47 U.S.C. § 335 — Direct broadcast satellite service obligations

(a) Proceeding required to review DBS responsibilities. Within 180 days after October 5, 1992, the Commission had to start a rulemaking to require direct broadcast satellite (DBS) providers to meet public-interest rules for their video programming. Any rules that come out of this must, at minimum, apply the same "equal access to broadcast time for candidates" rule from section 312(a)(7) and the same "use of facilities" rule from section 315 that already apply to broadcasters. The rulemaking must also study how starting DBS service affects "localism" — serving local communities — and how new technology or regulation could help serve that goal.

(b) Carriage obligations for noncommercial, educational, State^* public affairs, and informational programming.

(1) Channel capacity required. As a condition of giving a DBS provider its license^* or license renewal, the Commission must generally require the provider to set aside between 4 percent and 7 percent of its channels only for noncommercial educational or informational programming. A "qualified satellite provider" (defined below) instead must set aside between 3.5 percent and 7 percent.

(2) Use of unused channel capacity. Until this reserved channel space is actually being used for noncommercial educational programming, the provider may use it for anything.

(3) Prices, terms, and conditions; editorial control. The provider must offer this reserved channel space to national educational programming suppliers at reasonable prices, terms, and conditions, as the Commission decides under paragraph (4). The provider cannot exercise editorial control over the programming shown on that space.

(4) Limitations. In setting a "reasonable" price, the Commission must: (A) consider that the programming supplier is nonprofit, and consider any federal money supporting the programming; (B) never let the price exceed 50 percent of the total direct cost of making that channel available; and (C) when calculating those direct costs, leave out the provider's marketing, general administrative, and overhead costs, and leave out any revenue the provider could have earned by selling that channel space to a commercial customer instead.

(5) Definitions. A "provider of direct broadcast satellite service" means either a licensee of a Ku-band satellite system under the relevant federal regulations, or a distributor controlling enough channels (as the Commission specifies) on a Ku-band fixed satellite system to deliver video programming straight to homes. A "national educational programming supplier" includes qualified noncommercial educational TV stations, other public telecommunications^* entities, and public or private schools. A "qualified satellite provider" is a DBS provider that retransmits at least 15 different states' public affairs networks, offers that programming at reasonable prices and terms as the Commission decides, and doesn't cut any noncommercial educational programming when carrying a state public affairs network. A "State public affairs network" is a noncommercial network or noncommercial educational TV station that airs information about state government and public policy, and that is run by a state government (or its subdivision), by a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization with an independent board, or by a cable system.