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Battle over Cable Boxes [November 19, 2014]
"Disagreement over requirements for the set-top boxes in viewers' homes is delaying congressional action on a bill to extend a 2010 law governing satellite television. Unless the issue is resolved before year-end, approximately 1.5 million satellite subscribers may lose access to broadcast television. The dispute is about rules established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), pursuant to Section 629 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. §549). In June 1998 theFCC took steps to encourage competition in the market for devices to access video services from Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPDs), such as cable operators, yet allow MVPDs to prevent theft of their video services. Most of the devices in this market are set-top boxes that consumers lease from their MVPDs. In addition, other types of devices, such as digital video recorders from TiVo and cable-ready television sets, can be purchased from retailers. As part of this balancing act, the FCC requires MPVDs to separate the decryption technology that allows subscribers to watch the signals for which they have paid (and prevents theft of the MVPDs' video services) from the navigation (tuning) function of the set-top box. The MVPDs must provide the separate decryption component to both subscribers who purchase third-party devices at retail outlets and subscribers leasing set-top boxes. The separation requirement for their own boxes is also known as the 'integration ban.' The integration ban has been in effect since July 1, 2007."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Scherer, Dana A.
2014-11-19
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What's on Television? The Intersection of Communications and Copyright Policies [April 20, 2016]
"In the 1940s and 1950s, watching television meant tuning into one of a few broadcast television stations, with the help of an antenna, to watch a program at a prescheduled time. Over subsequent decades, cable and satellite operators emerged to enable households unable to receive over-the-air signals to watch the retransmitted signals of broadcast television stations. More recently, some viewers have taken to watching TV programming on their computers, tablets, mobile phones, and other Internet-connected devices at times of their own choosing, dispensing with television stations and cable and satellite operators altogether.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Congress, and the courts have overseen this evolution by applying a combination of communications and copyright laws to regulate the distribution of television programming."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Scherer, Dana A.
2016-04-20
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FCC's Rules and Policies Regarding Media Ownership, Attribution, and Ownership Diversity [March 12, 2015]
"The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broadcast media ownership rules restrict the number of media outlets that a single entity may own or control. Its attribution rules define which relationships the FCC counts as ownership. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 requires the FCC to review these rules every four years and repeal or modify those it no longer deems to be in the public interest. The 1996 act also directs the FCC to promote policies favoring the diversity of media voices and vigorous economic competition. In 2004 and again in 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, directed the FCC to review its broadcast ownership diversity policies in conjunction with the media ownership rules. In response to these directives, the FCC issued a notice in March 2014 that included new final rules governing joint sales agreements (JSAs) among television stations and proposed new rules related to the disclosure of shared service agreements between television stations. The FCC's notice also included proposals and general guidelines for the Quadrennial Review of its ownership rules, as well as proposals to foster broadcast ownership diversity. […] Separately, the FCC's Media Bureau issued a public notice stating that it will closely scrutinize any proposed transaction that includes 'sidecar' agreements in which two (or more) broadcast stations in the same market enter into an arrangement to share facilities, employees, and/or services, or to jointly acquire programming or sell advertising and enter into an option, right of first refusal, put/call arrangement, or other similar contingent interest, or a loan guarantee."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Scherer, Dana A.
2015-03-12
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Money for Something: Music Licensing in the 21st Century [May 7, 2015]
From the summary: "The laws that determine who pays whom in the digital world were written, by and large, at a time when music was distributed mainly via radio broadcasts or physical media, such as sheet music and phonograph records, and when each of these forms of distribution represented a distinct channel with unique characteristics. With the emergence of the Internet, Congress updated some copyright laws in the 1990s. It applied one set of laws to digital services it viewed as akin to radio broadcasts, and another set to digital services it viewed as akin to physical media. Since that time, however, consumers have increasingly been consuming music via digital services that incorporate attributes of both radio and physical media. Under existing law, the companies that compete in delivering music to listeners face very different cost structures, depending on the royalty provisions applicable to their unique business models. The royalties received by songwriters, performers, music publishers, and record companies for one play or sale of a particular song may vary greatly, depending upon the particular business model of the company delivering the music."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Scherer, Dana A.
2015-05-07
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FCC's Rules and Policies Regarding Media Ownership, Attribution, and Ownership Diversity [December 16, 2016]
"From the earliest days of commercial radio, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and its predecessor, the Federal Radio Commission, have encouraged diversity in broadcasting. This concern has repeatedly been supported by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has affirmed that 'the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources is essential to the welfare of the public,' and that 'assuring that the public has access to a multiplicity of information sources is a governmental purpose of the highest order, for it promotes values central to the First Amendment.' The FCC's policies seek to encourage four distinct types of diversity: (1) diversity of viewpoints, as reflected in the availability of media content reflecting a variety of perspectives; (2) diversity of programming, as indicated by a variety of formats and content; (3) outlet diversity, to ensure the presence of multiple independently owned media outlets within a geographic market; and (4) minority and female ownership of broadcast media outlets."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Scherer, Dana A.
2016-12-16
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Identifying TV Political and Issue Ad Sponsors in the Digital Age [September 9, 2020]
From the Summary: "Since the 1930s, both Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have imposed specific requirements on the transmission of political and issue advertising by broadcasters. These rules, which now apply to broadcast radio and television stations, cable and satellite television distributors, and satellite radio services, mandate that the sponsors of political and issue ads be clearly identified within each announcement and that media organizations maintain files of political advertisers' requests for advertising time and make those files available for public inspection."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Scherer, Dana A.
2020-09-09
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Foreign Government-Sponsored Broadcast Programming [February 11, 2021]
From the Overview: "Congress has enacted several laws to enable U.S. citizens and the federal government to monitor attempts by foreign governments to influence public opinion on political matters. Nevertheless, radio and television viewers may have difficulty distinguishing programs financed and distributed by foreign governments or their agents. In October 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed new requirements for broadcast radio and television stations to identify foreign government-provided programming."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Scherer, Dana A.
2021-02-11
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Reauthorization of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA) [September 30, 2014]
"One hundred fifteen million U.S. households watch television. Approximately 88% of those households subscribe to a service that carries the retransmitted signals of broadcast stations over fiber optic cables, telephone lines, or through a satellite dish on the premises. Such services, known as multichannel video programming distributors ('MVPDs') retransmit broadcast television signals pursuant to a regulatory framework constructed by Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The remaining households generally use an individual antenna that receives broadcast signals directly over the air from a television station. Important parts of the regulatory framework, contained in the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act (STELA, P.L. 111-175), are scheduled to expire on December 31, 2014. Without congressional action, 1.5 million satellite television households, mainly in rural areas, are likely to lose access to distant network broadcast signals after that date. In addition, the FCC's prohibition on joint retransmission consent negotiations between two separately owned top-four stations within the same market would become moot, and the overall risk of consumers losing access to broadcast television stations during a negotiations impasse would increase. On July 22, 2014, the House passed H.R. 4572, the STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014. H.R. 4572 would provide a five-year extension of expiring provisions. It also would broaden the FCC's current limitations on separately owned broadcasters' ability to jointly enter retransmission consent negotiations and repeal the FCC's ban on integrating the security and navigation functions of cable set-top boxes. In addition, it would delay the FCC's enforcement of recently enacted rules restricting joint sales agreements among broadcasters and eliminate FCC rules barring satellite and cable operators from deleting broadcasters' programming or changing their channel assignments during certain periods."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Scherer, Dana A.; Gilroy, Angele A.; Kruger, Lennard G.
2014-09-30
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