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The FCC's Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act Page | |
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| The FCC's Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act Page Welcome to the FCC's web page on the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act. We hope to answer questions about an issue involving the television broadcast industry, the direct-to-home satellite industry, and consumers who subscribe to satellite carriers for their video programming. As of the fall of 1999, more than ten million households subscribed to satellite carriers, and many people were paying an additional subscription fee to receive broadcast TV network programming through their satellite dish. At the end of November 1999, Congress passed and the President signed legislation that enables satellite carriers to provide more television broadcast programming to subscribers. This new legislation is called the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act ("SHVIA"). The SHVIA amends both the 1988 copyright laws and the Communications Act of 1934. One of the key elements of the SHVIA is that it, for the first time, permits satellite carriers to transmit local television broadcast signals into local markets, also known as "local-into-local." This Act also authorizes satellite carriers to provide distant or national broadcast programming to subscribers. The SHVIA outlined a dozen tasks for the FCC, many with strict statutory deadlines that must be completed within one year of enactment. Among other things, the law requires the FCC to establish rules for satellite companies with regard to mandatory carriage of broadcast signals, retransmission consent and program exclusivity. The FCC must also make recommendations on the Grade B signal standard and improve the computer model that predicts signal intensity at a household for the purpose of determining eligibility for receiving distant television broadcast signals via satellite. The FCC intends to implement the 1999 SHVIA aggressively to ensure that the pro-competitive goals of this important legislation are realized. New Satellite Television Legislation One of the key elements of the SHVIA is that it permits satellite carriers to offer their subscribers local TV broadcast signals through the option of providing "local-into-local." This act also authorizes satellite carriers to provide distant or national broadcast programming to subscribers. This law generally seeks to place satellite carriers on an equal footing with local cable television operators when it comes to the availability of broadcast programming, and thus gives consumers more and better choices in selecting a multichannel video program distributor (MVPD), such as cable or satellite service. Local stations provided to local markets "Local-into-local" means that if a satellite customer lives in an area where the satellite company has decided to provide the service, the customer can receive local TV channels. If the company decides that it will not provide local broadcast stations in an area, the consumer may still receive local broadcast stations by using an antenna or basic cable service. SHVIA defines the "local market" as the designated market area ("DMA") established by Nielsen Media Research. Distant stations provided to some subscribers In addition, subscribers who were receiving distant signals as of October 31, 1999, or had distant signals terminated after July 11, 1998, may still be eligible to receive distant signals provided they cannot receive over-the-air signals of Grade A intensity. Both Grade A and Grade B signal intensity are defined by FCC rules. If a consumer is eligible to receive distant signals under these provisions, it is still up to the satellite carrier to decide whether to provide the distant signals to eligible subscribers. FCC Actions and Documents 12/00 9/5/01 8/15/01 11/29/00 11/29/00 10/27/00 6/8/00 5/26/00 3/16/00 1/27/00 1/20/00 1/07/00 12/22/99 10/7/99 2/1/99 Related Laws/Other Government Resources
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