H.R. 3994 · 116th Congress
Modern Television Act of 2019
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 116th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
R
ScaliseSponsor1 cosponsor · 1 D
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill establishes measures to prevent blackouts of television broadcast stations, including requiring good-faith negotiations in broadcast agreements and providing for outside arbitration of certain negotiation disputes.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Jul 25, 2019
Modern Television Act of 2019
This bill establishes measures to prevent blackouts of television broadcast stations, including requiring good-faith negotiations in broadcast agreements and providing for outside arbitration of certain negotiation disputes.
Specifically, the bill requires a station and a cable or satellite service to negotiate in good faith when attempting to reach a marketplace agreement, and it requires the cable or satellite service to retransmit the signal of a station for up to 60 days while the parties renegotiate an expired agreement. The Federal Communications Commission may require a station and a cable or satellite service to submit to binding arbitration to resolve any dispute that may arise (the parties must be retroactively paid for content aired during this time). Further, a station is prohibited from requiring payment from a cable or satellite service for customers of the cable or satellite service who do not receive the signals of the station from that service.
Additionally, the bill repeals specified provisions, including those related to retransmission consent and compulsory copyright licenses. The bill also disallows federal, state, and local authorities from regulating the rates of a cable or satellite service.
The Government Accountability Office must assess the impact of the bill.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Modern Television Act of 2019
Latest action (Aug 28, 2019): Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet.
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications · Origin: House · Introduced: Jul 25, 2019
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.