47 U.S.C. § 338 — Carriage of local television signals by sat-

Page 196 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 338 1 See References in Text note below. ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR PUBLIC SAFETY CHANNEL CLEAR- ING.—The restrictions in subsection (a) shall not apply to a station licensee that is seeking authority (either by waiver or otherwise) to vacate the frequencies that constitute television channel 63, 64, 68, or 69 in order to make such frequencies available for public safety pur- poses pursuant to the provisions of section 337 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 337).’’ COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROCESS FOR COMMERCIAL LICENSES FOR ASSIGNED FREQUENCIES Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(5) [title II, § 213], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–295, as amended by Pub. L. 107–195, § 3(b)(3), June 19, 2002, 116 Stat. 717, provided that: ‘‘(a) REVISED SCHEDULE FOR COMPETITIVE BIDDING OF SPECTRUM.—(1) [Amended subsec. (b) of this section.] ‘‘[(2), (3) Repealed. Pub. L. 107–195, § 3(b)(3), June 19, 2002, 116 Stat. 717.] ‘‘(4)(A) To expedite the assignment by competitive bidding of the frequencies identified in section 337(a)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 337(a)(2)), the rules governing such frequencies shall be effective immediately upon publication in the Federal Register without regard to sections 553(d), 801(a)(3), 804(2), and 806(a) of title 5, United States Code. ‘‘(B) Chapter 6 of title 5, United States Code, section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632), and sections 3507 and 3512 of title 44, United States Code, shall not apply to the rules and competitive bidding procedures governing the frequencies described in subparagraph (A). ‘‘(5) Notwithstanding section 309(b) of the Commu- nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(b)), no application for an instrument of authorization for the frequencies described in paragraph (4) may be granted by the Fed- eral Communications Commission earlier than 7 days following issuance of public notice by the Commission of the acceptance for filing of such application or of any substantial amendment thereto. ‘‘(6) Notwithstanding section 309(d)(1) of the Commu- nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 309(d)(1)), the Federal Communications Commission may specify a period (which shall be not less than 5 days following issuance of the public notice described in paragraph (5)) for the filing of petitions to deny any application for an instru- ment of authorization for the frequencies described in paragraph (4). ‘‘(b) REPORTS.—(1) Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 29, 1999], the Di- rector of the Office of Management and Budget and the Federal Communications Commission shall each sub- mit to the appropriate congressional committees a re- port which shall— ‘‘(A) set forth the anticipated schedule (including specific dates) for— ‘‘(i) preparing and conducting the competitive bidding process required by subsection (a); and ‘‘(ii) depositing the receipts of the competitive bidding process; ‘‘(B) set forth each significant milestone in the rulemaking process with respect to the competitive bidding process; and ‘‘(C) include an explanation of the effect of each re- quirement in subsection (a) on the schedule for the competitive bidding process and any post-bidding ac- tivities (including the deposit of receipts) when com- pared with the schedule for the competitive bidding and any post-bidding activities (including the deposit of receipts) that would otherwise have occurred under section 337(b)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 337(b)(2)) if not for the enactment of sub- section (a). ‘‘(2) Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact- ment of this Act [Nov. 29, 1999], the Federal Commu- nications Commission shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report which shall set forth for each spectrum auction held by the Commis- sion since January 1, 1998, information on— ‘‘(A) the time required for each stage of preparation for the auction; ‘‘(B) the date of the commencement and of the com- pletion of the auction; ‘‘(C) the time which elapsed between the date of the completion of the auction and the date of the first de- posit of receipts from the auction in the Treasury; and ‘‘(D) the amounts, summarized by month, of all subsequent deposits in a Treasury receipt account from the auction. ‘‘(3) Not later than October 31, 2000, the Federal Com- munications Commission shall submit to the appro- priate congressional committees a report which shall— ‘‘(A) describe the course of the competitive bidding process required by subsection (a) through September 30, 2000, including the amount of any receipts from the competitive bidding process deposited in the Treasury as of September 30, 2000; and ‘‘(B) if the course of the competitive bidding proc- ess has included any deviations from the schedule set forth under paragraph (1)(A), an explanation for such deviations from the schedule. ‘‘(4) Each report required by this subsection shall be prepared by the agency concerned without influence of any other Federal department or agency. ‘‘(5) In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate con- gressional committees’’ means the following: ‘‘(A) The Committees on Appropriations, the Budg- et, and Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. ‘‘(B) The Committees on Appropriations, the Budg- et, and Commerce of the House of Representatives. ‘‘(c) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede the requirements placed on the Federal Communications Commission by section 337(d)(4) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 337(d)(4)). ‘‘(d) REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED PROVISIONS.—Section 8124 of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2000 [Pub. L. 106–79, amending this section and enacting provisions formerly set out under this section] is re- pealed.’’ Pub. L. 106–79, title VIII, § 8124, Oct. 25, 1999, 113 Stat. 1262, related to the establishment of a competitive bid- ding process for commercial licenses and required re- ports to Congressional committees, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(5) [title II, § 213(d)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–297. § 338. Carriage of local television signals by sat- ellite carriers (a) Carriage obligations (1) In general Each satellite carrier providing, under sec- tion 122 of title 17, secondary transmissions to subscribers located within the local market of a television broadcast station of a primary transmission made by that station shall carry upon request the signals of all television broadcast stations located within that local market, subject to section 325(b) of this title. (2) Remedies for failure to carry In addition to the remedies available to tele- vision broadcast stations under section 501(f) of title 17, the Commission may use the Com- mission’s authority under this chapter to as- sure compliance with the obligations of this subsection, but in no instance shall a Commis- sion enforcement proceeding be required as a predicate to the pursuit of a remedy available under such section 501(f). (3) Low power station carriage optional No low power television station whose sig- nals are provided under section 119(a)(14) 1 of Page 197 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 338 title 17 shall be entitled to insist on carriage under this section, regardless of whether the satellite carrier provides secondary trans- missions of the primary transmissions of other stations in the same local market pursuant to section 122 of such title, nor shall any such carriage be considered in connection with the requirements of subsection (c) of this section. (4) Carriage of signals of local stations in cer- tain markets A satellite carrier that offers multichannel video programming distribution service in the United States to more than 5,000,000 sub- scribers shall (A) within 1 year after December 8, 2004, retransmit the signals originating as analog signals of each television broadcast station located in any local market within a State that is not part of the contiguous United States, and (B) within 30 months after Decem- ber 8, 2004, retransmit the signals originating as digital signals of each such station. The re- transmissions 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 sta- tions 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 retrans- missions shall not exceed the cost of retrans- missions of local television stations in other States. Within 1 year after December 8, 2004, the Commission shall promulgate regulations concerning elections by television stations in such State between mandatory carriage pursu- ant to this section and retransmission consent pursuant to section 325(b) of this title, which shall take into account the schedule on which local television stations are made available to viewers in such State. (5) Nondiscrimination in carriage of high defi- nition signals of noncommercial edu- cational television stations (A) Existing carriage of high definition sig- nals If, before the date of enactment of the Sat- ellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010, an eligible satellite carrier is providing, under section 122 of title 17, any secondary transmissions in high definition format to subscribers located within the local market of a television broadcast sta- tion of a primary transmission made by that station, then such satellite carrier shall carry the signals in high-definition format of qualified noncommercial educational tele- vision stations located within that local market in accordance with the following schedule: (i) By December 31, 2010, in at least 50 percent of the markets in which such sat- ellite carrier provides such secondary transmissions in high definition format. (ii) By December 31, 2011, in every mar- ket in which such satellite carrier provides such secondary transmissions in high defi- nition format. (B) New initiation of service If, on or after the date of enactment of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010, an eligible satellite carrier initi- ates the provision, under section 122 of title 17, of any secondary transmissions in high definition format to subscribers located within the local market of a television broadcast station of a primary transmission made by that station, then such satellite carrier shall carry the signals in high-defini- tion format of all qualified noncommercial educational television stations located with- in that local market. (b) Good signal required (1) Costs A television broadcast station asserting its right to carriage under subsection (a) shall be required to bear the costs associated with de- livering a good quality signal to the des- ignated local receive facility of the satellite carrier or to another facility that is accept- able to at least one-half the stations asserting the right to carriage in the local market. (2) Regulations The regulations issued under subsection (g) shall set forth the obligations necessary to carry out this subsection. (c) Duplication not required (1) Commercial stations Notwithstanding subsection (a)(1), a sat- ellite carrier shall not be required to carry upon request the signal of any local commer- cial television broadcast station that substan- tially duplicates the signal of another local commercial television broadcast station which is secondarily transmitted by the satellite car- rier within the same local market, or to carry upon request the signals of more than one local commercial television broadcast station in a single local market that is affiliated with a particular television network unless such stations are licensed to communities in dif- ferent States. (2) Noncommercial stations The Commission shall prescribe regulations limiting the carriage requirements under sub- section (a) of satellite carriers with respect to the carriage of multiple local noncommercial television broadcast stations. To the extent possible, such regulations shall provide the same degree of carriage by satellite carriers of such multiple stations as is provided by cable systems under section 535 of this title. (d) Channel positioning No satellite carrier shall be required to pro- vide the signal of a local television broadcast station to subscribers in that station’s local market on any particular channel number or to provide the signals in any particular order, ex- cept that the satellite carrier shall retransmit the signal of the local television broadcast sta- tions to subscribers in the stations’ local mar- ket on contiguous channels and provide access to such station’s signals at a nondiscriminatory price and in a nondiscriminatory manner on any navigational device, on-screen program guide, or menu. Page 198 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 338 2 So in original. Probably should be followed by ‘‘to’’. (e) Compensation for carriage A satellite carrier shall not accept or request monetary payment or other valuable consider- ation in exchange either for carriage of local tel- evision broadcast stations in fulfillment of the requirements of this section or for channel posi- tioning rights provided to such stations under this section, except that any such station may be required to bear the costs associated with de- livering a good quality signal to the local re- ceive facility of the satellite carrier. (f) Remedies (1) Complaints by broadcast stations Whenever a local television broadcast sta- tion believes that a satellite carrier has failed to meet its obligations under subsections (b) through (e) of this section, such station shall notify the carrier, in writing, of the alleged failure and identify its reasons for believing that the satellite carrier failed to comply with such obligations. The satellite carrier shall, within 30 days after such written notification, respond in writing to such notification and comply with such obligations or state its rea- sons for believing that it is in compliance with such obligations. A local television broadcast station that disputes a response by a satellite carrier that it is in compliance with such obli- gations may obtain review of such denial or response by filing a complaint with the Com- mission. Such complaint shall allege the man- ner in which such satellite carrier has failed to meet its obligations and the basis for such allegations. (2) Opportunity to respond The Commission shall afford the satellite carrier against which a complaint is filed under paragraph (1) an opportunity to present data and arguments to establish that there has been no failure to meet its obligations under this section. (3) Remedial actions; dismissal Within 120 days after the date a complaint is filed under paragraph (1), the Commission shall determine whether the satellite carrier has met its obligations under subsections (b) through (e). If the Commission determines that the satellite carrier has failed to meet such obligations, the Commission shall order the satellite carrier to take appropriate reme- dial action. If the Commission determines that the satellite carrier has fully met the require- ments of such subsections, the Commission shall dismiss the complaint. (g) Carriage of local stations on a single recep- tion antenna (1) Single reception antenna Each satellite carrier that retransmits the signals of local television broadcast stations in a local market shall retransmit such sta- tions in such market so that a subscriber may receive such stations by means of a single re- ception antenna and associated equipment. (2) Additional reception antenna If the carrier retransmits the signals of local television broadcast stations in a local market in high definition format, the carrier shall re- transmit such signals in such market so that a subscriber may receive such signals by means of a single reception antenna and asso- ciated equipment, but such antenna and asso- ciated equipment may be separate from the single reception antenna and associated equip- ment used to comply with paragraph (1). (h) Additional notices to subscribers, networks, and stations concerning signal carriage (1) Notices to and elections by subscribers con- cerning grandfathered signals Any carrier that provides a distant signal of a network station to a subscriber pursuant 2 section 339(a)(2)(A) of this title shall— (A) within 60 days after the local signal of a network station of the same television network is available pursuant to section 338 of this title, or within 60 days after Decem- ber 8, 2004, whichever is later, send a notice to the subscriber— (i) offering to substitute the local net- work signal for the duplicating distant network signal; and (ii) informing the subscriber that, if the subscriber fails to respond in 60 days, the subscriber will lose the distant network signal but will be permitted to subscribe to the local network signal; and (B) if the subscriber— (i) elects to substitute such local net- work signal within such 60 days, switch such subscriber to such local network sig- nal within 10 days after the end of such 60- day period; or (ii) fails to respond within such 60 days, terminate the distant network signal with- in 10 days after the end of such 60-day pe- riod. (2) Notice to station licensees of commence- ment of local-into-local service (A) Notice required Within 180 days after December 8, 2004, the Commission shall revise the regulations under this section relating to notice to broadcast station licensees to comply with the requirements of this paragraph. (B) Contents of commencement notice The notice required by such regulations shall inform each television broadcast sta- tion licensee within any local market in which a satellite carrier proposes to com- mence carriage of signals of stations from that market, not later than 60 days prior to the commencement of such carriage— (i) of the carrier’s intention to launch local-into-local service under this section in a local market, the identity of that local market, and the location of the car- rier’s proposed local receive facility for that local market; (ii) of the right of such licensee to elect carriage under this section or grant re- transmission consent under section 325(b) of this title; (iii) that such licensee has 30 days from the date of the receipt of such notice to make such election; and Page 199 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 338 (iv) that failure to make such election will result in the loss of the right to de- mand carriage under this section for the remainder of the 3-year cycle of carriage under section 325 of this title. (C) Transmission of notices Such regulations shall require that each satellite carrier shall transmit the notices required by such regulation via certified mail to the address for such television sta- tion licensee listed in the consolidated data- base system maintained by the Commission. (i) Privacy rights of satellite subscribers (1) Notice At the time of entering into an agreement to provide any satellite service or other service to a subscriber and at least once a year there- after, a satellite carrier shall provide notice in the form of a separate, written statement to such subscriber which clearly and conspicu- ously informs the subscriber of— (A) the nature of personally identifiable information collected or to be collected with respect to the subscriber and the nature of the use of such information; (B) the nature, frequency, and purpose of any disclosure which may be made of such information, including an identification of the types of persons to whom the disclosure may be made; (C) the period during which such informa- tion will be maintained by the satellite car- rier; (D) the times and place at which the sub- scriber may have access to such information in accordance with paragraph (5); and (E) the limitations provided by this sec- tion with respect to the collection and dis- closure of information by a satellite carrier and the right of the subscriber under para- graphs (7) and (9) to enforce such limita- tions. In the case of subscribers who have entered into such an agreement before the effective date of this subsection, such notice shall be provided within 180 days of such date and at least once a year thereafter. (2) Definitions For purposes of this subsection, other than paragraph (9)— (A) the term ‘‘personally identifiable infor- mation’’ does not include any record of ag- gregate data which does not identify par- ticular persons; (B) the term ‘‘other service’’ includes any wire or radio communications service pro- vided using any of the facilities of a satellite carrier that are used in the provision of sat- ellite service; and (C) the term ‘‘satellite carrier’’ includes, in addition to persons within the definition of satellite carrier, any person who— (i) is owned or controlled by, or under common ownership or control with, a sat- ellite carrier; and (ii) provides any wire or radio commu- nications service. (3) Prohibitions (A) Consent to collection Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a satellite carrier shall not use any facilities used by the satellite carrier to collect per- sonally identifiable information concerning any subscriber without the prior written or electronic consent of the subscriber con- cerned. (B) Exceptions A satellite carrier may use such facilities to collect such information in order to— (i) obtain information necessary to render a satellite service or other service provided by the satellite carrier to the subscriber; or (ii) detect unauthorized reception of sat- ellite communications. (4) Disclosure (A) Consent to disclosure Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a satellite carrier shall not disclose personally identifiable information concerning any sub- scriber without the prior written or elec- tronic consent of the subscriber concerned and shall take such actions as are necessary to prevent unauthorized access to such infor- mation by a person other than the sub- scriber or satellite carrier. (B) Exceptions A satellite carrier may disclose such infor- mation if the disclosure is— (i) necessary to render, or conduct a le- gitimate business activity related to, a satellite service or other service provided by the satellite carrier to the subscriber; (ii) subject to paragraph (9), made pursu- ant to a court order authorizing such dis- closure, if the subscriber is notified of such order by the person to whom the order is directed; (iii) a disclosure of the names and ad- dresses of subscribers to any satellite serv- ice or other service, if— (I) the satellite carrier has provided the subscriber the opportunity to pro- hibit or limit such disclosure; and (II) the disclosure does not reveal, di- rectly 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 facili- ties used by the satellite carrier; or (iv) to a government entity as authorized under chapter 119, 121, or 206 of title 18, ex- cept that such disclosure shall not include records revealing satellite subscriber se- lection of video programming from a sat- ellite carrier. (5) Access by subscriber A satellite subscriber shall be provided ac- cess to all personally identifiable information regarding that subscriber which is collected and maintained by a satellite carrier. Such in- Page 200 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 338 formation shall be made available to the sub- scriber at reasonable times and at a conven- ient place designated by such satellite carrier. A satellite subscriber shall be provided reason- able opportunity to correct any error in such information. (6) Destruction of information A satellite carrier shall destroy personally identifiable information if the information is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and there are no pending re- quests 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 sat- ellite 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 liq- uidated damages computed at the rate of $100 a day for each day of violation or $1,000, whichever is higher; (B) punitive damages; and (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 subchapter shall be con- strued 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 identifiable 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 crimi- nal activity and that the information sought would be material evidence in the case; and (B) the subject of the information is af- forded the opportunity to appear and contest such entity’s claim. (j) Regulations by Commission Within 1 year after November 29, 1999, the Commission shall issue regulations imple- menting this section following a rulemaking proceeding. The regulations prescribed under this section shall include requirements on sat- ellite carriers that are comparable to the re- quirements on cable operators under sections 534(b)(3) and (4) and 535(g)(1) and (2) of this title. (k) Definitions As used in this section: (1) Distributor The term ‘‘distributor’’ means an entity which contracts to distribute secondary trans- missions from a satellite carrier and, either as a single channel or in a package with other programming, provides the secondary trans- mission either directly to individual sub- scribers or indirectly through other program distribution entities. (2) Eligible satellite carrier The term ‘‘eligible satellite carrier’’ means any satellite carrier that is not a party to a carriage contract that— (A) governs carriage of at least 30 qualified noncommercial educational television sta- tions; and (B) is in force and effect within 150 days after the date of enactment of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010. (3) Local receive facility The term ‘‘local receive facility’’ means the reception point in each local market which a satellite carrier designates for delivery of the signal of the station for purposes of retrans- mission. (4) Local market The term ‘‘local market’’ has the meaning given that term under section 122(j) of title 17. (5) Low power television station The term ‘‘low power television station’’ means a low power television station as de- fined under section 74.701(f) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on June 1, 2004. For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘‘low power television station’’ includes a low power television station that has been ac- corded primary status as a Class A television licensee under section 73.6001(a) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations. (6) Qualified noncommercial educational tele- vision station The term ‘‘qualified noncommercial edu- cational television station’’ means any full- power television broadcast station that— (A) under the rules and regulations of the Commission in effect on March 29, 1990, is li- censed by the Commission as a noncommer- cial educational broadcast station and is owned and operated by a public agency, non- profit foundation, nonprofit corporation, or nonprofit association; and (B) has as its licensee an entity that is eli- gible to receive a community service grant, or any successor grant thereto, from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, or any successor organization thereto, on the basis of the formula set forth in section 396(k)(6)(B) of this title. (7) Satellite carrier The term ‘‘satellite carrier’’ has the mean- ing given such term under section 119(d) of title 17. (8) Secondary transmission The term ‘‘secondary transmission’’ has the meaning given such term in section 119(d) of title 17. (9) Subscriber The term ‘‘subscriber’’ has the meaning given that term under section 122(j) of title 17. (10) Television broadcast station The term ‘‘television broadcast station’’ has the meaning given such term in section 325(b)(7) of this title. Page 201 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 338 (l) Market determinations (1) In general Following a written request, the Commis- sion may, with respect to a particular com- mercial television broadcast station, include additional communities within its local mar- ket or exclude communities from such sta- tion’s local market to better effectuate the purposes of this section. (2) Considerations In considering requests filed under para- graph (1), the Commission— (A) may determine that particular commu- nities are part of more than one local mar- ket; and (B) shall afford particular attention to the value of localism by taking into account such factors as— (i) whether the station, or other stations located in the same area— (I) have been historically carried on the cable system or systems within such community; or (II) have been historically carried on the satellite carrier or carriers serving such community; (ii) whether the television station pro- vides coverage or other local service to such community; (iii) whether modifying the local market of the television station would promote consumers’ access to television broadcast station signals that originate in their State of residence; (iv) whether any other television station that is eligible to be carried by a satellite carrier in such community in fulfillment of the requirements of this section pro- vides news coverage of issues of concern to such community or provides carriage or coverage of sporting and other events of interest to the community; and (v) evidence of viewing patterns in households that subscribe and do not sub- scribe to the services offered by multi- channel video programming distributors within the areas served by such multi- channel video programming distributors in such community. (3) Carriage of signals (A) Carriage obligation A market determination under this sub- section shall not create additional carriage obligations for a satellite carrier if it is not technically and economically feasible for such carrier to accomplish such carriage by means of its satellites in operation at the time of the determination. (B) Deletion of signals A satellite carrier shall not delete from carriage the signal of a commercial tele- vision broadcast station during the pend- ency of any proceeding under this sub- section. (4) Determinations Not later than 120 days after the date that a written request is filed under paragraph (1), the Commission shall grant or deny the re- quest. (5) No effect on eligibility to receive distant signals No modification of a commercial television broadcast station’s local market pursuant to this subsection shall have any effect on the eligibility of households in the community af- fected by such modification to receive distant signals pursuant to section 339 of this title, notwithstanding subsection (h)(1) of this sec- tion. (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, § 338, as added Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title I, § 1008(a)], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–531; amended Pub. L. 108–447, div. J, title IX [title II, §§ 203, 205, 206(a), 210], Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 3414, 3424, 3425, 3429; Pub. L. 111–175, title II, §§ 204(a), 207, May 27, 2010, 124 Stat. 1246, 1253; Pub. L. 113–200, title I, § 102(a), Dec. 4, 2014, 128 Stat. 2060.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a)(2), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning act June 19, 1934, ch. 652, 48 Stat. 1064, known as the Communications Act of 1934, which is classified principally to this chapter. For com- plete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 609 of this title and Tables. Section 119(a)(14) of title 17, referred to in subsec. (a)(3), was redesignated as section 119(a)(13) of title 17 by Pub. L. 111–175, title I, § 102(h)(1)(B), May 27, 2010, 124 Stat. 1224. However, provision relating to signals of low power television station was section 119(a)(15) of title 17, which was repealed by section 102(h)(1)(C) of Pub. L. 111–175. The date of enactment of the Satellite Television Ex- tension and Localism Act of 2010, referred to in subsecs. (a)(5) and (k)(2)(B), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 111–175, which shall be deemed to refer to Feb. 27, 2010, see section 307(a) of Pub. L. 111–175, set out as an Effec- tive Date of 2010 Amendment note under section 111 of Title 17, Copyrights. For the effective date of this subsection, referred to in subsec. (i)(1), as 60 days after Dec. 8, 2004, see section 206(b) of Pub. L. 108–447, set out as an Effective Date of 2004 Amendment note below. AMENDMENTS 2014—Subsec. (l). Pub. L. 113–200 added subsec. (l). 2010—Subsec. (a)(3). Pub. L. 111–175, § 204(a)(1), struck out par. (3) relating to effective date. Text read as fol- lows: ‘‘No satellite carrier shall be required to carry local television broadcast stations under paragraph (1) until January 1, 2002.’’ Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 111–175, § 207(a), added par. (5). Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 111–175, § 204(a)(2), amended sub- sec. (g) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (g) re- lated to carriage of local stations on a single dish. Subsec. (k)(2) to (5). Pub. L. 111–175, § 207(b)(1), (2), added par. (2) and redesignated former pars. (2) to (4) as (3) to (5), respectively. Former par. (5) redesignated (6). Subsec. (k)(6). Pub. L. 111–175, § 207(b)(4), added par. (6). Former par. (6) redesignated (7). Pub. L. 111–175, § 207(b)(1), redesignated par. (5) as (6). Former par. (6) redesignated (7). Subsec. (k)(7) to (9). Pub. L. 111–175, § 207(b)(3), redes- ignated pars. (6) to (8) as (7) to (9), respectively. Former par. (9) redesignated (10). Pub. L. 111–175, § 207(b)(1), redesignated pars. (6) to (8) as (7) to (9), respectively. Subsec. (k)(10). Pub. L. 111–175, § 207(b)(3), redesig- nated par. (9) as (10). Page 202 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 338 2004—Subsec. (a)(1) to (3). Pub. L. 108–447, § 203(b)(1), added pars. (1) and (2) and the par. (3) relating to low power station carriage and struck out former pars. (1) and (2) which required each satellite carrier providing secondary transmissions within the local market of a television broadcast station of a primary transmission made by that station to carry upon request the signals of all television broadcast stations within that local market and provided for remedies for failure to carry. Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 108–447, § 210, added par. (4). Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 108–447, § 203(b)(2), substituted ‘‘subsection (a)(1)’’ for ‘‘subsection (a)’’. Subsecs. (g), (h). Pub. L. 108–447, §§ 203(a)(2), 205, added subsecs. (g) and (h). Former subsecs. (g) and (h) redesig- nated (j) and (k), respectively. Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 108–447, § 206(a), added subsec. (i). Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 108–447, § 203(a)(1), redesignated subsec. (g) as (j). Subsec. (k). Pub. L. 108–447, § 203(a)(1), redesignated subsec. (h) as (k). Subsec. (k)(4) to (8). Pub. L. 108–447, § 203(b)(3), added par. (4) and redesignated former pars. (4) to (7) as (5) to (8), respectively. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2010 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 111–175 effective Feb. 27, 2010, see section 307(a) of Pub. L. 111–175, set out as a note under section 111 of Title 17, Copyrights. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2004 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 108–447, div. J, title IX [title II, § 206(b)], Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 3428, provided that: ‘‘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 effec- tive 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 8, 2004].’’ MARKET MODIFICATION PROCESS Pub. L. 113–200, title I, § 102(c), Dec. 4, 2014, 128 Stat. 2061, provided that: ‘‘The [Federal Communications] Commission shall make information available to con- sumers on its website that explains the market modi- fication process, including— ‘‘(1) who may petition to include additional com- munities within, or exclude communities from, a— ‘‘(A) local market (as defined in section 122(j) of title 17, United States Code); or ‘‘(B) television market (as determined under sec- tion 614(h)(1)(C) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 534(h)(1)(C))); and ‘‘(2) the factors that the Commission takes into ac- count when responding to a petition described in paragraph (1).’’ IMPLEMENTATION Pub. L. 113–200, title I, § 102(d), Dec. 4, 2014, 128 Stat. 2061, provided that: ‘‘(1) DEADLINE FOR REGULATIONS.—Not later than 9 months after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 4, 2014], the [Federal Communications] Commis- sion shall promulgate regulations to implement this section [amending this section and section 534 of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section] and the amendments made by this section. ‘‘(2) MATTERS FOR CONSIDERATION.—As part of the rulemaking required by paragraph (1), the Commission shall ensure that procedures for the filing and consider- ation of a written request under sections 338(l) and 614(h)(1)(C) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 338(l); 534(h)(1)(C)) fully effectuate the purposes of the amendments made by this section, and update what it considers to be a community for purposes of a modification of a market under section 338(l) or 614(h)(1)(C) of the Communications Act of 1934.’’ LOCAL NETWORK CHANNEL BROADCAST REPORTS Pub. L. 113–200, title I, § 108, Dec. 4, 2014, 128 Stat. 2064, provided that: ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On the 270th day after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 4, 2014], and on each succeeding anniversary of such 270th day, each sat- ellite carrier shall submit an annual report to the [Federal Communications] Commission setting forth— ‘‘(A) each local market in which it— ‘‘(i) retransmits signals of 1 or more television broadcast stations with a community of license in that market; ‘‘(ii) has commenced providing such signals in the preceding 1-year period; and ‘‘(iii) has ceased to provide such signals in the preceding 1-year period; and ‘‘(B) detailed information regarding the use and potential use of satellite capacity for the retrans- mission of local signals in each local market. ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—The requirement under para- graph (1) shall cease after each satellite carrier has submitted 5 reports under such paragraph. ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— ‘‘(1) the terms ‘local market’ and ‘satellite carrier’ have the meaning given such terms in section 339(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 339(d)); and ‘‘(2) the term ‘television broadcast station’ has the meaning given such term in section 325(b)(7) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(7)).’’ APPLICATION PENDING COMPLETION OF RULEMAKINGS Pub. L. 111–175, title II, § 205, May 27, 2010, 124 Stat. 1250, provided that: ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—During the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act [deemed to refer to Feb. 27, 2010, see section 307(a) of Pub. L. 111–175, set out as an Effective Date of 2010 Amendment note under section 111 of Title 17, Copyrights] and ending on the date on which the Federal Communications Commis- sion adopts rules pursuant to the amendments to the Communications Act of 1934 made by section 203 and section 204 of this title [amending this section and sec- tions 339 and 340 of this title], the Federal Communica- tions Commission shall follow its rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to sections 338, 339, and 340 of the Communications Act of 1934 [47 U.S.C. 338 to 340] as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act. ‘‘(b) TRANSLATOR STATIONS AND LOW POWER TELE- VISION STATIONS.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), for purposes of determining whether a subscriber within the local market served by a translator station or a low power television station affiliated with a television network is eligible to receive distant signals under sec- tion 339 of the Communications Act of 1934, the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Com- mission for determining such subscriber’s eligibility as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this Act shall apply until the date on which the trans- lator station or low power television station is licensed to broadcast a digital signal. ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this subtitle [title II of Pub. L. 111–175 does not contain subtitles]: ‘‘(1) LOCAL MARKET; LOW POWER TELEVISION STATION; SATELLITE CARRIER; SUBSCRIBER; TELEVISION BROAD- CAST STATION.—The terms ‘local market’, ‘low power television station’, ‘satellite carrier’, ‘subscriber’, and ‘television broadcast station’ have the meanings given such terms in section 338(k) of the Communica- tions Act of 1934 [47 U.S.C. 338(k)]. ‘‘(2) NETWORK STATION; TELEVISION NETWORK.—The terms ‘network station’ and ‘television network’ have the meanings given such terms in section 339(d) of such Act [47 U.S.C. 339(d)].’’ REPORTS Pub. L. 111–175, title III, §§ 301, 305, May 27, 2010, 124 Stat. 1255, 1256, provided that: ‘‘SEC. 301. DEFINITION. ‘‘In this title [enacting provisions set out as notes under section 111 of Title 17, Copyrights], the term ‘ap- Page 203 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 339 propriate Congressional committees’ means the Com- mittees on the Judiciary and on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committees on the Judiciary and on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives. ‘‘SEC. 305. LOCAL NETWORK CHANNEL BROADCAST REPORTS. ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On the 270th day after the date of the enactment of this Act [deemed to refer to Feb. 27, 2010, see section 307(a) of Pub. L. 111–175, set out as an Effective Date of 2010 Amendment note under section 111 of Title 17, Copyrights], and on each succeeding anniversary of such 270th day, each satellite carrier shall submit an annual report to the Federal Commu- nications Commission setting forth— ‘‘(A) each local market in which it— ‘‘(i) retransmits signals of 1 or more television broadcast stations with a community of license in that market; ‘‘(ii) has commenced providing such signals in the preceding 1-year period; and ‘‘(iii) has ceased to provide such signals in the preceding 1-year period; and ‘‘(B) detailed information regarding the use and potential use of satellite capacity for the retrans- mission of local signals in each local market. ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—The requirement under para- graph (1) shall cease after each satellite carrier has submitted 5 reports under such paragraph. ‘‘(b) FCC STUDY; REPORT.— ‘‘(1) STUDY.—If no satellite carrier files a request for a certification under section 342 of the Commu- nications Act of 1934 [47 U.S.C. 342] (as added by sec- tion 206 of this title) within 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Communica- tions Commission shall initiate a study of— ‘‘(A) incentives that would induce a satellite car- rier to provide the signals of 1 or more television broadcast stations licensed to provide signals in local markets in which the satellite carrier does not provide such signals; and ‘‘(B) the economic and satellite capacity condi- tions affecting delivery of local signals by satellite carriers to these markets. ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Within 1 year after the date of the initiation of the study under paragraph (1), the Fed- eral Communications Commission shall submit a re- port to the appropriate Congressional committees containing its findings, conclusions, and rec- ommendations. ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— ‘‘(1) the terms ‘local market’ and ‘satellite carrier’ have the meaning given such terms in section 339(d) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 339(d)); and ‘‘(2) the term ‘television broadcast station’ has the meaning given such term in section 325(b)(7) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(7)).’’ RURAL LOCAL TELEVISION SIGNALS Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title II], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–544, provided that: ‘‘SEC. 2001. SHORT TITLE. ‘‘This title may be cited as the ‘Rural Local Broad- cast Signal Act’. ‘‘SEC. 2002. LOCAL TELEVISION SERVICE IN UNSERVED AND UNDERSERVED MARKETS. ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 29, 1999], the Federal Communications Commission (‘the Commis- sion’) shall take all actions necessary to make a deter- mination regarding licenses or other authorizations for facilities that will utilize, for delivering local broad- cast television station signals to satellite television subscribers in unserved and underserved local tele- vision markets, spectrum otherwise allocated to com- mercial use. ‘‘(b) RULES.— ‘‘(1) FORM OF BUSINESS.—To the extent not incon- sistent with the Communications Act of 1934 [47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.] and the Commission’s rules, the Commission shall permit applicants under subsection (a) to engage in partnerships, joint ventures, and similar operating arrangements for the purpose of carrying out subsection (a). ‘‘(2) HARMFUL INTERFERENCE.—The Commission shall ensure that no facility licensed or authorized under subsection (a) causes harmful interference to the primary users of that spectrum or to public safe- ty spectrum use. ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON COMMISSION.—Except as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2), the Commission may not re- strict any entity granted a license or other author- ization under subsection (a) from using any reason- able compression, reformatting, or other technology. ‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 2001, the Commission shall report to the Agriculture, Appropria- tions, and the Judiciary Committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and the House of Representatives Committee on Commerce [now Com- mittee on Energy and Commerce], on the extent to which licenses and other authorizations under sub- section (a) have facilitated the delivery of local signals to satellite television subscribers in unserved and un- derserved local television markets. The report shall in- clude— ‘‘(1) an analysis of the extent to which local signals are being provided by direct-to-home satellite tele- vision providers and by other multichannel video pro- gram distributors; ‘‘(2) an enumeration of the technical, economic, and other impediments each type of multichannel video programming distributor has encountered; and ‘‘(3) recommendations for specific measures to fa- cilitate the provision of local signals to subscribers in unserved and underserved markets by direct-to- home satellite television providers and by other dis- tributors of multichannel video programming serv- ice.’’ § 339. Carriage of distant television stations by satellite carriers (a) Provisions relating to carriage of distant sig- nals (1) Carriage permitted (A) In general Subject to section 119 of title 17, any sat- ellite carrier shall be permitted to provide the signals of no more than two network sta- tions in a single day for each television net- work to any household not located within the local markets of those network stations. (B) Additional service In addition to signals provided under sub- paragraph (A), any satellite carrier may also provide service under the statutory license of section 122 of title 17, to the local market within which such household is located. The service provided under section 122 of such title may be in addition to the two signals provided under section 119 of such title. (2) Replacement of distant signals with local signals Notwithstanding any other provision of paragraph (1), the following rules shall apply after December 8, 2004: (A) Rules for grandfathered subscribers (i) For those receiving distant signals In the case of a subscriber of a satellite carrier who is eligible to receive the signal