47 U.S.C. § 338 : US Code - Section 338: Carriage of local television signals by satellite carriers

Search 47 U.S.C. § 338 : US Code - Section 338: Carriage of local television signals by satellite carriers

(a) Carriage obligations
(1) In general
Each satellite carrier providing, under section 122 of title
17, secondary transmissions to subscribers located within the
local market of a television broadcast station of a primary
transmission made by that station shall carry upon request the
signals of all television broadcast stations located within that
local market, subject to section 325(b) of this title.
(2) Remedies for failure to carry
In addition to the remedies available to television broadcast
stations under section 501(f) of title 17, the Commission may use
the Commission's authority under this chapter to assure
compliance with the obligations of this subsection, but in no
instance shall a Commission enforcement proceeding be required as
a predicate to the pursuit of a remedy available under such
section 501(f).
(3) (!1) Low power station carriage optional
No low power television station whose signals are provided
under section 119(a)(14) of title 17 shall be entitled to insist
on carriage under this section, regardless of whether the
satellite carrier provides secondary transmissions of the primary
transmissions of other stations in the same local market pursuant
to section 122 of such title, nor shall any such carriage be
considered in connection with the requirements of subsection (c)
of this section.
(3) (!1) Effective date
No satellite carrier shall be required to carry local
television broadcast stations under paragraph (1) until January
1, 2002.
(4) Carriage of signals of local stations in certain markets
A satellite carrier that offers multichannel video programming
distribution service in the United States to more than 5,000,000
subscribers shall (A) within 1 year after December 8, 2004,
retransmit the signals originating as analog signals of each
television broadcast station located in any local market within a
State that is not part of the contiguous United States, and (B)
within 30 months after December 8, 2004, retransmit the signals
originating as digital signals of each such station. The
retransmissions of such stations shall be made available to
substantially all of the satellite carrier's subscribers in each
station's local market, and the retransmissions of the stations
in at least one market in the State shall be made available to
substantially all of the satellite carrier's subscribers in areas
of the State that are not within a designated market area. The
cost to subscribers of such retransmissions shall not exceed the
cost of retransmissions of local television stations in other
States. Within 1 year after December 8, 2004, the Commission
shall promulgate regulations concerning elections by television
stations in such State between mandatory carriage pursuant to
this section and retransmission consent pursuant to section
325(b) of this title, which shall take into account the schedule
on which local television stations are made available to viewers
in such State.
(b) Good signal required
(1) Costs
A television broadcast station asserting its right to carriage
under subsection (a) of this section shall be required to bear
the costs associated with delivering a good quality signal to the
designated local receive facility of the satellite carrier or to
another facility that is acceptable to at least one-half the
stations asserting the right to carriage in the local market.
(2) Regulations
The regulations issued under subsection (g) of this section
shall set forth the obligations necessary to carry out this
subsection.
(c) Duplication not required
(1) Commercial stations
Notwithstanding subsection (a)(1) of this section, a satellite
carrier shall not be required to carry upon request the signal of
any local commercial television broadcast station that
substantially duplicates the signal of another local commercial
television broadcast station which is secondarily transmitted by
the satellite carrier within the same local market, or to carry
upon request the signals of more than one local commercial
television broadcast station in a single local market that is
affiliated with a particular television network unless such
stations are licensed to communities in different States.
(2) Noncommercial stations
The Commission shall prescribe regulations limiting the
carriage requirements under subsection (a) of this section of
satellite carriers with respect to the carriage of multiple local
noncommercial television broadcast stations. To the extent
possible, such regulations shall provide the same degree of
carriage by satellite carriers of such multiple stations as is
provided by cable systems under section 535 of this title.
(d) Channel positioning
No satellite carrier shall be required to provide the signal of a
local television broadcast station to subscribers in that station's
local market on any particular channel number or to provide the
signals in any particular order, except that the satellite carrier
shall retransmit the signal of the local television broadcast
stations to subscribers in the stations' local market on contiguous
channels and provide access to such station's signals at a
nondiscriminatory price and in a nondiscriminatory manner on any
navigational device, on-screen program guide, or menu.
(e) Compensation for carriage
A satellite carrier shall not accept or request monetary payment
or other valuable consideration in exchange either for carriage of
local television broadcast stations in fulfillment of the
requirements of this section or for channel positioning rights
provided to such stations under this section, except that any such
station may be required to bear the costs associated with
delivering a good quality signal to the local receive facility of
the satellite carrier.
(f) Remedies
(1) Complaints by broadcast stations
Whenever a local television broadcast station believes that a
satellite carrier has failed to meet its obligations under
subsections (b) through (e) of this section, such station shall
notify the carrier, in writing, of the alleged failure and
identify its reasons for believing that the satellite carrier
failed to comply with such obligations. The satellite carrier
shall, within 30 days after such written notification, respond in
writing to such notification and comply with such obligations or
state its reasons for believing that it is in compliance with
such obligations. A local television broadcast station that
disputes a response by a satellite carrier that it is in
compliance with such obligations may obtain review of such denial
or response by filing a complaint with the Commission. Such
complaint shall allege the manner in which such satellite carrier
has failed to meet its obligations and the basis for such
allegations.
(2) Opportunity to respond
The Commission shall afford the satellite carrier against which
a complaint is filed under paragraph (1) an opportunity to
present data and arguments to establish that there has been no
failure to meet its obligations under this section.
(3) Remedial actions; dismissal
Within 120 days after the date a complaint is filed under
paragraph (1), the Commission shall determine whether the
satellite carrier has met its obligations under subsections (b)
through (e) of this section. If the Commission determines that
the satellite carrier has failed to meet such obligations, the
Commission shall order the satellite carrier to take appropriate
remedial action. If the Commission determines that the satellite
carrier has fully met the requirements of such subsections, the
Commission shall dismiss the complaint.
(g) Carriage of local stations on a single dish
(1) Single dish
Each satellite carrier that retransmits the analog signals of
local television broadcast stations in a local market shall
retransmit such analog signals in such market by means of a
single reception antenna and associated equipment.
(2) Exception
If the carrier retransmits signals in the digital television
service, the carrier shall retransmit such digital signals in
such market by means of a single reception antenna and associated
equipment, but such antenna and associated equipment may be
separate from the single reception antenna and associated
equipment used for analog television service signals.
(3) Effective date
The requirements of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection
shall apply on and after 18 months after December 8, 2004.
(4) Notice of disruptions
A carrier that is providing signals of a local television
broadcast station in a local market under this section on
December 8, 2004, shall, not later than 15 months after December
8, 2004, provide to the licensees for such stations and the
carrier's subscribers in such local market a notice that displays
prominently and conspicuously a clear statement of -
(A) any reallocation of signals between different reception
antennas and associated equipment that the carrier intends to
make in order to comply with the requirements of this
subsection;
(B) the need, if any, for subscribers to obtain an additional
reception antenna and associated equipment to receive such
signals; and
(C) any cessation of carriage or other material change in the
carriage of signals as a consequence of the requirements of
this paragraph.
(h) Additional notices to subscribers, networks, and stations
concerning signal carriage
(1) Notices to and elections by subscribers concerning
grandfathered signals
Any carrier that provides a distant signal of a network station
to a subscriber pursuant (!2) section 339(a)(2)(A) of this title
shall -
(A) within 60 days after the local signal of a network
station of the same television network is available pursuant to
section 338 of this title, or within 60 days after December 8,
2004, whichever is later, send a notice to the subscriber -
(i) offering to substitute the local network signal for the
duplicating distant network signal; and
(ii) informing the subscriber that, if the subscriber fails
to respond in 60 days, the subscriber will lose the distant
network signal but will be permitted to subscribe to the
local network signal; and
(B) if the subscriber -
(i) elects to substitute such local network signal within
such 60 days, switch such subscriber to such local network
signal within 10 days after the end of such 60-day period; or
(ii) fails to respond within such 60 days, terminate the
distant network signal within 10 days after the end of such
60-day period.
(2) Notice to station licensees of commencement of local-into-
local service
(A) Notice required
Within 180 days after December 8, 2004, the Commission shall
revise the regulations under this section relating to notice to
broadcast station licensees to comply with the requirements of
this paragraph.
(B) Contents of commencement notice
The notice required by such regulations shall inform each
television broadcast station licensee within any local market
in which a satellite carrier proposes to commence carriage of
signals of stations from that market, not later than 60 days
prior to the commencement of such carriage -
(i) of the carrier's intention to launch local-into-local
service under this section in a local market, the identity of
that local market, and the location of the carrier's proposed
local receive facility for that local market;
(ii) of the right of such licensee to elect carriage under
this section or grant retransmission consent under section
325(b) of this title;
(iii) that such licensee has 30 days from the date of the
receipt of such notice to make such election; and
(iv) that failure to make such election will result in the
loss of the right to demand carriage under this section for
the remainder of the 3-year cycle of carriage under section
325 of this title.
(C) Transmission of notices
Such regulations shall require that each satellite carrier
shall transmit the notices required by such regulation via
certified mail to the address for such television station
licensee listed in the consolidated database system maintained
by the Commission.
(i) Privacy rights of satellite subscribers
(1) Notice
At the time of entering into an agreement to provide any
satellite service or other service to a subscriber and at least
once a year thereafter, a satellite carrier shall provide notice
in the form of a separate, written statement to such subscriber
which clearly and conspicuously informs the subscriber of -
(A) the nature of personally identifiable information
collected or to be collected with respect to the subscriber and
the nature of the use of such information;
(B) the nature, frequency, and purpose of any disclosure
which may be made of such information, including an
identification of the types of persons to whom the disclosure
may be made;
(C) the period during which such information will be
maintained by the satellite carrier;
(D) the times and place at which the subscriber may have
access to such information in accordance with paragraph (5);
and
(E) the limitations provided by this section with respect to
the collection and disclosure of information by a satellite
carrier and the right of the subscriber under paragraphs (7)
and (9) to enforce such limitations.
In the case of subscribers who have entered into such an
agreement before the effective date of this subsection, such
notice shall be provided within 180 days of such date and at
least once a year thereafter.
(2) Definitions
For purposes of this subsection, other than paragraph (9) -
(A) the term "personally identifiable information" does not
include any record of aggregate data which does not identify
particular persons;
(B) the term "other service" includes any wire or radio
communications service provided using any of the facilities of
a satellite carrier that are used in the provision of satellite
service; and
(C) the term "satellite carrier" includes, in addition to
persons within the definition of satellite carrier, any person
who -
(i) is owned or controlled by, or under common ownership or
control with, a satellite carrier; and
(ii) provides any wire or radio communications service.
(3) Prohibitions
(A) Consent to collection
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a satellite carrier
shall not use any facilities used by the satellite carrier to
collect personally identifiable information concerning any
subscriber without the prior written or electronic consent of
the subscriber concerned.
(B) Exceptions
A satellite carrier may use such facilities to collect such
information in order to -
(i) obtain information necessary to render a satellite
service or other service provided by the satellite carrier to
the subscriber; or
(ii) detect unauthorized reception of satellite
communications.
(4) Disclosure
(A) Consent to disclosure
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a satellite carrier
shall not disclose personally identifiable information
concerning any subscriber without the prior written or
electronic consent of the subscriber concerned and shall take
such actions as are necessary to prevent unauthorized access to
such information by a person other than the subscriber or
satellite carrier.
(B) Exceptions
A satellite carrier may disclose such information if the
disclosure is -
(i) necessary to render, or conduct a legitimate business
activity related to, a satellite service or other service
provided by the satellite carrier to the subscriber;
(ii) subject to paragraph (9), made pursuant to a court
order authorizing such disclosure, if the subscriber is
notified of such order by the person to whom the order is
directed;
(iii) a disclosure of the names and addresses of
subscribers to any satellite service or other service, if -
(I) the satellite carrier has provided the subscriber the
opportunity to prohibit or limit such disclosure; and
(II) the disclosure does not reveal, directly or
indirectly, the -
(aa) extent of any viewing or other use by the
subscriber of a satellite service or other service
provided by the satellite carrier; or
(bb) the nature of any transaction made by the
subscriber over any facilities used by the satellite
carrier; or
(iv) to a government entity as authorized under chapter
119, 121, or 206 of title 18, except that such disclosure
shall not include records revealing satellite subscriber
selection of video programming from a satellite carrier.
(5) Access by subscriber
A satellite subscriber shall be provided access to all
personally identifiable information regarding that subscriber
which is collected and maintained by a satellite carrier. Such
information shall be made available to the subscriber at
reasonable times and at a convenient place designated by such
satellite carrier. A satellite subscriber shall be provided
reasonable opportunity to correct any error in such information.
(6) Destruction of information
A satellite carrier shall destroy personally identifiable
information if the information is no longer necessary for the
purpose for which it was collected and there are no pending
requests or orders for access to such information under paragraph
(5) or pursuant to a court order.
(7) Penalties
Any person aggrieved by any act of a satellite carrier in
violation of this section may bring a civil action in a United
States district court. The court may award -
(A) actual damages but not less than liquidated damages
computed at the rate of $100 a day for each day of violation or
$1,000, whichever is higher;
(B) punitive damages; and
(C) reasonable attorneys' fees and other litigation costs
reasonably incurred.
The remedy provided by this subsection shall be in addition to
any other lawful remedy available to a satellite subscriber.
(8) Rule of construction
Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to prohibit any
State from enacting or enforcing laws consistent with this
section for the protection of subscriber privacy.
(9) Court orders
Except as provided in paragraph (4)(B)(iv), a governmental
entity may obtain personally identifiable information concerning
a satellite subscriber pursuant to a court order only if, in the
court proceeding relevant to such court order -
(A) such entity offers clear and convincing evidence that the
subject of the information is reasonably suspected of engaging
in criminal activity and that the information sought would be
material evidence in the case; and
(B) the subject of the information is afforded the
opportunity to appear and contest such entity's claim.
(j) Regulations by Commission
Within 1 year after November 29, 1999, the Commission shall issue
regulations implementing this section following a rulemaking
proceeding. The regulations prescribed under this section shall
include requirements on satellite carriers that are comparable to
the requirements on cable operators under sections 534(b)(3) and
(4) and 535(g)(1) and (2) of this title.
(k) Definitions
As used in this section:
(1) Distributor
The term "distributor" means an entity which contracts to
distribute secondary transmissions from a satellite carrier and,
either as a single channel or in a package with other
programming, provides the secondary transmission either directly
to individual subscribers or indirectly through other program
distribution entities.
(2) Local receive facility
The term "local receive facility" means the reception point in
each local market which a satellite carrier designates for
delivery of the signal of the station for purposes of
retransmission.
(3) Local market
The term "local market" has the meaning given that term under
section 122(j) of title 17.
(4) Low power television station
The term "low power television station" means a low power
television station as defined under section 74.701(f) of title
47, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on June 1, 2004.
For purposes of this paragraph, the term "low power television
station" includes a low power television station that has been
accorded primary status as a Class A television licensee under
section 73.6001(a) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations.
(5) Satellite carrier
The term "satellite carrier" has the meaning given such term
under section 119(d) of title 17.
(6) Secondary transmission
The term "secondary transmission" has the meaning given such
term in section 119(d) of title 17.
(7) Subscriber
The term "subscriber" has the meaning given that term under
section 122(j) of title 17.
(8) Television broadcast station
The term "television broadcast station" has the meaning given
such term in section 325(b)(7) of this title.