USC - False, fraudulent, or unauthorized transmissions

§ 325. False, fraudulent, or unauthorized transmissions

(a) False distress signals; rebroadcasting programs

(b) Consent to retransmission of broadcasting station signals

(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 originating station;

(B) under section 534 of this title, in the case of a station electing, in accordance with this subsection, to assert the right to carriage under such section; or

(C) under section 338 of this title, in the case of a station electing, in accordance with this subsection, to assert the right to carriage under such section.

(2) This subsection shall not apply—

(A) to retransmission of the signal of a noncommercial television broadcast station;

(B) to retransmission of the signal of a television broadcast station outside the station’s local market by a satellite carrier directly to its subscribers, if—

(i) such station was a superstation on May 1, 1991;

(ii) as of July 1, 1998, such station was retransmitted by a satellite carrier under the statutory license of section 119 of title 17; and

(iii) the satellite carrier complies with any network nonduplication, syndicated exclusivity, and sports blackout rules adopted by the Commission under section 339(b) of this title;

(C) to retransmission of the signals of network stations directly to a home satellite antenna under the statutory license of section 119 of title 17;

(D) to retransmission by a cable operator or other multichannel video provider, other than a satellite carrier, of the signal of a television broadcast station outside the station’s local market if such signal was obtained from a satellite carrier and—

(i) the originating station was a superstation on May 1, 1991; and

(ii) as of July 1, 1998, such station was retransmitted by a satellite carrier under the statutory license of section 119 of title 17; or

(E) during the 6-month period beginning on November 29, 1999, to the retransmission of the signal of a television broadcast station within the station’s local market by a satellite carrier directly to its subscribers under the statutory license of section 122 of title 17.

For purposes of this paragraph, the terms “satellite carrier” and “superstation” have the meanings given those terms, respectively, in section 119(d) of title 17, as in effect on October 5, 1992.

(3)

(A) Within 45 days after October 5, 1992, the Commission shall commence a rulemaking proceeding to establish regulations to govern the exercise by television broadcast stations of the right to grant retransmission consent under this subsection and of the right to signal carriage under section 534 of this title, and such other regulations as are necessary to administer the limitations contained in paragraph (2). The Commission shall consider in such proceeding the impact that the grant of retransmission consent by television stations may have on the rates for the basic service tier and shall ensure that the regulations prescribed under this subsection do not conflict with the Commission’s obligation under section 543(b)(1) of this title to ensure that the rates for the basic service tier are reasonable. Such rulemaking proceeding shall be completed within 180 days after October 5, 1992.

(B) The regulations required by subparagraph (A) shall require that television stations, within one year after October 5, 1992, and every three years thereafter, make an election between the right to grant retransmission consent under this subsection and the right to signal carriage under section 534 of this title. If there is more than one cable system which services the same geographic area, a station’s election shall apply to all such cable systems.

(C) The Commission shall commence a rulemaking proceeding to revise the regulations governing the exercise by television broadcast stations of the right to grant retransmission consent under this subsection, and such other regulations as are necessary to administer the limitations contained in paragraph (2). Such regulations shall—

(i) establish election time periods that correspond with those regulations adopted under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph;

(ii) prohibit a television broadcast station that provides retransmission consent from engaging in exclusive contracts for carriage or failing to negotiate in good faith, and it shall not be a failure to negotiate in good faith if the television broadcast station enters into retransmission consent agreements containing different terms and conditions, including price terms, with different multichannel video programming distributors if such different terms and conditions are based on competitive marketplace considerations;

(iii) prohibit a multichannel video programming distributor from failing to negotiate in good faith for retransmission consent under this section, and it shall not be a failure to negotiate in good faith if the distributor enters into retransmission consent agreements containing different terms and conditions, including price terms, with different broadcast stations if such different terms and conditions are based on competitive marketplace considerations;

(iv) prohibit a television broadcast station from coordinating negotiations or negotiating on a joint basis with another television broadcast station in the same local market to grant retransmission consent under this section to a multichannel video programming distributor, unless such stations are directly or indirectly under common de jure control permitted under the regulations of the Commission;

(v) prohibit a television broadcast station from limiting the ability of a multichannel video programming distributor to carry into the local market of such station a television signal that has been deemed significantly viewed, within the meaning of section 76.54 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation, or any other television broadcast signal such distributor is authorized to carry under section 338, 339, 340, or 534 of this title, unless such stations are directly or indirectly under common de jure control permitted by the Commission; and

(vi) not later than 90 days after December 20, 2019, specify that—(I) a multichannel video programming distributor may satisfy its obligation to negotiate in good faith under clause (iii) with respect to a negotiation for retransmission consent under this section with a large station group by designating a qualified MVPD buying group to negotiate on its behalf, so long as the qualified MVPD buying group itself negotiates in good faith in accordance with such clause;(II) it is a violation of the obligation to negotiate in good faith under clause (iii) for the qualified MVPD buying group to disclose the prices, terms, or conditions of an ongoing negotiation or the final terms of a negotiation to a member of the qualified MVPD buying group that is not intending, or is unlikely, to enter into the final terms negotiated by the qualified MVPD buying group; and(III) a large station group has an obligation to negotiate in good faith under clause (ii) with respect to a negotiation for retransmission consent under this section with a qualified MVPD buying group.

(4) If an originating television station elects under paragraph (3)(B) to exercise its right to grant retransmission consent under this subsection with respect to a cable system, the provisions of section 534 of this title shall not apply to the carriage of the signal of such station by such cable system. If an originating television station elects under paragraph (3)(C) to exercise its right to grant retransmission consent under this subsection with respect to a satellite carrier, section 338 of this title shall not apply to the carriage of the signal of such station by such satellite carrier.

(5) The exercise by a television broadcast station of the right to grant retransmission consent under this subsection shall not interfere with or supersede the rights under section 338, 534, or 535 of this title of any station electing to assert the right to signal carriage under that section.

(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed as modifying the compulsory copyright license established in section 111 of title 17 or as affecting existing or future video programming licensing agreements between broadcasting stations and video programmers.

(7) For purposes of this subsection, the term—

(A) “network station” has the meaning given such term under section 119(d) of title 17;

(B) “television broadcast station” means an over-the-air commercial or noncommercial television broadcast station licensed by the Commission under subpart E of part 73 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, except that such term does not include a low-power or translator television station;

(C) “qualified MVPD buying group” means an entity that, with respect to a negotiation with a large station group for retransmission consent under this section—

(i) negotiates on behalf of two or more multichannel video programming distributors—(I) none of which is a multichannel video programming distributor that serves more than 500,000 subscribers nationally; and(II) that do not collectively serve more than 25 percent of all households served by a multichannel video programming distributor in any single local market in which the applicable large station group operates; and

(ii) negotiates agreements for such retransmission consent—(I) that contain standardized contract provisions, including billing structures and technical quality standards, for each multichannel video programming distributor on behalf of which the entity negotiates; and(II) under which the entity assumes liability to remit to the applicable large station group all fees received from the multichannel video programming distributors on behalf of which the entity negotiates;

(D) “large station group” means a group of television broadcast stations that—

(i) are directly or indirectly under common de jure control permitted by the regulations of the Commission;

(ii) generally negotiate agreements for retransmission consent under this section as a single entity; and

(iii) include only television broadcast stations that have a national audience reach of more than 20 percent;

(E) “local market” has the meaning given such term in section 122(j) of title 17; and

(F) “multichannel video programming distributor” has the meaning given such term in section 522 of this title.

(d) Application for permit

(e) Enforcement proceedings against satellite carriers concerning retransmissions of television broadcast stations in the respective local markets of such carriers

(1) Complaints by television broadcast stationsIf after the expiration of the 6-month period described under subsection (b)(2)(E) a television broadcast station believes that a satellite carrier has retransmitted its signal to any person in the local market of such station in violation of subsection (b)(1), the station may file with the Commission a complaint providing—

(A) the name, address, and call letters of the station;

(B) the name and address of the satellite carrier;

(D) the street address of at least one person in the local market of the station to whom the alleged retransmission was made;

(E) a statement that the retransmission was not expressly authorized by the television broadcast station; and

(F) the name and address of counsel for the station.

(2) Service of complaints on satellite carriers

(3) Answers by satellite carriers

(4) Defenses

(A) Exclusive defenses

(B) DefensesThe defenses referred to under subparagraph (A) are the defenses that—

(i) the satellite carrier did not retransmit the television broadcast station to any person in the local market of the station during the time period specified in the complaint;

(ii) the television broadcast station had, in a writing signed by an officer of the television broadcast station, expressly authorized the retransmission of the station by the satellite carrier to each person in the local market of the television broadcast station to which the satellite carrier made such retransmissions for the entire time period during which it is alleged that a violation of subsection (b)(1) has occurred;

(iii) the retransmission was made after January 1, 2002, and the television broadcast station had elected to assert the right to carriage under section 338 of this title as against the satellite carrier for the relevant period; or

(iv) the station being retransmitted is a noncommercial television broadcast station.

(5) Counting of violations

(6) Burden of proof

(7) Procedures

(A) Regulations

(B) Determinations

(i) In general

(ii) Discovery

(8) ReliefIf the Commission determines that a satellite carrier has retransmitted the television broadcast station to at least one person in the local market of such station and has failed to meet its burden of proving one of the defenses under paragraph (4) with respect to such retransmission, the Commission shall be required to—

(A) make a finding that the satellite carrier violated subsection (b)(1) with respect to that station; and

(B) issue an order, within 45 days after the filing of the complaint, containing—

(i) a cease-and-desist order directing the satellite carrier immediately to stop making any further retransmissions of the television broadcast station to any person within the local market of such station until such time as the Commission determines that the satellite carrier is in compliance with subsection (b)(1) with respect to such station;

(ii) if the satellite carrier is found to have violated subsection (b)(1) with respect to more than two television broadcast stations, a cease-and-desist order directing the satellite carrier to stop making any further retransmission of any television broadcast station to any person within the local market of such station, until such time as the Commission, after giving notice to the station, that the satellite carrier is in compliance with subsection (b)(1) with respect to such stations; and

(iii) an award to the complainant of that complainant’s costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.

(9) Court proceedings on enforcement of Commission order

(A) In generalOn entry by the Commission of a final order granting relief under this subsection—

(i) a television broadcast station may apply within 30 days after such entry to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia for a final judgment enforcing all relief granted by the Commission; and

(ii) the satellite carrier may apply within 30 days after such entry to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia for a judgment reversing the Commission’s order.

(B) Appeal

(10) Civil action for statutory damages

(11) Appeals

(A) In general

(B) Appeal

(12) Sunset

(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, § 325, 48 Stat. 1091; Pub. L. 102–385, § 6, Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1482; Pub. L. 106–113, div. B, § 1000(a)(9) [title I, § 1009], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A–537; Pub. L. 108–447, div. J, title IX [title II, §§ 201, 207(a)], Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 3409, 3428; Pub. L. 111–118, div. B, § 1003(b), Dec. 19, 2009, 123 Stat. 3469; Pub. L. 111–144, § 10(b), Mar. 2, 2010, 124 Stat. 47; Pub. L. 111–151, § 2(b), Mar. 26, 2010, 124 Stat. 1027; Pub. L. 111–157, § 9(b), Apr. 15, 2010, 124 Stat. 1119; Pub. L. 111–175, title II, § 202, May 27, 2010, 124 Stat. 1245; Pub. L. 113–200, title I, §§ 101, 103(a), (b), (d), Dec. 4, 2014, 128 Stat. 2060, 2062; Pub. L. 116–94, div. P, title X, §§ 1002–1003(c), Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3198, 3199.)