.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(g) Definitions.--In this section:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Television broadcast station.--The term 
        `television broadcast station' means a full power local 
        television broadcast station, but does not include a low-power 
        or translator television broadcast station.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Broadcasting network.--The term 
        `broadcasting network' means a television network in the United 
        States which offers an interconnected program service on a 
        regular basis for 15 or more hours per week to at least 25 
        affiliated broadcast stations in 10 or more States.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Network station.--The term `network station' 
        means a television broadcast station that is owned or operated 
        by, or affiliated with, a broadcasting network.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(4) Local market.--The term `local market' means 
        the designated market area in which a station is located. For a 
        noncommercial educational television broadcast station, the 
        local market includes any station that is licensed to a 
        community within the same designated market area as the 
        noncommercial educational television broadcast 
        station.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) Local receive facility.--The term `local 
        receive facility' means the reception point in the local market 
        of a television broadcast station or in a market contiguous to 
        the local market of a television broadcast station at which a 
        satellite carrier initially receives the signal of the station 
        for purposes of transmission of such signals to the facility 
        which uplinks the signals to the carrier's satellites for 
        secondary transmission to the satellite carrier's 
        subscribers.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(6) Satellite carrier.--The term `satellite 
        carrier' has the meaning given it by section 119(d) of title 
        17, United States Code.''.D23/</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 5. RETRANSMISSION CONSENT.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Amendment of Section 325(b).--Section 325(b) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)) is amended striking the 
subsection designation and paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting the 
following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b)(1) No cable system or other multichannel video 
programming distributor shall retransmit the signal of a broadcasting 
station, or any part thereof, except--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(A) with the express authority of the station; 
        or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(B) pursuant to section 614 or section 615, in 
        the case of a station electing, in accordance with this 
        subsection, to assert the right to carriage under such 
        section.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(2) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply 
to--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(A) retransmission of the signal of a television 
        broadcast station outside the station's local market by a 
        satellite carrier directly to subscribers if--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(i) such station was a superstation on 
                May 1, 1991; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(ii) as of July 1, 1998, such station 
                was transmitted under the compulsory license of section 
                119 of title 17, United States Code, by satellite 
                carriers directly to at least 250,000 
                subscribers;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(B) retransmission of the distant signal of a 
        broadcasting station that is owned or operated by, or 
        affiliated with, a broadcasting network directly to a home 
        satellite antenna, if the subscriber resides in an unserved 
        household; or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(C) retransmission by a cable operator or other 
        multichannel video programming distributor (other than by a 
        satellite carrier direct to its subscribers) of the signal of a 
        television broadcast station outside the station's local 
        market, if such signal was obtained from a satellite carrier 
        and--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(i) the originating station was a 
                superstation on May 1, 1991; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(ii) the originating station was a 
                network station on December 31, 1997, and its signal 
                was retransmitted by a satellite carrier directly to 
                subscribers.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(3) Any term used in this subsection that is defined in 
section 337(h) of this Act has the meaning given to it by that 
section.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
take effect on January 1, 1999.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 6. DESIGNATED MARKET AREAS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Nothing in this Act, or in the amendments made by this 
Act, prevents the Federal Communications Commission from revising the 
listing of designated market areas (as defined in this Act) or 
reassigning such areas if the revision or reassignment is done in the 
same manner and to the same extent as the Commission's cable television 
mandatory carriage rules provide.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    If any provision of this Act or section 325(b) or 337 of 
the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b), 337), or the 
application of that provision to any person or circumstance, is held by 
a court of competent jurisdiction to violate any provision of the 
Constitution of the United States, then the other provisions of that 
section, and the application of that provision to other persons and 
circumstances, shall not be affected.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    In this Act:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Terms defined in Communications Act of 1934.--
        Any term used in this Act that is defined in section 337(h) of 
        the Communications Act of 1934, as added by section 4 of this 
        Act, has the meaning given to it by that section.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) Designated market area.--The term ``designated 
        market area'' means a designated market area, as determined by 
        Nielsen Media Research and published in the DMA Market and 
        Demographic Report.</DELETED>

SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Satellite Television Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) In the Cable Television Consumer Protection and 
        Competition Act of 1992, Congress stated its policy of 
        promoting competition in cable services and making available to 
        the public a diversity of views and information through cable 
        television and other video media.
            (2) In the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress stated 
        its policy of securing lower prices and higher quality service 
        for American telecommunications consumers and encouraging the 
        rapid deployment of new telecommunications technologies.
            (3) In most places throughout America, cable television 
        system operators still do not face effective competition from 
        other providers of multichannel video service.
            (4) Absent effective competition, the market power 
        exercised by cable television operators enables them to raise 
        the price of cable service to consumers, and to control the 
        price and availability of cable programming services to other 
        multichannel video service providers. Current Federal 
        Communications Commission rules have been inadequate in 
        constraining cable price increases.
            (5) Direct-to-home satellite service has over 8 million 
        subscribers and constitutes the most significant competitive 
        alternative to cable television service.
            (6) Direct-to-home satellite service currently suffers from 
        a number of statutory, regulatory, and technical barriers that 
        keep it from being an effective competitor to cable television 
        in the provision of multichannel video services.
            (7) The most prominent of these barriers is the inability 
        to provide subscribers with local television broadcast signals 
        by satellite.
            (8) Permitting providers of direct-to-home satellite 
        service to retransmit local television signals to their 
        subscribers would greatly enhance the ability of direct-to-home 
        satellite service providers to compete more effectively in the 
        provision of multichannel video services.
            (9) Due to capacity limitations and in the interest of 
        providing service in as many markets as possible, providers of 
        direct-to-home satellite service, unlike cable television 
        systems, cannot at this time carry all local television 
        broadcast signals in all the local television markets they seek 
        to serve.
            (10) It would be in the public interest for providers of 
        direct-to-home satellite service to fully comply with the 
        mandatory signal carriage rules at the earliest possible date. 
        In the interim, requiring full compliance with the mandatory 
        signal carriage rules would substantially limit the ability of 
        direct-to-home satellite service providers to compete in the 
        provision of multichannel video services and would not serve 
        the public interest.
            (11) Maintaining the viability of free, local, over-the-air 
        television service is a matter of preeminent public interest.
            (12) All subscribers to multichannel video services should 
        be able to receive the signal of at least one station 
        affiliated with each of the major broadcast television 
        networks.
            (13) Millions of subscribers to direct-to-home satellite 
        service currently receive the signals of network-affiliated 
        stations not located in these subscribers' local television 
        markets. Where conventional rooftop antennas cannot provide 
        satisfactory reception of local stations, distant network 
        signals may be these subscribers' only source of network 
        television service.
            (14) The widespread carriage of distant network stations in 
        local network affiliates' markets could harm the local 
        stations' ability to serve their local community.
            (15) Abrupt termination of satellite carriers' provision of 
        distant network signals could have a negative impact on the 
        ability of direct-to-home satellite service to compete 
        effectively in the provision of multichannel video services.
            (16) The public interest would be served by permitting 
        direct-to-home satellite service providers to continue existing 
        carriage of a distant network affiliate station's signal 
        where--
                    (A) there is no local network affiliate;
                    (B) the local network affiliate cannot be 
                adequately received off-air; or
                    (C) continued carriage would not harm the local 
                network station.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to promote competition in the provision 
of multichannel video services while protecting the availability of 
free, local, over-the-air television, particularly for the 22 percent 
of American television households that do not subscribe to any 
multichannel video programming service.

SEC. 4. MUST-CARRY FOR SATELLITE CARRIERS RETRANSMITTING TELEVISION 
              BROADCAST SIGNALS.

    Part I of title III of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

``SEC. 338. CARRIAGE OF LOCAL TELEVISION STATIONS BY SATELLITE 
              CARRIERS.

    ``(a) Application of Mandatory Carriage to Satellite Carriers.--The 
mandatory carriage provisions of sections 614 and 615 of this Act will 
apply in a local market no later than January 1, 2002, to satellite 
carriers retransmitting any television broadcast station in that local 
market pursuant to the compulsory license provided by section 122 of 
title 17, United States Code.
    ``(b) Good Signal Required.--
            ``(1) Costs.--A television broadcast station eligible for 
        carriage under subsection (a) may be required to bear the costs 
        associated with delivering a good quality signal to the 
        designated local receive facility 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 Act. The Commission shall implement the requirements of 
        this section without imposing any undue economic burden on any 
        party.
            ``(2) Rulemaking required.--The Commission shall adopt 
        rules implementing paragraph (1) within 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of the Satellite Television Act of 1999.
    ``(c) Cable Television System Digital Signal Carriage Not 
Covered.--Nothing in this section applies to the carriage of the 
digital signals of television broadcast stations by cable television 
systems.
    ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Television broadcast station.--The term `television 
        broadcast station' means a full power local television 
        broadcast station, but does not include a low-power or 
        translator television broadcast station.
            ``(2) Network station.--The term `network station' means a 
        television broadcast station that is owned or operated by, or 
        affiliated with, a broadcasting network.
            ``(3) Broadcasting network.--The term `broadcasting 
        network' means a television network in the United States which 
        offers an interconnected program service on a regular basis for 
        15 or more hours per week to at least 25 affiliated broadcast 
        stations in 10 or more States.
            ``(4) Distant television station.--The term `distant 
        television station' means any television broadcast station that 
        is not licensed and operating on a channel regularly assigned 
        to the local television market in which a subscriber to a 
        direct-to-home satellite service is located.
            ``(5) Local market.--The term `local market' means the 
        designated market area in which a station is located. For a 
        noncommercial educational television broadcast station, the 
        local market includes any station that is licensed to a 
        community within the same designated market area as the 
        noncommercial educational television broadcast station.
            ``(6) Satellite carrier.--The term `satellite carrier' has 
        the meaning given it by section 119(d) of title 17, United 
        States Code.

``SEC. 339. CARRIAGE OF DISTANT TELEVISION STATIONS BY SATELLITE 
              CARRIERS.

    ``(a) Provisions Relating to New Subscribers.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (d), 
        direct-to-home satellite service providers shall be permitted 
        to provide the signals of 1 affiliate of each television 
        network to any household that initially subscribed to direct-
        to-home satellite service on or after July 10, 1998.
            ``(2) Eligibility determination.--The determination of a 
        new subscriber's eligibility to receive the signals of one or 
        more distant network stations as a component of the service 
        provided pursuant to paragraph (a) shall be made by 
        ascertaining whether the subscriber resides within the 
        predicted Grade B service area of a local network station. The 
        Individual Location Longley-Rice methodology described by the 
        Commission in Docket 98-201 shall be used to make this 
        determination. A direct-to-home satellite service provider may 
        provide the signal of a distant network station to any 
        subscriber determined by this method to be unserved by a local 
        station affiliated with that network.
            ``(3) Rulemaking required.--
                    ``(A) Within 90 days after the date of enactment of 
                the Satellite Television Act of 1999, the Commission 
                shall adopt procedures that shall be used by any 
                direct-to-home satellite service subscriber requesting 
                a waiver to receive one or more distant network 
                signals. The waiver procedures adopted by the 
                Commission shall--
                            ``(i) impose no unnecessary burden on the 
                        subscriber seeking the waiver;
                            ``(ii) allocate responsibilities fairly 
                        between direct-to-home satellite service 
                        providers and local stations;
                            ``(iii) prescribe mandatory time limits 
                        within which direct-to-home satellite service 
                        providers and local stations shall carry out 
                        the obligations imposed upon them; and
                            ``(iv) prescribe that all costs of 
                        conducting any measurement or testing shall be 
                        borne by the direct-to-home satellite service 
                        provider, if the local station's signal meets 
                        the prescribed minimum standards, or by the 
                        local station, if its signal fails to meet the 
                        prescribed minimum standards.
            ``(4) Penalty for violation.--Any direct-to-home satellite 
        service provider that knowingly and willfully provides the 
        signals of 1 or more distant television stations to subscribers 
        in violation of this section shall be liable for forfeiture in 
        the amount of $50,000 per day per violation.
    ``(b) Provisions Relating to Existing Subscribers.--
            ``(1) Moratorium on termination.--Until December 31, 1999, 
        any direct-to-home satellite service may continue to provide 
        the signals of distant television stations to any subscriber 
        located within predicted Grade A and Grade B contours of a 
        local network station who received those distant network 
        signals before July 11, 1998.
            ``(2) Continued carriage.--Direct-to-home satellite service 
        providers may continue to provide the signals of distant 
        television stations to subscribers located between the outside 
        limits of the predicted Grade A contour and the predicted Grade 
        B contour of the corresponding local network stations after 
        December 31, 1999, subject to any limitations adopted by the 
        Commission under paragraph (3).
            ``(3) Rulemaking required.--
                    ``(A) Within 180 days after the date of enactment 
                of the Satellite Television Act of 1999, the Commission 
                shall conclude a single rulemaking, compliant with 
                subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United States 
                Code, to examine the extent to which any existing 
                program exclusivity rules should be imposed on distant 
                network stations provided to subscribers under 
                paragraph (2).
                    ``(B) The Commission shall not impose any program 
                exclusivity rules on direct-to-home satellite service 
                providers pursuant to subparagraph (A) unless it finds 
                that it would be both technically and economically 
                feasible and otherwise in the public interest to do so. 
                D23/
    ``(c) Waivers Not Precluded.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
in this section, nothing shall preclude network stations from 
authorizing the continued provision of distant network signals in 
unaltered form to any direct-to-home satellite service subscriber 
currently receiving them.
    ``(d) Certain Signals.--Providers of direct-to-home satellite 
service may continue to carry the signals of distant network stations 
without regard to subsections (a) and (b) in any situation in which--
            ``(1) a subscriber is unserved by the local station 
        affiliated with that network;
            ``(2) a waiver is otherwise granted by the local station 
        under subsection (c); or
            ``(3) if the carriage would otherwise be consistent with 
        rules adopted by the Commission in CS Docket 98-201.
    ``(e) Report Required.--Within 180 days after the date of enactment 
of the Satellite Television Act of 1999, the Commission shall report to 
Congress on methods of facilitating the delivery of local signals in 
local markets, especially smaller markets.''.

SEC. 5. RETRANSMISSION CONSENT.

    (a) Amendment of Section 325(b).--Section 325(b) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)) is amended by striking 
the subsection designation and paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting 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; or
            ``(B) pursuant to section 614 or section 615, in the case 
        of a station electing, in accordance with this subsection, to 
        assert the right to carriage under that section.
    ``(2) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to--
            ``(A) retransmission of the signal of a television 
        broadcast station outside the station's local market by a 
        satellite carrier directly to subscribers if--
                    ``(i) that station was a superstation on May 1, 
                1991;
                    ``(ii) as of July 1, 1998, such station's signal 
                was transmitted under the compulsory license of section 
                119 of title 17, United States Code, by satellite 
                carriers directly to at least 250,000 subscribers; and
                    ``(iii) the satellite carrier complies with any 
                program exclusivity rules that may be adopted by the 
                Federal Communications Commission pursuant to section 
                338.
            ``(B) retransmission of the distant signal of a 
        broadcasting station that is owned or operated by, or 
        affiliated with, a broadcasting network directly to a home 
        satellite antenna, if the subscriber resides in an unserved 
        household; or
            ``(C) retransmission by a cable operator or other 
        multichannel video programming distributor (other than by a 
        satellite carrier direct to its subscribers) of the signal of a 
        television broadcast station outside the station's local 
        market, if that signal was obtained from a satellite carrier 
        and--
                    ``(i) the originating station was a superstation on 
                May 1, 1991; and
                    ``(ii) the originating station was a network 
                station on December 31, 1997, and its signal 
was retransmitted by a satellite carrier directly to subscribers.
    ``(3) Any term used in this subsection that is defined in section 
337(d) of this Act has the meaning given to it by that section.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) take 
effect on January 1, 1999.

SEC. 6. DESIGNATED MARKET AREAS.

    Nothing in this Act, or in the amendments made by this Act, 
prevents the Federal Communications Commission from revising the 
listing of designated market areas or reassigning those areas if the 
revision or reassignment is done in the same manner and to the same 
extent as the Commission's cable television mandatory carriage rules 
provide.

SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act or section 325(b) or 337 of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b) or 337, respectively), or 
the application of that provision to any person or circumstance, is 
held by a court of competent jurisdiction to violate any provision of 
the Constitution of the United States, then the other provisions of 
that section, and the application of that provision to other persons 
and circumstances, shall not be affected.

SEC. 8. SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS.

    (a) Amendment of Section 119(a)(2)(B) of Title 17, United States 
Code.--Section 119(a)(2)(B) of title 17, United States Code, is amended 
to read as follows:
            ``(B) Secondary transmissions to unserved households.--
        Except as provided in paragraph (5)(E) of this subsection, the 
        license provided for in subparagraph (a) shall be limited to 
        secondary transmissions to persons who reside in unserved 
        households.''.
    (b) Amendment of Section 119(a)(5) of Title 17.--Section 119(a)(5) 
of title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
thereof the following:
            ``(E) Exception.--The secondary transmission by a satellite 
        carrier of a primary transmission made by a network station to 
        subscribers who do not reside in unserved households shall not 
        be an act of infringement if--
                    ``(i) that station was a superstation on May 1, 
                1991; and
                    ``(ii) that station was lawfully retransmitted by 
                satellite carriers directly to at least 250,000 
                subscribers as of July 1, 1998.''.

SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Terms defined in communications act of 1934.--Any term 
        used in this Act that is defined in section 337(d) of the 
        Communications Act of 1934, as added by section 4 of this Act, 
        has the meaning given to it by that section.
            (2) Designated market area.--The term ``designated market 
        area'' means a designated market area, as determined by Nielsen 
        Media Research and published in the DMA Market and Demographic 
        Report.