[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2799 Reported in Senate (RS)]

                                                       Calendar No. 569
113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2799

  To extend the authority of satellite carriers to retransmit certain 
     television broadcast station signals, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 11, 2014

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

           September 17 (legislative day, September 16), 2014

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To extend the authority of satellite carriers to retransmit certain 
     television broadcast station signals, 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 Access 
and Viewer Rights Act.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in this 
Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or 
repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be 
considered to be made to a section or other provision of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.).</DELETED>

            <DELETED>TITLE I--SATELLITE TELEVISION</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 325(b) (47 U.S.C. 325(b)) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ``December 
        31, 2014'' and inserting ``December 31, 2019''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) in paragraph (3)(C), by striking ``January 1, 
        2015'' each place it appears and inserting ``January 1, 
        2020''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 102. MODIFICATION OF TELEVISION MARKETS TO FURTHER 
              CONSUMER ACCESS TO RELEVANT TELEVISION 
              PROGRAMMING.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--Section 338 (47 U.S.C. 338) is amended--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in subsection (k)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 
                through (10) as paragraphs (2) through (11), 
                respectively;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as 
                redesignated, the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Designated market area.--The term 
        `designated market area' means a designated market area as 
        determined by Nielsen Media Research or by any successor system 
        of assigning television broadcast stations to local markets 
        adopted by the Commission.''; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) by amending paragraph (5), as 
                redesignated, to read as follows:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(5) Local market.--The term `local market', in 
        the case of both commercial and noncommercial television 
        broadcast stations, means the designated market area in which a 
        television broadcast station is located.''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(l) Market Determinations.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--Following a written request, 
        the Commission may, with respect to a particular television 
        broadcast station, include additional communities within its 
        local market or exclude communities from such station's local 
        market to better effectuate the purposes of this 
        section.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Considerations.--In considering requests 
        filed under paragraph (1), the Commission--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) may determine that particular 
                communities are part of more than one local market; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) shall afford particular attention to 
                the value of localism, including promoting a consumer's 
                access to television signals that originate in the 
                consumer's State of residence, by taking into account 
                such factors as--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) whether the station, or 
                        other stations located in the same area--
                        </DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) have been 
                                historically carried on the cable 
                                system or systems within such 
                                community; and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) have been 
                                historically carried on the satellite 
                                carrier or carriers serving such 
                                community;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) whether the television 
                        station provides coverage or other local 
                        service to such community;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) 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 provides 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</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iv) evidence of viewing 
                        patterns in households that subscribe and do 
                        not subscribe to the services offered by 
                        multichannel video programming distributors 
                        within the areas served by such multichannel 
                        video programming distributors in such 
                        community.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Carriage of signals.--A satellite carrier 
        shall not delete from carriage the signal of a commercial 
        television station during the pendency of any proceeding under 
        this subsection.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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 
        request.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 614(h)(1)(C) (47 
U.S.C. 534(h)(1)(C)) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in clause (ii)--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) in the matter preceding subclause (I), 
                by striking ``localism'' and inserting ``localism, 
                including promoting consumer access to television 
                signals that originate in a consumer's State of 
                residence,'';</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) in subclause (II), by striking 
                ``community'' and inserting ``community or on the 
                satellite carrier or carriers serving such community''; 
                and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) by amending subclause (IV) to read as 
                follows:</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(IV) evidence of viewing 
                                patterns in households that subscribe 
                                and do not subscribe to the services 
                                offered by multichannel video 
                                programming distributors within the 
                                areas served by such multichannel video 
                                programming distributors in such 
                                community.''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by moving the margin of clause (iv) 4 ems to 
        the left.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Implementation.--As part of the rulemaking to 
implement the amendments made by this section, the Federal 
Communications Commission shall ensure that procedures for the filing 
and consideration of a written request under sections 338(l) and 
614(h)(1)(C) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 338, 534) 
fully effectuate the purposes of the amendments made by this section. 
As part of that process, the Federal Communications Commission shall 
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 (47 U.S.C. 338, 534).</DELETED>

           <DELETED>TITLE II--VIDEO POLICY REFORMS</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 201. CONSUMER PROTECTIONS IN RETRANSMISSION 
              CONSENT.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Joint Retransmission Consent Negotiations.--Section 
325(b)(3)(C) (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(3)(C)) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in clause (ii), by striking ``and'' at the 
        end;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the 
        end and inserting ``; and''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iv) prohibit a television 
                        broadcast station from coordinating 
                        negotiations or negotiating on a joint basis 
                        with another television broadcast station to 
                        grant retransmission consent under this section 
                        to a multichannel video programming 
                        distributor, unless such stations are directly 
                        or indirectly under common de jure control 
                        permitted by the Federal Communications 
                        Commission;''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Protections for Significantly Viewed and Other 
Television Signals.--Section 325(b)(3)(C) (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(3)(C)), as 
amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following:</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(v) prohibit a television 
                        broadcast station from limiting the ability of 
                        a multichannel video programming distributor to 
                        carry a television signal that has been deemed 
                        significantly viewed, within the meaning of 
                        section 76.54 of title 47, Code of Federal 
                        Regulations, or any successor regulation, or 
                        any other television broadcast signal such 
                        distributor is authorized to carry under 
                        section 338 or 614 of this Act, into the local 
                        market of such station, unless such stations 
                        are directly or indirectly under common de jure 
                        control permitted by the Commission; 
                        and''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Per Se Violations.--Section 325(b)(3)(C) (47 U.S.C. 
325(b)(3)(C)), as amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 
following:</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(vi) following an expiration of 
                        a retransmission consent agreement between a 
                        television broadcast station and a multichannel 
                        video programming distributor under this 
                        section, permit the Commission--</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) to request from the 
                                parties such information as it deems 
                                necessary to ensure that neither party 
                                has committed a per se violation of its 
                                duty to negotiate in good faith under 
                                this paragraph; and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) to determine, based 
                                on the information collected under 
                                subclause (I) and in accordance with 
                                this Act, that a party to a 
                                retransmission consent negotiation has 
                                committed a per se violation of its 
                                duty to negotiate in good 
                                faith.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Good Faith.--Section 325(b)(3) (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(3)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) Update to good faith rules.--The 
                Commission shall commence a rulemaking to revise the 
                regulations issued pursuant to subparagraph (C). That 
                rulemaking shall--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) consider whether each of the 
                        following constitutes a failure to negotiate in 
                        good faith as required by this paragraph--
                        </DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(I) the blocking of 
                                online content owned or controlled by a 
                                television broadcast station or a 
                                television network, or the act of 
                                soliciting, encouraging, or otherwise 
                                seeking to have another entity block 
                                access to online content, during 
                                retransmission consent negotiations or 
                                after the expiration of a 
                                retransmission consent agreement; 
                                and</DELETED>
                                <DELETED>    ``(II) allowing a 
                                television network to review and 
                                approve the rates, terms, and 
                                conditions of a retransmission consent 
                                agreement, or the material terms of 
                                such agreement, for any television 
                                broadcast station not wholly owned by 
                                such network; and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) review and update the 
                        Commission's totality of the circumstances test 
                        to ensure that such test encourages parties to 
                        a retransmission consent negotiation to present 
                        bona fide proposals on the material terms of a 
                        retransmission consent agreement during 
                        negotiations and engage in timely negotiations 
                        to reach an agreement.''.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Conforming Amendment.--Section 325(b)(7) (47 U.S.C. 
325(b)(7)) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at 
        the end;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at 
        the end and inserting ``; and''; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) by adding at the end the following:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) `television 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>    (f) Margin Corrections.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Section 325(b)(3)(C) (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(3)(C)) 
        is further amended by moving the margin of clause (iii) 4 ems 
        to the left.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Section 325(b) (47 U.S.C. 325(b)) is amended 
        by moving the margin of paragraph (7), as amended by this 
        section, 4 ems to the left.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 202. UPDATE TO CABLE RATES REPORT.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 623(k) (47 U.S.C. 543(k)) is amended to read as 
follows:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(k) Reports on Average Prices.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--The Commission shall annually 
        publish statistical reports on the average rates for basic 
        cable service and other cable programming, and for converter 
        boxes, remote control units, and other equipment of cable 
        systems that the Commission has found are subject to effective 
        competition under subsection (a)(2) compared with cable systems 
        that the Commission has found are not subject to such effective 
        competition.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Inclusion in annual report.--The Commission 
        shall include in its report under paragraph (1), the aggregate 
        average total amount paid by cable systems per community in 
        compensation under section 325.''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 203. COMPETITIVE DEVICE AVAILABILITY.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Termination of Effectiveness.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) New navigation devices.--The authority 
        provided by the second sentence of section 76.1204(a)(1) of 
        title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, terminates effective on 
        the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this 
        Act.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Revision of regulations.--Not later than 910 
        days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal 
        Communications Commission shall revise its regulations to 
        strike the sentence described in paragraph (1) and make any 
        necessary conforming revisions to its regulations.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Working Group.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, the Chairman of the Federal 
        Communications Commission shall convene a working group of 
        technical experts representing a wide range of stakeholders, to 
        identify and report performance objectives, technical 
        capabilities, and technical standards of a non-burdensome, 
        uniform, and technology- and platform-neutral software-based 
        downloadable security system designed to promote the 
        competitive availability of navigation devices in furtherance 
        of section 629 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 
        549).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Report.--Not later than 540 days after the 
        date of enactment of this Act, the working group shall file a 
        report with the Federal Communications Commission on its work 
        under paragraph (1).</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Commission assistance.--The Chairperson of the 
        Federal Communications Commission may appoint a member of the 
        Commission's staff--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) to moderate and direct the work of the 
                working group under this subsection; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) to provide technical assistance to 
                members of the working group, as appropriate.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Initial meeting.--The initial meeting of the 
        working group shall take place not later than 180 days after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 204. ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS TO EFFECTIVE COMPETITION 
              PETITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 623 (47 U.S.C. 543) is amended by adding at the 
end the following:</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(o) Streamlined Petition Process for Small Cable 
Operators.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after 
        the date of enactment of the Satellite Television Access and 
        Viewer Rights Act, the Commission shall complete a rulemaking 
        to establish a streamlined process for filing of an effective 
        competition petition pursuant to this section for small cable 
        operators, particularly those who serve primarily rural 
        areas.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
        shall be construed to have any effect on the duty of a small 
        cable operator to prove the existence of effective competition 
        under this section.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Definition of small cable operator.--In this 
        subsection, the term `small cable operator' has the meaning 
        given the term in subsection (m).''.</DELETED>

              <DELETED>TITLE III--MISCELLANEOUS</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 301. IMPLEMENTATION.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Except as otherwise expressly provided, the Federal 
Communications Commission shall prescribe regulations to implement the 
requirements of this Act, and any amendments made by this Act, not 
later than 270 days after the date of enactment.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 302. SEVERABILITY.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this 
Act, or the application of such provision or amendment to any person or 
circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act, 
the amendments made by the Act, and the application of such provision 
or amendment to any person or circumstance shall not be affected 
thereby.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the Satellite Television Access and Viewer 
Rights Act.

SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934.

    Except as otherwise expressly provided, wherever in this Act an 
amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal 
of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to 
be made to a section or other provision of the Communications Act of 
1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.).

                     TITLE I--SATELLITE TELEVISION

SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.

    Section 325(b) (47 U.S.C. 325(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ``December 31, 2014'' 
        and inserting ``December 31, 2019''; and
            (2) in paragraph (3)(C), by striking ``January 1, 2015'' 
        each place it appears and inserting ``January 1, 2020''.

SEC. 102. MODIFICATION OF TELEVISION MARKETS TO FURTHER CONSUMER ACCESS 
              TO RELEVANT TELEVISION PROGRAMMING.

    (a) In General.--Section 338 (47 U.S.C. 338) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (k)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (10) as 
                paragraphs (2) through (11), respectively;
                    (B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as 
                redesignated, the following:
            ``(1) Designated market area.--The term `designated market 
        area' means a designated market area as determined by Nielsen 
        Media Research.''; and
                    (C) by amending paragraph (5), as redesignated, to 
                read as follows:
            ``(5) Local market.--The term `local market', in the case 
        of both commercial and noncommercial television broadcast 
        stations, means the designated market area in which a 
        television broadcast station is located, including with respect 
        to a commercial television broadcast station any modifications 
        to such market pursuant to subsection (l).''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(l) Market Determinations.--
            ``(1) In general.--Following a written request, the 
        Commission may, with respect to a particular commercial 
        television broadcast station, include additional communities 
        within its local market or exclude communities from such 
        station's local market to better effectuate the purposes of 
        this section.
            ``(2) Considerations.--In considering requests filed under 
        paragraph (1), the Commission--
                    ``(A) may determine that particular communities are 
                part of more than one local market;
                    ``(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 
                        provides 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 provides 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 subscribe 
                        to the services offered by multichannel video 
                        programming distributors within the areas 
                        served by such multichannel video programming 
                        distributors in such community.
            ``(3) Carriage of signals.--
                    ``(A) Carriage obligation.--A market determination 
                under this subsection 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 television broadcast station during the 
                pendency of any proceeding under this subsection.
            ``(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 request.
            ``(5) No effect on eligibility to receive distant 
        signals.--No modification of a commercial broadcast television 
        station's local market pursuant to this subsection shall have 
        any effect on the eligibility of households in the community 
        affected by such modification to receive distant signals 
        pursuant to section 339 of this Act.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 614(h)(1)(C) (47 U.S.C. 
534(h)(1)(C)) is amended--
            (1) in subclause (ii)--
                    (A) in subclause (II), by striking ``community'' 
                and inserting ``community or on the satellite carrier 
                or carriers serving such community'';
                    (B) by redesignating subclauses (III) and (IV) as 
                subclauses (IV) and (V), respectively;
                    (C) by inserting after subclause (II) the 
                following:
                                    ``(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;''; and
                    (D) by amending subclause (V), as redesignated, to 
                read as follows:
                                    ``(V) evidence of viewing patterns 
                                in households that subscribe and do not 
                                subscribe to the services offered by 
                                multichannel video programming 
                                distributors within the areas served by 
                                such multichannel video programming 
                                distributors in such community.''; and
            (2) by moving the margin of clause (iv) 4 ems to the left.
    (c) Implementation.--As part of the rulemaking to implement the 
amendments made by this section, the Federal Communications Commission 
shall ensure that procedures for the filing and consideration of a 
written request under sections 338(l) and 614(h)(1)(C) of the 
Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 338, 534) fully effectuate the 
purposes of the amendments made by this section. As part of that 
process, the Federal Communications Commission shall 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 
(47 U.S.C. 338, 534).
    (d) Market Modification Process.--The Federal Communications 
Commission shall make information available to consumers on its website 
that explains the market modification process, including--
            (1) who may petition to include additional communities 
        within, or exclude communities from, a--
                    (A) local market (as defined in section 338(k) (47 
                U.S.C. 338(k))); or
                    (B) television market (as determined under section 
                614(h)(1)(C) (47 U.S.C. 534(h)(1)(C))); and
            (2) the factors that the Commission takes into account when 
        responding to a petition described in paragraph (1).

                     TITLE II--VIDEO POLICY REFORMS

SEC. 201. CONSUMER PROTECTIONS IN RETRANSMISSION CONSENT.

    (a) Joint Retransmission Consent Negotiations.--Section 
325(b)(3)(C) (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(3)(C)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (ii), by striking ``; and'' at the end;
            (2) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iv) prohibit a television broadcast 
                        station from coordinating negotiations or 
                        negotiating on a joint basis with another 
                        television broadcast station in the same local 
                        market (as defined in section 338 of this Act) 
                        to grant retransmission consent under this 
                        section to a multichannel video programming 
                        distributor, unless such stations are directly 
                        or indirectly under common de jure control 
                        permitted under the regulations of the Federal 
                        Communications Commission; and''.
    (b) Protections for Significantly Viewed and Other Television 
Signals.--Section 325(b)(3)(C) (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(3)(C)), as amended, is 
further amended by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(v) prohibit a television broadcast 
                        station from limiting the ability of a 
                        multichannel video programming distributor to 
                        carry a television signal that has been deemed 
                        significantly viewed, within the meaning of 
                        section 76.54 of title 47, Code of Federal 
                        Regulations, or any successor regulation, or 
                        any other television broadcast signal such 
                        distributor is authorized to carry under 
                        section 338, 339, 340, or 614 of this Act, into 
                        the local market of such station, unless such 
                        stations are directly or indirectly under 
                        common de jure control permitted by the 
                        Commission.''.
    (c) Good Faith.--Section 325(b)(3) (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(3)) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) Update to good faith rules.--The Commission 
                shall commence a rulemaking to review and update its 
                totality of the circumstances test for good faith 
                negotiations. As part of that rulemaking, the 
                Commission shall ensure that such test encourages 
                parties to a retransmission consent negotiation to 
                present bona fide proposals on the material terms of a 
                retransmission consent agreement during negotiations 
                and engage in timely negotiations to reach an 
                agreement.''.
    (d) Margin Corrections.--
            (1) Section 325(b)(3)(C) (47 U.S.C. 325(b)(3)(C)) is 
        further amended by moving the margin of clause (iii) 4 ems to 
        the left.
            (2) Section 325(b) (47 U.S.C. 325(b)) is amended by moving 
        the margin of paragraph (7), 4 ems to the left.

SEC. 202. UPDATE TO CABLE RATES REPORT.

    Section 623(k) (47 U.S.C. 543(k)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(k) Reports on Average Prices.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Commission shall annually publish 
        statistical reports on the average rates for basic cable 
        service and other cable programming, and for converter boxes, 
        remote control units, and other equipment of cable systems that 
        the Commission has found are subject to effective competition 
        under subsection (a)(2) compared with cable systems that the 
        Commission has found are not subject to such effective 
        competition.
            ``(2) Inclusion in annual report.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Commission shall include in 
                its report under paragraph (1), the aggregate average 
                total amount paid by cable systems in compensation 
                under section 325.
                    ``(B) Form.--The Commission shall publish 
                information under this paragraph in a manner 
                substantially similar to the way other comparable 
                information is published in such report.''.

SEC. 203. COMPETITIVE DEVICE AVAILABILITY.

    (a) Termination of Effectiveness.--
            (1) New navigation devices.--The second sentence of section 
        76.1204(a)(1) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, 
        terminates effective on the date that is 2 years after the date 
        of enactment of this Act.
            (2) Revision of regulations.--Not later than 910 days after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications 
        Commission shall revise its regulations to strike the sentence 
        described in paragraph (1) and make any necessary conforming 
        revisions to its regulations.
    (b) Working Group.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Chairman of the Federal 
        Communications Commission shall convene a working group of 
        technical experts representing a wide-range of stakeholders, to 
        identify, report, and recommend performance objectives, 
        technical capabilities, and technical standards of a not unduly 
        burdensome, uniform, and technology- and platform-neutral 
        software-based downloadable security system designed to promote 
        the competitive availability of navigation devices in 
        furtherance of section 629 of the Communications Act of 1934 
        (47 U.S.C. 549).
            (2) Report.--Not later than 540 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the working group shall file a report 
        with the Federal Communications Commission on its work under 
        paragraph (1).
            (3) Commission assistance.--The Chairperson of the Federal 
        Communications Commission may appoint a member of the 
        Commission's staff--
                    (A) to moderate and direct the work of the working 
                group under this subsection; and
                    (B) to provide technical assistance to members of 
                the working group, as appropriate.
            (4) Initial meeting.--The initial meeting of the working 
        group shall take place not later than 180 days after the date 
        of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 204. ADMINISTRATIVE REFORMS TO EFFECTIVE COMPETITION PETITIONS.

    Section 623 (47 U.S.C. 543) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(o) Streamlined Petition Process for Small Cable Operators.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of the Satellite Television Access and Viewer 
        Rights Act, the Commission shall complete a rulemaking to 
        establish a streamlined process for filing of an effective 
        competition petition pursuant to this section for small cable 
        operators, particularly those who serve primarily rural areas.
            ``(2) Construction.--Nothing in this subsection shall be 
        construed to have any effect on the duty of a small cable 
        operator to prove the existence of effective competition under 
        this section.
            ``(3) Definition of small cable operator.--In this 
        subsection, the term `small cable operator' has the meaning 
        given the term in subsection (m)(2).''.

SEC. 205. REPORT ON DESIGNATED MARKET AREAS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commission shall 
submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and the Committee 
on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report that 
contains--
            (1) an analysis of--
                    (A) the extent to which consumers in each local 
                market have access to broadcast programming from 
                television broadcast stations located outside their 
                local market; and
                    (B)(i) whether there are alternatives to the use of 
                designated market areas to define markets that would 
                provide consumers with more local programming options; 
                and
                    (ii) the potential impact the alternatives 
                described in clause (i) could have on localism and on 
                broadcast television locally, regionally, and 
                nationally; and
            (2) recommendations on how to foster increased localism in 
        counties served by out-of-State designated market areas.
    (b) Considerations for Fostering Increased Localism.--In making 
recommendations under subsection (a)(2), the Commission shall 
consider--
            (1) the impact that designated market areas that cross 
        State lines have on access to local programming;
            (2) the impact that designated market areas have on local 
        programming in rural areas; and
            (3) the state of local programming in States served 
        exclusively by out-of-State designated market areas.

                        TITLE III--MISCELLANEOUS

SEC. 301. IMPLEMENTATION.

    Except as otherwise expressly provided, the Federal Communications 
Commission shall prescribe regulations to implement the requirements of 
this Act, and any amendments made by this Act, not later than 270 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 302. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the 
application of such provision or amendment to any person or 
circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act, 
the amendments made by the Act, and the application of such provision 
or amendment to any person or circumstance shall not be affected 
thereby.
                                                       Calendar No. 569

113th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 2799

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To extend the authority of satellite carriers to retransmit certain 
     television broadcast station signals, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

           September 17 (legislative day, September 16), 2014

                       Reported with an amendment