Stop Sports Blackouts Act

Summary#

This bill would add a new section to the Communications Act. It directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make rules within 90 days about rebates for certain video programming blackouts. The rules must require a cable or satellite provider to give a rebate to a subscriber for any period when the provider denies that subscriber access to video programming because of a covered negotiation, if the provider had agreed at the time the subscriber started or renewed service to provide that programming during that period. The FCC must also set how much the rebate should be.

What it means for you#

• "Covered negotiations" are negotiations about retransmission consent for a broadcast TV station or about carriage of video programming from a non-broadcast entity.
• "Provider" means a cable operator or a provider of direct broadcast satellite service.
• If your cable or satellite provider stops giving you programming during one of these negotiations, and the provider had agreed to give that programming when you subscribed or renewed, the provider must give you a rebate for the time you were denied access.
• The FCC will write the detailed rules and decide the appropriate rebate amount.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on costs, enforcement, or fiscal effects is included in the bill text.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.