[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1721 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1721

     To decrease the frequency of sports blackouts, to require the 
  application of the antitrust laws to Major League Baseball, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 18, 2013

 Mr. Blumenthal (for himself and Mr. McCain) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To decrease the frequency of sports blackouts, to require the 
  application of the antitrust laws to Major League Baseball, and for 
                            other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Furthering Access and Networks for 
Sports Act'' or the ``FANS Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961'' means the 
Act of September 30, 1961 (15 U.S.C. 1291 et seq.).

SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE SPORTS BROADCASTING ACT OF 1961.

    (a) Elimination of Antitrust Exemption for Sports Blackouts During 
Retransmission Consent Negotiations.--Section 1 of the Sports 
Broadcasting Act of 1961 (15 U.S.C. 1291) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: ``The antitrust exemption established under this 
section shall not apply to any league of clubs participating in 
professional football, baseball, basketball, or hockey contests that 
does not expressly prohibit sponsored telecast licensees of such 
league, and any agreement with any video licensee, from intentionally 
removing the live content of such league from a multichannel video 
programming distributor (as defined in section 602 of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 522)), when such removal occurs 
during or is related to a negotiation regarding carriage of the games 
of such league by the multichannel video programming distributor.''.
    (b) Elimination of Antitrust Exemption for Local Sports 
Blackouts.--Section 2 of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 (15 U.S.C. 
1292) is amended by striking ``, except within the home territory of a 
member club of the league on a day when such club is playing a game at 
home''.
    (c) Availability of Games Over the Internet Where Not Otherwise 
Available on Television.--The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating sections 4 through 6 as sections 5 
        through 7, respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after section 3 the following:
    ``Sec. 4.
    ``(a) The antitrust exemption established under section 1 of this 
Act shall not apply to any league of clubs participating in 
professional football, baseball, basketball, or hockey contests that 
does not make a sponsored telecast of a covered game available to 
consumers, for a fee or otherwise, using an Internet platform, in any 
territory in which the game is not available for private viewing 
through a local television broadcast station or any available 
multichannel video programming distributor.
    ``(b) For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the term `covered game' means a game that--
                    ``(A) is played in the home territory of a member 
                club of a league described in subsection (a); and
                    ``(B) is not available for private viewing through 
                a local television broadcast station or any available 
                multichannel video programming distributor;
            ``(2) the term `multichannel video programming distributor' 
        has the meaning given the term in section 602 of the 
        Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 522);
            ``(3) the term `television broadcast station' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 325(b)(7) of the 
        Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(7)); and
            ``(4) the term `Internet platform' means a delivery 
        mechanism that uses packet-switched protocol or any successor 
        technology.''.

SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF THE ANTITRUST LAWS TO PROFESSIONAL MAJOR LEAGUE 
              BASEBALL.

    Section 27 of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 26b) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``subsections (b) through (d)'' and 
                inserting ``subsections (b) and (c)''; and
                    (B) by striking ``directly relating to or affecting 
                employment of major league baseball players to play 
                baseball at the major league level'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
                striking ``, any conduct, acts, practices or agreements 
                that do not directly relate to or affect employment of 
                major league baseball players to play baseball at the 
                major league level, including but not limited to'';
                    (B) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) by inserting ``or'' before ``franchise 
                        ownership''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``, the relationship'' and 
                        all that follows through ``collectively'';
                    (C) by striking paragraph (4); and
                    (D) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as 
                paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively;
            (3) by striking subsection (c); and
            (4) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (c).

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY.

    The amendments made by this Act shall--
            (1) take effect on the date of enactment of this Act; and
            (2) apply to any contract or agreement entered into or 
        modified by a league subject to the requirements of the Sports 
        Broadcasting Act of 1961 on or after the date of enactment of 
        this Act.
                                 <all>