Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 106 Part 2.djvu/591

 PUBLIC LAW 102-385—OCT. 5, 1992 106 STAT. 1471 the receipt of such video programming, other than (A) video programming carried on the basic service tier, and (B) video programming offered on a per channel or per program basis.", (b) EFFECTIVE DATE. — The amendment made by subsection (a) 47 USC 543 note, shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, except that the authority of the Federal Communications Commission to prescribe regulations is effective on such date of enactment. SEC. 4. CARRIAGE OF LOCAL COMMERCLU. TELEVISION SIGNALS. Part II of title VI of the Commimications Act of 1934 is amended by inserting after section 613 (47 U.S.C. 533) the following new section: «SEC. 614. CARRIAGE OF LOCAL COMMERCIAL TELEVISION SIGNALS. 47 USC 534. "(a) CARRIAGE OBLIGATIONS. —Each cable operator shall carry, on the cable system of that operator, the signals of local commercial television stations and qualified low power stations as provided by this section. Carriage of additional broadcast television signals on such system shall be at the discretion of such operator, subject to section 325(b). "(b) SIGNALS REQUIRED. — "(1) IN GENERAL. — (A) A cable operator of a cable system with 12 or fewer usable activated channels shall carry the signals of at least three local commercial television stations, except that if such a system has 300 or fewer subscribers, it shall not be subject to any requirements under this section so long as such system does not delete from carriage by that system any signal of a broadcast television station. "(B) A cable operator of a cable system with more than 12 usable activated channels shall carry the signals of local commercial television stations, up to one-third of the aggregate number of usable activated channels of such system. "(2) SELECTION OF SIGNALS. —Whenever the number of local commercial television stations exceeds the maximum number of signeds a cable system is required to carry under paragraph (1), the cable operator shall have discretion in selecting which such stations shall be carried on its cable system, except that— "(A) under no circumstances shall a cable operator carry a qusilified low power station in lieu of a local commercial television station; and "(B) if the cable operator elects to carry an affiliate of a broadcast network (as such term is defined by the Commission by regulation), such cable operator shall carry the affiliate of such broadcast network wnose city of license reference point, as defined in section 76.53 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations (in effect on January 1, 1991), or any successor regulation thereto, is closest to the principal headend of the cable system. "(3) CONTENT TO BE CARRIED.— (A) A cable operator shall carry in its entirety, on the cable system of that operator, the primary video, accompanying audio, and line 21 closed caption transmission of each of the local commercial television stations carried on the cable system and, to the extent technically feasible, program-related material carried in the vertical blanking interval or on subcarriers. Retransmission of other material in the vertical blanking internal or other nonprogramrelated material (including teletext and other subscription and

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