[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 74 (Thursday, May 20, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5768-S5771]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 SATELLITE HOME VIEWERS IMPROVEMENT ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        McCAIN AMENDMENT NO. 372

  Mr. HATCH (for Mr. McCain) proposed an amendment to the bill to amend 
title 17, United States Code, to reform the copyright law with respect 
to satellite retransmissions of broadcast signals, and for other 
purposes; as follows:

       On page 1, between lines 2 and 3, insert the following:

            TITLE I--SATELLITE HOME VIEWERS IMPROVEMENTS ACT

       On page 1, line 3, strike ``SECTION 1.'' and insert ``SEC. 
     101.''.
       On page 2, line 1, strike ``SEC. 2.'' and insert ``SEC. 
     102.''.

[[Page S5769]]

       On page 1, line 4, strike ``Act'' and insert ``title''.
       On page 10, line 1, strike ``SEC. 3.'' and insert ``SEC. 
     103.''.
       On page 10, line 7, strike ``SEC. 4.'' and insert ``SEC. 
     104.''.
       On page 11, line 18, strike ``SEC. 5.'' and insert ``SEC. 
     105.''.
       On page 12, line 11, strike ``SEC. 6.'' and insert ``SEC. 
     106.''.
       On page 13, line 17, strike ``SEC. 7.'' and insert ``SEC. 
     107.''.
       On page 14, line 6, strike ``SEC. 8.' and insert ``SEC. 
     108.''
       On page 14, line 7, strike ``Act'' each place it appears 
     and insert ``title''.
       On page 14, line 9, strike ``section 4'' and insert 
     ``section 104''.
       On page 14, after line 9, add the following:

               TITLE II--SATELLITE TELEVISION ACT OF 1996

     SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Satellite Television Act 
     of 1999''.

     SEC. 202. FINDINGS.

       The Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) In the Cable Television Consumer Protection and 
     Competition Act of 1992, Congress stated its policy of 
     promoting competition in cable services and making available 
     to the public a diversity of views and information through 
     cable television and other video media.
       (2) In the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress stated 
     its policy of securing lower prices and higher quality 
     service for American telecommunications consumers and 
     encouraging the rapid deployment of new telecommunications 
     technologies.
       (3) In most places throughout America, cable television 
     system operators still do not face effective competition form 
     other providers of multichannel video service.
       (4) Absent effective competition, the market power 
     exercised by cable television operators enables them to raise 
     the price of cable service to consumers, and to control the 
     price and availability of cable programming services to other 
     multichannnel video service providers. Current Federal 
     Communications Commission rules have been inadequate in 
     constraining cable price increases.
       (5) Direct-to-home satellite service has over 8 million 
     subscribers and constitutes the most significant competitive 
     alternative to cable television service.
       (6) Direct-to-home satellite service currently suffers from 
     a number of statutory, regulatory, and technical barriers 
     that keep it from being an effective competitor to cable 
     television in the provision of multichannel video services.
       (7) The most prominent of these barriers is the inability 
     to provide subscribers with local television broadcast 
     signals by satellite.
       (8) Permitting providers of direct-to-home satellite 
     service to retransmit local television signals to their 
     subscribers would greatly enhance the ability of direct-to-
     home satellite service providers to compete more effectively 
     in the provision of multichannel video services.
       (9) Due to capacity limitations and in the interest of 
     providing service in as many markets as possible, providers 
     of direct-to-home satellite service, unlike cable television 
     systems, cannot at this time carry all local television 
     broadcast signals in all the local television markets they 
     seek to serve.
       (10) It would be in the public interest for providers of 
     direct-to-home satellite service to fully comply with the 
     mandatory signal carriage rules at the earliest possible 
     date. In the interim, requiring full compliance with the 
     mandatory signal carriage rules would substantially limit the 
     ability of direct-to-home satellite service providers to 
     compete in the provision of multichannel video services and 
     would not serve the public interest.
       (11) Maintaining the viability of free, local, over-the-air 
     television service is a matter of preeminent public interest.
       (12) All subscribers to multichannel video services should 
     be able to receive the signal of at least one station 
     affiliated with each of the major broadcast television 
     networks.
       (13) Millions of subscribers to direct-to-home satellite 
     service currently receive the signals of network-affiliated 
     stations not located in these subscribers' local television 
     markets. Where conventional rooftop antennas cannot provide 
     satisfactory reception of local stations, distant network 
     signals may be these subscribers' only source of network 
     television service.
       (14) The widespread carriage of distant network stations in 
     local network affiliates' markets could harm the local 
     stations' ability to serve their local community.
       (15) Abrupt termination of satellite carriers' provision of 
     distant network signals could have a negative impact on the 
     ability of direct-to-home satellite service to compete 
     effectively in the provision of multichannel video services.
       (16) The public interest would be served by permitting 
     direct-to-home satellite service providers to continue 
     existing carriage of a distant network affiliate station's 
     signal where--
       (A) there is no local network affiliate;
       (B) the local network affiliate cannot be adequately 
     received off-air; or
       (C) continued carriage would not harm the local network 
     station.

     SEC. 203. PURPOSE.

       The purpose of this title is to promote competition in the 
     provision of multichannel video services while protecting the 
     availability of free, local, over-the-air television, 
     particularly for the 22 percent of American television 
     households that do not subscribe to any multichannel video 
     programming service.

     SEC. 204. MUST-CARRY FOR SATELLITE CARRIERS RETRANSMITTING 
                   TELEVISION BROADCAST SIGNALS.

       Part I of title III of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 
     U.S.C. 301 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end thereof 
     the following:

     ``SEC. 337. CARRIAGE OF LOCAL TELEVISION STATIONS BY 
                   SATELLITE CARRIERS.

       ``(a) Application of Mandatory Carriage to Satellite 
     Carriers.--The mandatory carriage provisions of section 614 
     and 615 of this Act will apply in a local market no later 
     than January 1, 2002, to satellite carriers retransmitting 
     any television broadcast station in that local market 
     pursuant to the compulsory license provided by section 122 of 
     title 17, United States Code.
       ``(b) Good Signal Required.--
       ``(1) Costs.--A television broadcast station eligible for 
     carriage under subsection (a) may be required to bear the 
     costs associated with delivering a good quality signal to the 
     designated local receive facility of the satellite carrier. 
     The selection of a local receive facility by a satellite 
     carrier shall not be made in a manner that frustrates the 
     purposes of this Act. The Commission shall implement the 
     requirements of this section without imposing any undue 
     economic burden on any party.
       ``(2) Rulemaking required.--The Commission shall adopt 
     rules implementing paragraph (1) within 180 days after the 
     date of enactment of the Satellite Television Act of 1999.
       ``(c) Cable Television System Digital Signal Carriage Not 
     Covered.--Nothing in this section applies to the carriage of 
     the digital signals of television broadcast stations by cable 
     television systems.
       ``(d) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Television broadcast station.--The term `television 
     broadcast station' means a full power local television 
     broadcast station, but does not include a low-power or 
     translator television broadcast station.
       ``(2) Network Station.--The term `network station' means a 
     television broadcast station that is owned or operated by, or 
     affiliated with, a broadcasting network.
       ``(3) Broadcasting Network.--The term `broadcasting 
     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.
       ``(4) Distant Television Station.--The term `distant 
     television station' means any television broadcast station 
     that is not licensed and operating on a channel regularly 
     assigned to the local television market in which a subscriber 
     to a direct-to-home satellite service is located.
       ``(5) Local Market.--The term `local market' means the 
     designated market area in which a station is located. For a 
     noncommercial educational television broadcast station, the 
     local market includes any station that is licensed to a 
     community within the same designated market area as the 
     noncommercial educational television broadcast station.
       ``(6) Satellite carrier.--The term `satellite carrier' has 
     the meaning given it by section 119(d) of title 17, United 
     States Code.

     ``SEC. 338. CARRIAGE OF DISTANT TELEVISION STATIONS BY 
                   SATELLITE CARRIERS.

       ``(a) Provisions Relating to New Subscribers.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in subsection (d), 
     direct-to-home satellite service providers shall be permitted 
     to provide the signals of 1 affiliate of each television 
     network to any household that initially subscribed to direct-
     to-home satellite service on or after July 10, 1998.
       ``(2) Eligibility determination.--The determination of a 
     new subscriber's eligibility to receive the signals of one or 
     more distant network stations as a component of the service 
     provided pursuant to paragraph (a) shall be made by 
     ascertaining whether the subscriber resides within the 
     predicted Grade B service area of a local network station. 
     The Individual Location Longley-Rice methodology described by 
     the Commission in Docket 98-201 shall be used to make this 
     determination. A direct-to-home satellite service provider 
     may provide the signal of a distant network station to any 
     subscriber determined by this method to be unserved by a 
     local station affiliated with that network.
       ``(3) Rulemaking required.--
       ``(A) Within 90 days after the date of enactment of the 
     Satellite Television Act of 1999, the Commission shall adopt 
     procedures that shall be used by any direct-to-home satellite 
     service subscriber requesting a waiver to receive one or more 
     distant network signals. The waiver procedures adopted by the 
     Commission shall--
       ``(i) impose no unnecessary burden on the subscriber 
     seeking the waiver;
       ``(ii) allocate responsibilities fairly between direct-to-
     home satellite service providers and local stations;
       ``(iii) prescribe mandatory time limits within which 
     direct-to-home satellite service providers and local stations 
     shall carry out the obligations imposed upon them; and
       ``(iv) prescribe that all costs of conducting any 
     measurement or testing shall be borne by the direct-to-home 
     satellite service provider, if the local station's signal 
     meets the prescribed minimum standards, or by the local 
     station, if its signal fails to meet the prescribed minimum 
     standards.

[[Page S5770]]

       ``(4) Penalty for violation.--Any direct-to-home satellite 
     service provider that knowingly and willfully provides the 
     signals of 1 or more distant television stations to 
     subscribers in violation of this section shall be liable for 
     forfeiture in the amount of $50,000 per day per violation.
       ``(b) Provision Relating to Existing Subscribers.--
       ``(1) Moratorium on termination.--Until December 31, 1999, 
     any direct-to-home satellite service may continue to provide 
     the signals of distant television stations to any subscriber 
     located within predicted Grade A and Grade B contours of a 
     local network station who received those distant network 
     signals before July 11, 1998.
       ``(2) Continued carriage.--Direct-to-home satellite service 
     providers may continue to provide the signals of distant 
     television stations to subscribers located between the 
     outside limits of the predicted Grade A contour and the 
     predicted Grade B contour of the corresponding local network 
     stations after December 31, 1999, subject to any limitations 
     adopted by the Commission under paragraph (3).
       ``(3) Rulemaking required.--
       ``(A) Within 180 days after the date of enactment of the 
     Satellite Television Act of 1999, the Commission shall 
     conclude a single rulemaking, compliant with subchapter II of 
     chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, to examine the 
     extent to which any existing program exclusivity rules should 
     be imposed on distant network stations provided to 
     subscribers under paragraph (2).
       ``(B) The Commission shall not impose any program 
     exclusivity rules on direct-to-home satellite service 
     providers pursuant to subparagraph (A) unless it finds that 
     it would be both technically and economically feasible and 
     otherwise in the public interest to do so.
       ``(c) Waivers Not Precluded.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision in this section, nothing shall preclude any network 
     stations from authorizing the continued provision of distant 
     network signals in unaltered form to any direct-to-home 
     satellite service subscriber currently receiving them.
       ``(d) Certain Signals.--Providers of direct-to-home 
     satellite service may continue to carry the signals of 
     distant network stations without regard to subsections (a) 
     and (b) in any situation in which--
       ``(1) a subscriber is unserved by the local station 
     affiliated with that network;
       ``(2) a waiver is otherwise granted by the local station 
     under subsection (c); or
       ``(3) if the carriage would otherwise be consistent with 
     rules adopted by the Commission in CS Docket 98-201.
       ``(e) Report Required.--Within 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of the Satellite Television Act of 1999, the 
     Commission shall report to Congress on methods of 
     facilitating the delivery of local signals in local markets, 
     especially smaller markets.''.

     SEC. 205. RETRANSMISSION CONSENT.

       ``(a) Amendment of Section 325(b).--Section 325(b) of the 
     Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b)) is amended 
     striking the subsection designation and paragraphs (1) and 
     (2) and inserting the following:
       ``(b)(1) No cable system or other multichannel video 
     programming distributor shall retransmit the signal of a 
     broadcasting station, or any part thereof, except--
       ``(A) with the express authority of the station; or
       ``(B) pursuant to section 614 or section 615, in the case 
     of a station electing, in accordance with this subsection, to 
     assert the right to carriage under that section.
       ``(2) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply 
     to--
       ``(A) retransmission of the signal of a television 
     broadcast station outside the station's local market by a 
     satellite carrier directly to subscribers if--
       ``(i) that station was a superstation on May 1, 1991;
       ``(ii) as of July 1, 1998, such station's signal was 
     transmitted under the compulsory license of section 119 of 
     title 17, United States Code, by satellite carries directly 
     to at least 250,000 subscribers; and
       ``(iii) the satellite carrier complies with any program 
     exclusivity rules that may be adopted by the Federal 
     Communications Commission pursuant to section 338.
       ``(B) retransmission of the distant signal of a 
     broadcasting station that is owned or operated by, or 
     affiliated with, a broadcasting network directly to a home 
     satellite antenna, if the subscriber resides in an unserved 
     household; or
       ``(C) retransmission by a cable operator or other 
     multichannel video programming distributor (other than by a 
     satellite carrier direct to its subscribers) of the signal of 
     a television broadcast station outside the station's local 
     market, if that signal was obtained from a satellite carrier 
     and--
       ``(i) the originating station was a superstation on May 1, 
     1991; and
       ``(ii) the originating station was a network station on 
     December 31, 1997, and its signal was retransmitted by a 
     satellite carrier directly to subscribers.
       ``(3) Any term used in this subsection that is defined in 
     section 337(d) of this Act has the meaning given to it by 
     that section.''.
       ``(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection(a) 
     take effect on January 1, 1999.

     SEC. 206. DESIGNATED MARKET AREAS.

       Nothing in this title, or in the amendment made by this 
     title, prevents the Federal Communications Commission from 
     revising the listing of designated market areas or 
     reassigning those area if the revision or reassignment is 
     done in the same manner and to the same extent as the 
     Commission's cable television mandatory carriage rules 
     provide.

     SEC. 207. SEVERABILITY.

       If any provision of this title of section 325(b) or 337 of 
     the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 325(b) or 337, 
     respectively), or the application of that provision to any 
     person or circumstance, is held by a court of competent 
     Jurisdiction to violate any provision of the Constitution of 
     the United States, then the other provisions of that section, 
     and the application of that provision to other provisions and 
     circumstance, shall not be affected.

     SEC. 208. SECONDARY TRANSMISSIONS.

       ``(a) Amendent of Section 119(A)(2)(B) of Title 17, United 
     States Code.--Section 119(a)(2)(B) of title 17, United States 
     Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(B) Secondary transmission to unserved households.--
     Except as provided in paragraph(5)(E) of this subsection, the 
     license provided or in subparagraph(a) shall be limited to 
     secondary transmissions to persons who reside in unserved 
     households.''.
       ``(b) Amendment of Section 119(a)(5) of Title 17.--Section 
     119(a)(5) of title 17, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end thereof the following:
       ``(E) Exception.--The secondary transmission by a satellite 
     carrier of a primary transmission made by a network station 
     to subscribers who do not reside in unserved households shall 
     not be an act of infringement if
       ``(i) that station was a superstation on May 1, 1991; and
       ``(ii) that station was lawfully retransmitted by satellite 
     carriers directly to at lest 250,000 subscribers as of July 
     1, 1998.''.

     SEC. 209. DEFINITIONS.

       In this title:
       (1) Terms Defined in Communications Act of 1934.--Any term 
     used in this title that is defined in section 337(d) of the 
     Communications Act of 1934, as added by section 204 of this 
     title, has the meaning given to it by that section.
       (2) Designated market area.--The term ``designated market 
     area'' means a designated market area, as determined by 
     Nielsen Media Research and published in the DMA Market and 
     Demographic Report.
                                 ______
                                 

                  HATCH (AND LEAHY) AMENDMENT NO. 373

  Mr. HATCH (for himself and Mr. Leahy) proposed an amendment to 
amendment No. 372 proposed by Mr. McCain to the bill, S. 247, supra; as 
follows:

       On page 17, strike line 4 through page 18, line 4 and 
     insert the following:

     SEC. 208 DEFINITIONS.

                                 ______
                                 

               HATCH (AND LEAHY) AMENDMENTS NOS. 374-375

  Mr. HATCH (for himself and Mr. Leahy) proposed two amendments to the 
bill, S. 247, supra; as follows:

                           Amendment No. 374

       On page 3, line 9, strike ``that station'' and insert ``the 
     network that owns or is affiliated with the network 
     station''.
       On page 3, lines 16 and 17, strike ``the station'' and 
     insert ``the network''.
       On page 4, line 3, strike ``the station'' and insert ``the 
     network''.
       On page 12, beginning with line 19, strike all through line 
     5 on page 13 and insert the following:
       (3) by adding at the end the following: ``In the case of 
     the Public Broadcasting Service satellite feed, the 
     compulsory license shall be effective until January 1, 
     2002.''.
       On page 13, strike lines 6 through 8 and insert the 
     following:
       (b) Definitions.--Section 119(d) of title 17, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) by amending paragraph (9) to read as follows:
       ``(9) Superstation.--The term `superstation'--
       ``(A) means a television broadcast station, other than a 
     network station, licensed by the Federal Communications 
     Commission that is secondarily transmitted by a satellite 
     carrier; and
       ``(B) includes the Public Broadcasting Service satellite 
     feed.''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following:
       On page 13, line 25, strike ``and''.
       On page 14, line 5, strike the period and insert a 
     semicolon and ``and''.
       On page 14, insert between lines 5 and 6 the following:
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(11) Statutory license contingent on compliance with fcc 
     rules and remedial steps.--The willful or repeated secondary 
     transmission to the public by a satellite carrier of a 
     primary transmission made by a broadcast station licensed by 
     the Federal Communications Commission is actionable as an act 
     of infringement under section 501, and is fully subject to 
     the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 and 509, 
     if, at the time of such transmission, the satellite carrier 
     is not in compliance with the rules, regulations, and 
     authorizations of the Federal Communications Commission 
     concerning the carriage of television broadcast station 
     signals.''.

     SEC. 8. TELEVISION BROADCAST STATION STANDING.

       Section 501 of title 17, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:

[[Page S5771]]

       ``(f) With respect to any secondary transmission that is 
     made by a satellite carrier of a primary transmission 
     embodying the performance or display of a work and is 
     actionable as an act of infringement under section 122, a 
     television broadcast station holding a copyright or other 
     license to transmit or perform the same version of that work 
     shall, for purposes of subsection (b) of this section, be 
     treated as a legal or beneficial owner if such secondary 
     transmission occurs within the local market of that 
     station.''.
       On page 14, line 6, strike ``sec. 8.'' and insert ``sec. 
     9.''.
                                  ____


                           Amendment No. 375

       On page 12, line 4, insert after ``network'' the following: 
     ``or is not otherwise eligible to receive directly from a 
     satellite carrier a signal of that television network (other 
     than a signal provided under section 122) in accordance with 
     section 338 of the Communications Act of 1934.''.
       On page 14, insert between lines 5 and 6 the following:

     SEC. 8. MORATORIUM ON COPYRIGHT LIABILITY.

       Until December 31, 1999, no subscriber, as defined under 
     section 119(d)(8) of title 17, United States Code, located 
     within the predicted Grade B contour of a local network 
     television broadcast station shall have satellite service of 
     a distant network signal affiliated with the same network 
     terminated, if that subscriber received satellite service of 
     such network signal before July 11, 1998, as a result of 
     section 119 of title 17, United States Code.
       On page 14, line 6, strike ``sec. 8.'' and insert ``sec. 
     9.''.

                          ____________________