§ 76.66 - Satellite broadcast signal carriage.

§ 76.66 Satellite broadcast signal carriage.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 88 FR 62472, Sept. 12, 2023.

(a) Definitions —

(1) Satellite carrier. A satellite carrier is an entity that uses the facilities of a satellite or satellite service licensed by the Federal Communications Commission, 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, to establish and operate a channel of communications for point-to-multipoint distribution of television station signals, and that owns or leases a capacity or a service on a satellite in order to provide such point-to-multipoint distribution, except to the extent that such entity provides such distribution pursuant to tariff under the Communications Act of 1934, other than for private home viewing.

(2) Secondary transmission. A secondary transmission is the further transmitting of a primary transmission simultaneously with the primary transmission.

(3) Subscriber. A subscriber is a person who receives a secondary transmission service from a satellite carrier and pays a fee for the service, directly or indirectly, to the satellite carrier or to a distributor.

(4) Television broadcast station. A television broadcast station is 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.

(5) Television network. For purposes of this section, a television network is an entity 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.

(6) Local-into-local television service. A satellite carrier is providing local-into-local service when it retransmits a local television station signal back into the local market of that television station for reception by subscribers.

(b) Signal carriage obligations.

(1) Each satellite carrier providing, under section 122 of title 17, United States Code, 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 title 47, United States Code, and other paragraphs in this section. Satellite carriers are required to carry digital-only stations upon request in markets in which the satellite carrier is providing any local-into-local service pursuant to the statutory copyright license.

(2) A satellite carrier that offers multichannel video programming distribution service in the United States to more than 5,000,000 subscribers shall, no later than December 8, 2005, carry upon request the signal originating as an analog signal of each television broadcast station that is located in a local market in Alaska or Hawaii; and shall, no later than June 8, 2007, carry upon request the signals originating as digital signals of each television broadcast station that is located in a local market in Alaska or Hawaii. Such satellite carrier is not required to carry the signal originating as analog after commencing carriage of digital signals on June 8, 2007. Carriage of signals originating as digital signals of each television broadcast station that is located in a local market in Alaska or Hawaii shall include the entire free over-the-air signal, including multicast and high definition digital signals.

(c) Election cycle. In television markets where a satellite carrier is providing local-into-local service, a commercial television broadcast station may elect either retransmission consent, pursuant to section 325 of title 47 United States Code, or mandatory carriage, pursuant to section 338, title 47 United States Code.

(1) The first retransmission consent-mandatory carriage election cycle shall be for a four-year period commencing on January 1, 2002 and ending December 31, 2005.

(2) The second retransmission consent-mandatory carriage election cycle, and all cycles thereafter, shall be for a period of three years (e.g. the second election cycle commences on January 1, 2006 and ends at midnight on December 31, 2008).

(3) A commercial television station must notify a satellite carrier, by July 1, 2001, of its retransmission consent-mandatory carriage election for the first election cycle commencing January 1, 2002.

(4) Except as provided in paragraphs (c)(6), (d)(2) and (d)(3) of this section, local commercial television broadcast stations shall make their retransmission consent-mandatory carriage election by October 1st of the year preceding the new cycle for all election cycles after the first election cycle.

(5) [Reserved]

(6) A commercial television broadcast station located in a local market in Alaska or Hawaii shall make its retransmission consent-mandatory carriage election by October 1, 2005, for carriage of its signal that originates as an analog signal for carriage commencing on December 8, 2005, and by April 1, 2007, for its signal that originates as a digital signal for carriage commencing on June 8, 2007 and ending on December 31, 2008. For analog and digital signal carriage cycles commencing after December 31, 2008, such stations shall follow the election cycle in paragraphs (c)(2) and (4). A noncommercial television broadcast station located in a local market in Alaska or Hawaii must request carriage by October 1, 2005, for carriage of its signal that originates as an analog signal for carriage commencing on December 8, 2005, and by April 1, 2007, for its signal that originates as a digital signal for carriage commencing on June 8, 2007 and ending on December 31, 2008.

(d) Carriage procedures —

(1) Carriage requests.

(i) An election for mandatory carriage made by a television broadcast station shall be treated as a request for carriage. For purposes of this paragraph (d), the term election request includes an election of retransmission consent or mandatory carriage.

(ii) Each satellite carrier shall, no later than July 31, 2020, provide an up-to-date email address for carriage election notice submissions and an up-to-date phone number for carriage-related questions. Each satellite carrier is responsible for the continuing accuracy and completeness of the information furnished. It must respond to questions from broadcasters as soon as is reasonably possible.

(iii) A station shall send a notice of its election to a satellite carrier only if changing its election with respect to one or more of the markets served by that carrier. Such notice shall be sent to the email address provided by the satellite carrier and carbon copied to [e-mail].

(iv) A television station's written notification shall include with respect to each station referenced in the notice, the:

(A) Call sign;

(B) Community of license;

(C) DMA where the station is located;

(D) Specific change being made in election status;

(E) Email address for carriage-related questions;

(F) Phone number for carriage-related questions; and

(G) Name of the appropriate station contact person.

(v) A satellite carrier must respond via email as soon as is reasonably possible, acknowledging receipt of a television station's election notice.

(vi) Within 30 days of receiving a television station's carriage request, and subject to paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section, a satellite carrier shall notify in writing:

(A) Those local television stations it will not carry, along with the reasons for such a decision; and

(B) Those local television stations it intends to carry.

(vii) A satellite carrier is not required to carry a television station, for the duration of the election cycle, if the station fails to assert its carriage rights by the deadlines established in this section.

(2) New local-into-local service.

(i) A new satellite carrier or a satellite carrier providing local service in a market for the first time after July 1, 2001, 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

(A) 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;

(B) Of the right of such licensee to elect carriage under this section or grant retransmission consent under section 325(b);

(C) That such licensee has 30 days from the date of the receipt of such notice to make such election; and

(D) 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.

(ii) Except as provided in this paragraph (d)(2)(ii), satellite carriers shall transmit the notices required by paragraph (d)(2)(i) of this section via certified mail to the address for such television station licensee listed in the consolidated database system maintained by the Commission. After July 31, 2020, the written notices required by paragraphs (d)(1)(vi), (d)(2)(i), (v), and (vi), (d)(3)(iv), (d)(5)(i), (f)(3) and (4), and (h)(5) of this section shall be delivered electronically via email to the email address for carriage-related questions that the station lists in its public file in accordance with §§ 73.3526 and 73.3527 of this title.

(iii) A satellite carrier with more than five million subscribers shall provide the notice as required by paragraphs (d)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section to each television broadcast station located in a local market in Alaska or Hawaii, not later than March 1, 2007 with respect to carriage of digital signals; provided, further, that the notice shall also describe the carriage requirements pursuant to 47 U.S.C. 338(a)(4), and paragraph (b)(2) of this section.

(iv) A satellite carrier shall commence carriage of a local station by the later of 90 days from receipt of an election of mandatory carriage or upon commencing local-into-local service in the new television market.

(v) Within 30 days of receiving a local television station's election of mandatory carriage in a new television market, a satellite carrier shall notify in writing those local television stations it will not carry, along with the reasons for such decision, and those local television stations it intends to carry. After July 31, 2020, the written notices required by this paragraph (d)(2)(v) shall be delivered to stations electronically in accordance with paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section.

(vi) Satellite carriers shall notify all local stations in a market of their intent to launch HD carry-one, carry-all in that market at least 60 days before commencing such carriage. After July 31, 2020, the written notices required by this paragraph (d)(2)(vi) shall be delivered to stations electronically in accordance with paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section.

(3) New television stations.

(i) A television station providing over-the-air service in a market for the first time on or after July 1, 2001, shall be considered a new television station for satellite carriage purposes.

(ii) A new television station shall make its election request, in writing, sent to the satellite carrier's email address provided by the satellite carrier and carbon copied to [e-mail], between 60 days prior to commencing broadcasting and 30 days after commencing broadcasting. This written notification shall include the information required by paragraph (d)(1)(iv) of this section.

(iii) A satellite carrier shall commence carriage within 90 days of receiving the request for carriage from the television broadcast station or whenever the new television station provides over-the-air service.

(iv) Within 30 days of receiving a new television station's election of mandatory carriage, a satellite carrier shall notify the station in writing that it will not carry the station, along with the reasons for such decision, or that it intends to carry the station. After July 31, 2020, the written notices required by this paragraph (d)(3)(iv) shall be delivered to stations electronically in accordance with paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section.

(4) Television broadcast stations must send election requests as provided in paragraphs (d)(1), (2), and (3) of this section on or before the relevant deadline.

(5) Elections in markets in which significantly viewed signals are carried.

(i) Beginning with the election cycle described in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, the retransmission of significantly viewed signals pursuant to § 76.54 by a satellite carrier that provides local-into-local service is subject to providing the notifications to stations in the market pursuant to paragraphs (d)(5)(i)(A) and (B) of this section, unless the satellite carrier was retransmitting such signals as of the date these notifications were due. After July 31, 2020, the written notices required by this paragraph (d)(5)(i) shall be delivered to stations electronically in accordance with paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section.

(A) In any local market in which a satellite carrier provided local-into-local service on December 8, 2004, at least 60 days prior to any date on which a station must make an election under paragraph (c) of this section, identify each affiliate of the same television network that the carrier reserves the right to retransmit into that station's local market during the next election cycle and the communities into which the satellite carrier reserves the right to make such retransmissions;

(B) In any local market in which a satellite carrier commences local-into-local service after December 8, 2004, at least 60 days prior to the commencement of service in that market, and thereafter at least 60 days prior to any date on which the station must thereafter make an election under § 76.66(c) or (d)(2), identify each affiliate of the same television network that the carrier reserves the right to retransmit into that station's local market during the next election cycle.

(ii) A television broadcast station located in a market in which a satellite carrier provides local-into-local television service may elect either retransmission consent or mandatory carriage for each county within the station's local market if the satellite carrier provided notice to the station, pursuant to paragraph (d)(5)(i) of this section, that it intends to carry during the next election cycle, or has been carrying on the date notification was due, in the station's local market another affiliate of the same network as a significantly viewed signal pursuant to § 76.54.

(iii) A television broadcast station that elects mandatory carriage for one or more counties in its market and elects retransmission consent for one or more other counties in its market pursuant to paragraph (d)(5)(ii) of this section shall conduct a unified negotiation for the entire portion of its local market for which retransmission consent is elected.

(iv) A television broadcast station that receives a notification from a satellite carrier pursuant to paragraph (d)(5)(i) of this section with respect to an upcoming election cycle may choose either retransmission consent or mandatory carriage for any portion of the 3-year election cycle that is not covered by an existing retransmission consent agreement.

(6) Carriage after a market modification. Television broadcast stations that become eligible for mandatory carriage with respect to a satellite carrier (pursuant to § 76.66) due to a change in the market definition (by operation of a market modification pursuant to § 76.59) may, within 30 days of the effective date of the new definition, elect retransmission consent or mandatory carriage with respect to such carrier. A satellite carrier shall commence carriage within 90 days of receiving the carriage election from the television broadcast station. The election must be made in accordance with the requirements in paragraph (d)(1) of this section.

(e) Market definitions.

(1) A local market, in the case of both commercial and noncommercial television broadcast stations, is the designated market area in which a station is located, unless such market is amended pursuant to § 76.59, and

(i) In the case of a commercial television broadcast station, all commercial television broadcast stations licensed to a community within the same designated market area within the same local market; and

(ii) In the case of a noncommercial educational television broadcast station, the market includes any station that is licensed to a community within the same designated market area as the noncommercial educational television broadcast station.

(2) A designated market area is the market area, as determined by Nielsen Media Research and published in the 1999–2000 Nielsen Station Index Directory and Nielsen Station Index United States Television Household Estimates, the October 2021 Nielsen Local TV Station Information Report, or any successor publication. In the case of areas outside of any designated market area, any census area, borough, or other area in the State of Alaska that is outside of a designated market area, as determined by Nielsen Media Research, shall be deemed to be part of one of the local markets in the State of Alaska.

(3) A satellite carrier shall use the October 2021 Nielsen Local TV Station Information for the retransmission consent-mandatory carriage election cycle commencing on January 1, 2024, and ending on December 31, 20272026. The October 2024 Nielsen Local TV Station Information Report shall be used for the retransmission consent-mandatory carriage election cycle commencing January 1, 20282027, and ending December 31, 20302029, and so forth using the publications for the October two years prior to each triennial election pursuant to this section. Provided, however, that a county deleted from a market by Nielsen need not be subtracted from a market in which a satellite carrier provides local-into-local service, if that county is assigned to that market in the 1999–2000 Nielsen Station Index Directory or any subsequent issue of that publication, or the Local TV Station Information Report commencing with October 2021, and every three years thereafter (i.e., October 2024, October 2027, etc.). A satellite carrier may determine which local market in the State of Alaska will be deemed to be the relevant local market in connection with each subscriber in an area in the State of Alaska that is outside of a designated market, as described in paragraph (e)(2) of this section.

(4) A local market includes all counties to which stations assigned to that market are licensed.

(f) Receive facilities.

(1) A local receive facility is the reception point in each local market which a satellite carrier designates for delivery of the signal of the station for purposes of retransmission.

(2) A satellite carrier may establish another receive facility to serve a market if the location of such a facility is acceptable to at least one-half the stations with carriage rights in that market.

(3) Except as provided in paragraph (d)(2) of this section, a satellite carrier providing local-into-local service must notify local television stations of the location of the receive facility by June 1, 2001 for the first election cycle and at least 120 days prior to the commencement of all election cycles thereafter. After July 31, 2020, the written notices required by this paragraph (f)(3) shall be delivered to stations electronically in accordance with paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section.

(4) A satellite carrier may relocate its local receive facility at the commencement of each election cycle. A satellite carrier is also permitted to relocate its local receive facility during the course of an election cycle, if it bears the signal delivery costs of the television stations affected by such a move. A satellite carrier relocating its local receive facility must provide 60 days notice to all local television stations carried in the affected television market. After July 31, 2020, the written notices required by this paragraph (f)(4) shall be delivered to stations electronically in accordance with paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section.

(g) Good quality signal.

(1) A television station asserting its right to carriage 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) To be considered a good quality signal for satellite carriage purposes, a television station shall deliver to the local receive facility of a satellite carrier either a signal level of −45dBm for UHF signals or −49dBm for VHF signals at the input terminals of the signal processing equipment.

(3) A satellite carrier is not required to carry a television station that does not agree to be responsible for the costs of delivering a good quality signal to the receive facility.

(h) Duplicating signals.

(1) A satellite carrier shall not be required to carry upon request the signal of any local television broadcast station that substantially duplicates the signal of another local television broadcast station which is secondarily transmitted by the satellite carrier within the same local market, or 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) A satellite carrier may select which duplicating signal in a market it shall carry.

(3) A satellite carrier may select which network affiliate in a market it shall carry.

(4) A satellite carrier is permitted to drop a local television station whenever that station meets the substantial duplication criteria set forth in this paragraph. A satellite carrier must add a television station to its channel line-up if such station no longer duplicates the programming of another local television station.

(5) A satellite carrier shall provide notice to its subscribers, and to the affected television station, whenever it adds or deletes a station's signal in a particular local market pursuant to this paragraph (h)(5). After July 31, 2020, the required notice to the affected television station shall be delivered to the station electronically in accordance with paragraph (d)(2)(ii) of this section.

(6) A commercial television station substantially duplicates the programming of another commercial television station if it simultaneously broadcasts the identical programming of another station for more than 50 percent of the broadcast week.

(7) A noncommercial television station substantially duplicates the programming of another noncommercial station if it simultaneously broadcasts the same programming as another noncommercial station for more than 50 percent of prime time, as defined by § 76.5(n), and more than 50 percent outside of prime time over a three month period, Provided, however, that after three noncommercial television stations are carried, the test of duplication shall be whether more than 50 percent of prime time programming and more than 50 percent outside of prime time programming is duplicative on a non-simultaneous basis.

(i) Channel positioning.

(1) 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.

(2) The television stations subject to this paragraph include those carried under retransmission consent.

(3) All local television stations carried under mandatory carriage in a particular television market must be offered to subscribers at rates comparable to local television stations carried under retransmission consent in that same market.

(4) Within a market, no satellite carrier shall provide local-into-local service in a manner that requires subscribers to obtain additional equipment at their own expense or for an additional carrier charge in order to obtain one or more local television broadcast signals if such equipment is not required for the receipt of other local television broadcast signals.

(5) All television stations carried under mandatory carriage, in a particular market, shall be presented to subscribers in the same manner as television stations that elected retransmission consent, in that same market, on any navigational device, on-screen program guide, or menu provided by the satellite carrier.

(j) Manner of carriage.

(1) Each television station carried by a satellite carrier, pursuant to this section, shall include in its entirety the primary video, accompanying audio, and closed captioning data contained in line 21 of the vertical blanking interval and, to the extent technically feasible, program-related material carried in the vertical blanking interval or on subcarriers. For noncommercial educational television stations, a satellite carrier must also carry any program-related material that may be necessary for receipt of programming by persons with disabilities or for educational or language purposes. Secondary audio programming must also be carried. Where appropriate and feasible, satellite carriers may delete signal enhancements, such as ghost-canceling, from the broadcast signal and employ such enhancements at the local receive facility.

(2) A satellite carrier, at its discretion, may carry any ancillary service transmission on the vertical blanking interval or the aural baseband of any television broadcast signal, including, but not limited to, multichannel television sound and teletext.

(k) Material degradation.

(1) Each local television station whose signal is carried under mandatory carriage shall, to the extent technically feasible and consistent with good engineering practice, be provided with the same quality of signal processing provided to television stations electing retransmission consent, including carriage of HD signals in HD if any local station in the same market is carried in HD. A satellite carrier is permitted to use reasonable digital compression techniques in the carriage of local television stations.

(2) Satellite carriers must provide carriage of local stations' HD signals if any local station in the same market is carried in HD, pursuant to the following schedule:

(i) In at least 15% of the markets in which they carry any station pursuant to the statutory copyright license in HD by February 17, 2010;

(ii) In at least 30% of the markets in which they carry any station pursuant to the statutory copyright license in HD no later than February 17, 2011;

(iii) In at least 60% of the markets in which they carry any station pursuant to the statutory copyright license in HD no later than February 17, 2012; and

(iv) In 100% of the markets in which they carry any station pursuant to the statutory copyright license in HD by February 17, 2013.

(l) Compensation for carriage.

(1) 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 mandatory carriage 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 receive facility of the satellite carrier.

(2) A satellite carrier may accept payments from a station pursuant to a retransmission consent agreement.

(m) Remedies.

(1) Whenever a local television broadcast station believes that a satellite carrier has failed to meet its obligations under 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.

(2) 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.

(3) 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, in accordance with § 76.7 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations. Such complaint shall allege the manner in which such satellite carrier has failed to meet its obligations and the basis for such allegations.

(4) The satellite carrier against which a complaint is filed is permitted to present data and arguments to establish that there has been no failure to meet its obligations under this section.

(5) The Commission shall determine whether the satellite carrier has met its obligations under 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 this section, it shall dismiss the complaint.

(6) The Commission will not accept any complaint filed later than 60 days after a satellite carrier, either implicitly or explicitly, denies a television station's carriage request.

(n) Channel sharing carriage rights. A broadcast television station that voluntarily relinquishes spectrum usage rights under § 73.3700 of this chapter in order to share a television channel and that possessed carriage rights under section 338, 614, or 615 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 338; 534; 535) on November 30, 2010, shall have, at its shared location, the carriage rights under such section that would apply to such station at such location if it were not sharing a channel.

(o) Next Gen TV carriage rights.

(1) A broadcast television station that chooses to deploy Next Gen TV service, see § 73.682(f) of this chapter, may assert mandatory carriage rights under this section only with respect to its ATSC 1.0 signal and may not assert mandatory carriage rights with respect to its ATSC 3.0 signal.

(2) With respect to a Next Gen TV station that moves its 1.0 simulcast signal to a host station's (i.e., a station whose facilities are being used to transmit programming originated by another station) facilities, the station may assert mandatory carriage rights under this section only if it:

(i) Qualified for, and has been exercising, mandatory carriage rights at its original location; and

(ii) Continues to qualify for mandatory carriage at the host station's facilities, including (but not limited to) delivering a good quality 1.0 signal to the satellite carrier local receive facility, or agreeing to be responsible for the costs of delivering such 1.0 signal to the satellite carrier.

[66 FR 7430, Jan. 23, 2001, as amended at 66 FR 49135, Sept. 26, 2001; 70 FR 21670, Apr. 27, 2005; 70 FR 51668, Aug. 31, 2005; 70 FR 53079, Sept. 7, 2005; 73 FR 24508, May 5, 2008; 77 FR 30426, May 23, 2012; 80 FR 59664, Oct. 2, 2015; 83 FR 5028, Feb. 2, 2018; 84 FR 45669, Aug. 30, 2019; 85 FR 16005, Mar. 20, 2020; 87 FR 74988, Dec. 7, 2022; 88 FR 62472, Sept. 12, 2023]