S 328 Re-checks Congress.gov for new actions and updates the bill's status, and fills in any sponsors, committees, or related bills that are missing. It does not re-pull sponsors/cosponsors/committees/related — those rarely change — and it skips all work if nothing has changed upstream, so it's cheap to click.
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate regulations with respect to rebates for certain video programming blackouts, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to establish regulations within 90 days mandating that cable and satellite television providers issue rebates to subscribers when programming is blacked out as a result of retransmission disputes. The rebates apply when a provider denies subscribers access to video programming they were promised at the time of subscription or renewal, specifically in disputes over retransmission consent rights with broadcast television stations or carriage agreements with other video programming entities. The FCC must determine the appropriate rebate amount in its regulations. The bill aims to compensate consumers who lose access to channels during negotiations between pay-TV providers and broadcasters or networks.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
Actions (2)
- Jan 30, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. · senate
- Jan 30, 2025 Introduced in Senate
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 30, 2025
Mr. Murphy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
A BILL
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to direct the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate regulations with respect to rebates for certain video programming blackouts, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Stop Sports Blackouts Act”.
SEC. 2. REBATES FOR VIDEO PROGRAMMING BLACKOUTS.
Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“SEC. 723. REBATES FOR VIDEO PROGRAMMING BLACKOUTS.
“(a) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) Covered negotiation.—The term ‘covered negotiation’ means a negotiation with respect to—
“(A) retransmission consent of a television broadcast station under section 325(b); or
“(B) carriage of video programming of an entity that is not a television broadcast station.
“(2) Provider.—The term ‘provider’ means either of the following:
“(A) A cable operator, as defined in section 602.
“(B) A provider of direct broadcast satellite service, as defined in section 335(b)(5).
“(3) Television broadcast station.—The term ‘television broadcast station’ has the meaning given the term in section 325(b)(7).
“(4) Video programming.—The term ‘video programming’ has the meaning given the term in section 602.
“(b) Promulgation of Regulations.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Commission shall promulgate regulations—
“(1) to require a provider to issue to a subscriber of that provider a rebate with respect to any period during which the provider denies that subscriber, as a result of a covered negotiation, access to video programming that such provider agreed, at the time of subscription entry or renewal (as applicable), to provide to that subscriber during that period; and
“(2) to establish the appropriate amount of a rebate issued under paragraph (1).”. <all>
Comments