
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 47USC521]

 
          TITLE 47--TELEGRAPHS, TELEPHONES, AND RADIOTELEGRAPHS
 
                 CHAPTER 5--WIRE OR RADIO COMMUNICATION
 
                  SUBCHAPTER V-A--CABLE COMMUNICATIONS
 
                       Part I--General Provisions
 
Sec. 521. Purposes

    The purposes of this subchapter are to--
        (1) establish a national policy concerning cable communications;
        (2) establish franchise procedures and standards which encourage 
    the growth and development of cable systems and which assure that 
    cable systems are responsive to the needs and interests of the local 
    community;
        (3) establish guidelines for the exercise of Federal, State, and 
    local authority with respect to the regulation of cable systems;
        (4) assure that cable communications provide and are encouraged 
    to provide the widest possible diversity of information sources and 
    services to the public;
        (5) establish an orderly process for franchise renewal which 
    protects cable operators against unfair denials of renewal where the 
    operator's past performance and proposal for future performance meet 
    the standards established by this subchapter; and
        (6) promote competition in cable communications and minimize 
    unnecessary regulation that would impose an undue economic burden on 
    cable systems.

(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title VI, Sec. 601, as added Pub. L. 98-549, 
Sec. 2, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2780.)


                             Effective Date

    Section 9(a) of Pub. L. 98-549 provided that: ``Except where 
otherwise expressly provided, the provisions of this Act [enacting this 
subchapter and section 611 of this title, amending sections 152, 224, 
309, and 605 of this title, section 2511 of Title 18, Crimes and 
Criminal Procedure, and section 1805 of Title 50, War and National 
Defense, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and 
sections 543, 605, and 609 of this title] and the amendments made 
thereby shall take effect 60 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act [Oct. 30, 1984].''


                               Short Title

    For short title of Pub. L. 98-549 [enacting this subchapter] as the 
``Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984'', see section 1(a) of Pub. L. 
98-549, set out as a Short Title of 1984 Amendment note under section 
609 of this title.


          Congressional Findings and Policy for Pub. L. 102-385

    Pub. L. 102-385, Sec. 2(a), (b), Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1460, 1463, 
provided that:
    ``(a) Findings.--The Congress finds and declares the following:
        ``(1) Pursuant to the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 
    [Pub. L. 98-549, enacting this subchapter and section 611 of this 
    title, amending sections 152, 224, 309, and 605 of this title, 
    section 2511 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, and section 
    1805 of Title 50, War and National Defense, and enacting provisions 
    set out as notes under this section and sections 543, 605, and 609 
    of this title], rates for cable television services have been 
    deregulated in approximately 97 percent of all franchises since 
    December 29, 1986. Since rate deregulation, monthly rates for the 
    lowest priced basic cable service have increased by 40 percent or 
    more for 28 percent of cable television subscribers. Although the 
    average number of basic channels has increased from about 24 to 30, 
    average monthly rates have increased by 29 percent during the same 
    period. The average monthly cable rate has increased almost 3 times 
    as much as the Consumer Price Index since rate deregulation.
        ``(2) For a variety of reasons, including local franchising 
    requirements and the extraordinary expense of constructing more than 
    one cable television system to serve a particular geographic area, 
    most cable television subscribers have no opportunity to select 
    between competing cable systems. Without the presence of another 
    multichannel video programming distributor, a cable system faces no 
    local competition. The result is undue market power for the cable 
    operator as compared to that of consumers and video programmers.
        ``(3) There has been a substantial increase in the penetration 
    of cable television systems over the past decade. Nearly 56,000,000 
    households, over 60 percent of the households with televisions, 
    subscribe to cable television, and this percentage is almost certain 
    to increase. As a result of this growth, the cable television 
    industry has become a dominant nationwide video medium.
        ``(4) The cable industry has become highly concentrated. The 
    potential effects of such concentration are barriers to entry for 
    new programmers and a reduction in the number of media voices 
    available to consumers.
        ``(5) The cable industry has become vertically integrated; cable 
    operators and cable programmers often have common ownership. As a 
    result, cable operators have the incentive and ability to favor 
    their affiliated programmers. This could make it more difficult for 
    noncable-affiliated programmers to secure carriage on cable systems. 
    Vertically integrated program suppliers also have the incentive and 
    ability to favor their affiliated cable operators over nonaffiliated 
    cable operators and programming distributors using other 
    technologies.
        ``(6) There is a substantial governmental and First Amendment 
    interest in promoting a diversity of views provided through multiple 
    technology media.
        ``(7) There is a substantial governmental and First Amendment 
    interest in ensuring that cable subscribers have access to local 
    noncommercial educational stations which Congress has authorized, as 
    expressed in section 396(a)(5) of the Communications Act of 1934 [47 
    U.S.C. 396(a)(5)]. The distribution of unique noncommercial, 
    educational programming services advances that interest.
        ``(8) The Federal Government has a substantial interest in 
    making all nonduplicative local public television services available 
    on cable systems because--
            ``(A) public television provides educational and 
        informational programming to the Nation's citizens, thereby 
        advancing the Government's compelling interest in educating its 
        citizens;
            ``(B) public television is a local community institution, 
        supported through local tax dollars and voluntary citizen 
        contributions in excess of $10,800,000,000 since 1972, that 
        provides public service programming that is responsive to the 
        needs and interests of the local community;
            ``(C) the Federal Government, in recognition of public 
        television's integral role in serving the educational and 
        informational needs of local communities, has invested more than 
        $3,000,000,000 in public broadcasting since 1969; and
            ``(D) absent carriage requirements there is a substantial 
        likelihood that citizens, who have supported local public 
        television services, will be deprived of those services.
        ``(9) The Federal Government has a substantial interest in 
    having cable systems carry the signals of local commercial 
    television stations because the carriage of such signals is 
    necessary to serve the goals contained in section 307(b) of the 
    Communications Act of 1934 [47 U.S.C. 307(b)] of providing a fair, 
    efficient, and equitable distribution of broadcast services.
        ``(10) A primary objective and benefit of our Nation's system of 
    regulation of television broadcasting is the local origination of 
    programming. There is a substantial governmental interest in 
    ensuring its continuation.
        ``(11) Broadcast television stations continue to be an important 
    source of local news and public affairs programming and other local 
    broadcast services critical to an informed electorate.
        ``(12) Broadcast television programming is supported by revenues 
    generated from advertising broadcast over stations. Such programming 
    is otherwise free to those who own television sets and do not 
    require cable transmission to receive broadcast signals. There is a 
    substantial governmental interest in promoting the continued 
    availability of such free television programming, especially for 
    viewers who are unable to afford other means of receiving 
    programming.
        ``(13) As a result of the growth of cable television, there has 
    been a marked shift in market share from broadcast television to 
    cable television services.
        ``(14) Cable television systems and broadcast television 
    stations increasingly compete for television advertising revenues. 
    As the proportion of households subscribing to cable television 
    increases, proportionately more advertising revenues will be 
    reallocated from broadcast to cable television systems.
        ``(15) A cable television system which carries the signal of a 
    local television broadcaster is assisting the broadcaster to 
    increase its viewership, and thereby attract additional advertising 
    revenues that otherwise might be earned by the cable system 
    operator. As a result, there is an economic incentive for cable 
    systems to terminate the retransmission of the broadcast signal, 
    refuse to carry new signals, or reposition a broadcast signal to a 
    disadvantageous channel position. There is a substantial likelihood 
    that absent the reimposition of such a requirement, additional local 
    broadcast signals will be deleted, repositioned, or not carried.
        ``(16) As a result of the economic incentive that cable systems 
    have to delete, reposition, or not carry local broadcast signals, 
    coupled with the absence of a requirement that such systems carry 
    local broadcast signals, the economic viability of free local 
    broadcast television and its ability to originate quality local 
    programming will be seriously jeopardized.
        ``(17) Consumers who subscribe to cable television often do so 
    to obtain local broadcast signals which they otherwise would not be 
    able to receive, or to obtain improved signals. Most subscribers to 
    cable television systems do not or cannot maintain antennas to 
    receive broadcast television services, do not have input selector 
    switches to convert from a cable to antenna reception system, or 
    cannot otherwise receive broadcast television services. The 
    regulatory system created by the Cable Communications Policy Act of 
    1984 was premised upon the continued existence of mandatory carriage 
    obligations for cable systems, ensuring that local stations would be 
    protected from anticompetitive conduct by cable systems.
        ``(18) Cable television systems often are the single most 
    efficient distribution system for television programming. A 
    Government mandate for a substantial societal investment in 
    alternative distribution systems for cable subscribers, such as the 
    `A/B' input selector antenna system, is not an enduring or feasible 
    method of distribution and is not in the public interest.
        ``(19) At the same time, broadcast programming that is carried 
    remains the most popular programming on cable systems, and a 
    substantial portion of the benefits for which consumers pay cable 
    systems is derived from carriage of the signals of network 
    affiliates, independent television stations, and public television 
    stations. Also cable programming placed on channels adjacent to 
    popular off-the-air signals obtains a larger audience than on other 
    channel positions. Cable systems, therefore, obtain great benefits 
    from local broadcast signals which, until now, they have been able 
    to obtain without the consent of the broadcaster or any copyright 
    liability. This has resulted in an effective subsidy of the 
    development of cable systems by local broadcasters. While at one 
    time, when cable systems did not attempt to compete with local 
    broadcasters for programming, audience, and advertising, this 
    subsidy may have been appropriate, it is so no longer and results in 
    a competitive imbalance between the 2 industries.
        ``(20) The Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, in its 
    amendments to the Communications Act of 1934 [47 U.S.C. 151 et 
    seq.], limited the regulatory authority of franchising authorities 
    over cable operators. Franchising authorities are finding it 
    difficult under the current regulatory scheme to deny renewals to 
    cable systems that are not adequately serving cable subscribers.
        ``(21) Cable systems should be encouraged to carry low-power 
    television stations licensed to the communities served by those 
    systems where the low-power station creates and broadcasts, as a 
    substantial part of its programming day, local programming.
    ``(b) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the Congress in this 
Act [enacting sections 334, 335, 534 to 537, 544a, 548, and 555a of this 
title, amending sections 325, 332, 522, 532, 533, 541 to 544, 546, 551 
to 555, and 558 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes 
under this section and sections 325, 531, 543, and 554 of this title] 
to--
        ``(1) promote the availability to the public of a diversity of 
    views and information through cable television and other video 
    distribution media;
        ``(2) rely on the marketplace, to the maximum extent feasible, 
    to achieve that availability;
        ``(3) ensure that cable operators continue to expand, where 
    economically justified, their capacity and the programs offered over 
    their cable systems;
        ``(4) where cable television systems are not subject to 
    effective competition, ensure that consumer interests are protected 
    in receipt of cable service; and
        ``(5) ensure that cable television operators do not have undue 
    market power vis-a-vis video programmers and consumers.''


              Sports Programming Migration Study and Report

    Pub. L. 102-385, Sec. 26, Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1502, directed 
Federal Communications Commission to investigate and analyze, on a 
sport-by-sport basis, trends in migration of local, regional, and 
national sports programming from carriage by broadcast stations to 
carriage over cable programming networks and pay-per-view systems, 
including economic causes and consequences of such trends, and further 
directed Commission to submit to Congress interim and final reports of 
such study, no later than July 1, 1993, and July 1, 1994, respectively, 
along with recommendations for legislative or regulatory activity.


           Applicability of Antitrust Laws to Pub. L. 102-385

    Pub. L. 102-385, Sec. 27, Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1503, provided 
that: ``Nothing in this Act [enacting sections 334, 335, 534 to 537, 
544a, 548, and 555a of this title, amending sections 325, 332, 522, 532, 
533, 541 to 544, 546, 551 to 555, and 558 of this title, and enacting 
provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 325, 531, 
543, and 554 of this title] or the amendments made by this Act shall be 
construed to alter or restrict in any manner the applicability of any 
Federal or State antitrust law.''


  Effect of Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 on Jurisdiction of 
       Federal Communications Commission Respecting Wire or Radio 
                  Communications Through Cable Systems

    Section 3(b) of Pub. L. 98-549 provided that: ``The provisions of 
this Act [enacting this subchapter and section 611 of this title, 
amending sections 152, 224, 309, and 605 of this title, section 2511 of 
Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, and section 1805 of Title 50, 
War and National Defense, and enacting provisions set out as notes under 
this section and sections 543, 605, and 609 of this title] and 
amendments made by this Act shall not be construed to affect any 
jurisdiction the Federal Communications Commission may have under the 
Communications Act of 1934 [this chapter] with respect to any 
communication by wire or radio (other than cable service, as defined in 
section 602(5) of such Act [section 522(5) of this title]) which is 
provided through a cable system, or persons or facilities engaged in 
such communications.''
