Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act
Latest action. By Senator Rockefeller from Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed written report. Report No. 113-322.
Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act - Title I: Satellite Television - (Sec. 101) Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to extend until December 31, 2019, the exemption from retransmission consent requirements (which prohibit cable systems or other multichannel video programming distributors [MVPDs] from retransmitting broadcasting station signals without the authority of the originating station) for satellite retransmissions of network station signals to subscribers located outside of a station's local market who reside in unserved households (commonly referred to as "distant signals"). Extends until January 1, 2020: (1) the prohibition on exclusive retransmission consent contracts, and (2) the requirement that television broadcast stations and MVPDs negotiate in good faith.
(Sec. 102) Limits the definition of "local market," in the case of both commercial and noncommercial television broadcast stations, to the designated market area in which a television broadcast station is located, including with respect to a commercial television broadcast station any modifications made by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under procedures set forth in this Act to add communities to or exclude communities from a station's local market following a written request. (Currently, the definition incorporates federal copyright laws that expand the definition of a local market to include all commercial television broadcast stations licensed to a community within the same designated market area, stations licensed to a community within the same designated market area as a noncommercial educational television broadcast station, and the county in which the station's community of license is located.)
Requires designated market areas, for purposes of determining a satellite carrier's obligations to carry local television signals, to be determined by Nielsen Media Research.
Allows the FCC, following a written request with respect to a particular commercial television broadcast station, to add communities to or exclude communities from a station's local market. Directs the FCC, in considering such requests, to afford particular attention to the value of localism by taking into account factors including: (1) whether the station has been carried historically within such community; (2) whether the station provides coverage or other local service to such community; (3) 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; (4) whether any other television station that is eligible to be carried by a satellite carrier in such community covers news, sporting, and other events of interest to the community; and (5) viewing patterns in households that subscribe and do not subscribe to MVPD services.
The summary continues for 11 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on September 17, 2014. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 12, 2014: By Senator Rockefeller from Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed written report. Report No. 113-322.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JAY ROCKEFELLER (D-WV) introduced it on September 11, 2014, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 11, 2014, 4382 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4290 days ago, on December 12, 2014.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers