[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 118 (Friday, August 19, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
           SATELLITE COMPULSORY LICENSE EXTENSION ACT OF 1994

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I ask that the Chair lay before the 
Senate a message from the House of Representatives on S. 1485, a bill 
to extend certain satellite carrier compulsory licenses, and for other 
purposes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the House of Representatives:

       Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 1485) entitled 
     ``An Act to extend certain satellite carrier compulsory 
     licenses, and for other purposes'', do pass with the 
     following amendments:
       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Satellite Home Viewer Act of 
     1994''.

     SEC. 2. STATUTORY LICENSE FOR SATELLITE CARRIERS.

       Section 119 of title 17, United States Code, is amended as 
     follows:
       (1) Subsection (a)(2)(C) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``90 days after the effective date of the 
     Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1988, or'';
       (B) by striking ``whichever is later,'';
       (C) by inserting ``name and'' after ``identifying (by'' 
     each place it appears; and
       (D) by striking ``, on or after the effective date of the 
     Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1988,''.
       (2) Subsection (a)(5) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``(D) Burden of proof.--In any action brought under this 
     paragraph, the satellite carrier shall have the burden of 
     proving that its secondary transmission of a primary 
     transmission by a network station is for private home viewing 
     to an unserved household.''.
       (3) Subsection (b)(1)(B) is amended--
       (A) in clause (i) by striking ``12 cents'' and inserting 
     ``17.5 cents per subscriber in the case of superstations not 
     subject to syndicated exclusivity under the regulations of 
     the Federal Communications Commission, and 14 cents per 
     subscriber in the case of superstations subject to such 
     syndicated exclusivity''; and
       (B) in clause (ii) by striking ``3'' and inserting ``6''.
       (4) Subsection (c) is amended--
       (A) in paragraph (1) by striking ``December 31, 1992,'';
       (B) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) in subparagraph (A) by striking ``July 1, 1991'' and 
     inserting ``January 1, 1996''; and
       (ii) in subparagraph (D) by striking ``December 31, 1994'' 
     and inserting ``December 31, 1999, or in accordance with the 
     terms of the agreement, whichever is later''; and
       (C) in paragraph (3)--
       (i) in subparagraph (A) by striking ``December 31, 1991'' 
     and inserting ``July 1, 1996'';
       (ii) by amending subparagraph (D) to read as follows:
       ``(D) Establishment of fair market rates.--In determining 
     royalty fees under this paragraph, the Arbitration Panel 
     shall establish a rate, for the secondary transmission of 
     network stations andsuperstations, that reflects 
     the fair market value of such secondary transmissions. The 
     Arbitration Panel shall base its decision upon economic, 
     competitive, and programming information presented by the 
     parties, and shall take into account the competitive 
     environment in which such programming is distributed.'';
       (iii) in subparagraph (E) by striking ``60'' and inserting 
     ``180''; and
       (iv) in subparagraph (G) by striking ``, or until December 
     31, 1994''.
       (5) Subsection (a) is amended--
       (A) in paragraph (5)(C) by striking ``the Satellite Home 
     Viewer Act of 1988'' and inserting ``this section''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(8) Transitional signal intensity measurement 
     procedures.--
       ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (C), upon a 
     challenge by a network station regarding whether a subscriber 
     is an unserved household within the predicted Grade B Contour 
     of the station, the satellite carrier shall, within 60 days 
     after the receipt of the challenge--
       ``(i) terminate service to that household of the signal 
     that is the subject of the challenge, and within 30 days 
     thereafter notify the network station that made the challenge 
     that service to that household has been terminated; or
       ``(ii) conduct a measurement of the signal intensity of the 
     subscriber's household to determine whether the household is 
     an unserved household.
       ``(B) Effect of measurement.--If the satellite carrier 
     conducts a signal intensity measurement under subparagraph 
     (A) and the measurement indicates that--
       ``(i) the household is not an unserved household, the 
     satellite carrier shall, within 60 days after the measurement 
     is conducted, terminate the service to that household of the 
     signal that is the subject of the challenge, and within 30 
     days thereafter notify the network station that made the 
     challenge that service to that household has been terminated; 
     or
       ``(ii) the household is an unserved household, the station 
     challenging the service shall reimburse the satellite carrier 
     for the costs of the signal measurement within 60 days after 
     receipt of the measurement results and a statement of the 
     costs of the measurement.
       ``(C) Limitation on measurements.--(i) Notwithstanding 
     subparagraph (A), a satellite carrier may not be required to 
     conduct signal intensity measurements during any calendar 
     year in excess of 5 percent of the number of subscribers 
     within the network station's local market that have 
     subscribed to the service as of the effective date of the 
     Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1994.
       ``(ii) If a network station challenges whether a subscriber 
     is an unserved household in excess of 5 percent of the 
     subscribers within the network's station local market within 
     a calendar year, subparagraph (A) shall not apply to 
     challenges in excess of such 5 percent, but the station may 
     conduct its own signal intensity measurement of the 
     subscriber's household. If such measurement indicates that 
     the household is not an unserved household, the carrier 
     shall, within 60 days after receipt of the measurement, 
     terminate service to the household of the signal that is the 
     subject of the challenge and within 30 days thereafter notify 
     the network station that made the challenge that service has 
     been terminated. The carrier shall also, within 60 days after 
     receipt of the measurement and a statement of the costs of 
     the measurement, reimburse the network station for the cost 
     it incurred in conducting the measurement.
       ``(D) Outside the predicted grade b contour.--(i) If a 
     network station challenges whether a subscriber is an 
     unserved household outside the predicted Grade B Contour of 
     the station, the station may conduct a measurement of the 
     signal intensity of the subscriber's household to determine 
     whether the household is an unserved household.
       ``(ii) If the network station conducts a signal intensity 
     measurement under clause (i) and the measurement indicates 
     that--
       ``(I) the household is not an unserved household, the 
     station shall forward the results to the satellite carrier 
     who shall, within 60 days after receipt of the measurement, 
     terminate the service to the household of the signal that is 
     the subject of the challenge, and shall reimburse the station 
     for the costs of the measurement within 60 days after receipt 
     of the measurement results and a statement of such costs; or
       ``(II) the household is an unserved household, the station 
     shall pay the costs of the measurement.
       ``(9) Loser pays for signal intensity measurement; recovery 
     of measurement costs in a civil action.--In any civil action 
     filed relating to the eligibility of subscribing households 
     as unserved households--
       ``(A) a network station challenging such eligibility shall 
     reimburse the satellite carrier for any signal intensity 
     measurement that is conducted by that carrier in response to 
     a challenge by the network station and that establishes the 
     household is an unserved household; and
       ``(B) a satellite carrier shall reimburse the network 
     station challenging such eligibility for any signal intensity 
     measurement that is conducted by that station and that 
     establishes the household is not an unserved household.
       ``(10) Inability to conduct measurement.--If a network 
     station makes a reasonable attempt to conduct a site 
     measurement of its signal at a subscriber's household and is 
     denied access for the purpose of conducting the measurement, 
     the satellite carrier shall within 60 days notice thereof, 
     terminate service of the station's network to that 
     household.''.
       (6) Subsection (d) is amended--
       (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
       ``(2) Network station.--The term `network station' means--
       ``(A) a television broadcast station, including any 
     translator station or terrestrial satellite station that 
     rebroadcasts all or substantially all of the programming 
     broadcast by a network station, that is owned or operated by, 
     or affiliated with, one or more of the television networks in 
     the United States which offer an interconnected program 
     service on a regular basis for 15 or more hours per week to 
     at least 25 of its affiliated television licensees in 10 or 
     more States; or
       ``(B) a noncommercial educational broadcast station (as 
     defined in section 397 of the Communications Act of 1934).'';
       (B) in paragraph (6) by inserting ``and operates in the 
     Fixed-Satellite Service under part 25 of title 47 of the Code 
     of Federal Regulations or the Direct Broadcast Satellite 
     Service under part 100 of title 47 of the Code of Federal 
     Regulations'' after ``Commission''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(11) Local market.--The term `local market' means the 
     area encompassed within a network station's predicted Grade B 
     contour as that contour is defined by the Federal 
     Communications Commission.''.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       (a) Cable System.--Section 111(f) of title 17, United 
     States Code, is amended in the paragraph relating to the 
     definition of ``cable system'' by inserting ``microwave,'' 
     after ``wires, cables,''.
       (b) Local Service Area.--Section 111(f) of title 17, United 
     States Code, is amended in the paragraph relating to the 
     definition of ``local service area of a primary transmitter'' 
     by inserting after ``April 15, 1976,'' the following: ``or 
     such station's television market as defined in section 
     76.55(e) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 
     effect on September 18, 1993), or any modifications to such 
     television market made, on or after September 18, 1993, 
     pursuant to section 76.55(e) or 76.59 of title 47 of the Code 
     of Federal Regulations,''.

     SEC. 4. TERMINATION.

       (a) Expiration of Amendments.--Section 119 of title 17, 
     United States Code, as amended by section 2 of this Act, 
     ceases to be effective on December 31, 1999.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 207 of the Satellite 
     Home Viewer Act of 1988 (17 U.S.C. 119 note) is repealed.

     SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsections (b) and 
     (d), this Act and the amendments made by this Act take effect 
     on the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (b) Burden of Proof Provisions.--The provisions of section 
     119(a)(5)(D) of title 17, United States Code (as added by 
     section 2(2) of this Act) relating to the burden of proof of 
     satellite carriers, shall take effect on January 1, 1997, 
     with respect to civil actions relating to the eligibility of 
     subscribers who subscribed to service as an unserved 
     household before the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (c) Transitional Signal Intensity Measurement Procedures.--
     The provisions of section 119(a)(8) of title 17, United 
     States Code (as added by section 2(5) of this Act), relating 
     to transitional signal intensity measurements, shall cease to 
     be effective on December 31, 1996.
       (d) Local Service Area of a Primary Transmitter.--The 
     amendment made by section 3(b), relating to the definition of 
     the local service area of a primary transmitter, shall take 
     effect on July 1, 1994.
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
disagree to the amendments of the House, agree to the request for a 
conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses and the Chair be 
authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Presiding Officer (Mr. Kerrey) appointed Mr. DeConcini, Mr. 
Leahy, and Mr. Hatch conferees on the part of the Senate.

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