[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1748 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1748

 To decrease the frequency of sports blackouts, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 5, 2019

Mr. Blumenthal 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, 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''.

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, and the antitrust laws shall apply, to any 
league of clubs participating in professional football, baseball, 
basketball, or hockey contests to the extent that the league 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, and the antitrust laws shall apply, to any league 
of clubs participating in professional football, baseball, basketball, 
or hockey contests to the extent that the league 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 `internet platform' means a delivery 
        mechanism that uses packet-switched protocol or any successor 
        technology;
            ``(3) 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); and
            ``(4) 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)).''.

SEC. 4. 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.
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