Official Summaries

Stop Sports Blackouts Act of 2025

This bill requires cable and satellite broadcast providers to issue rebates to customers who are denied access to video programming included in their subscription because of programming negotiations. 

Specifically, where a provider’s negotiations related to the retransmission or carriage of video programming result in the provider failing to offer access to programming included in a customer’s subscription, the customer must be issued a rebate for the affected period. The Federal Communications Commission is directed to issue rules to this effect, including to establish the appropriate amount for such a rebate.  

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 888 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 888

     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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 31, 2025

    Mr. Ryan (for himself, Mrs. McIver, Mr. Carson, and Ms. Norton) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                          Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 of 2025''.

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) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Commission shall promulgate 
regulations--
            ``(1) to require a provider to issue to a subscriber of 
        such provider a rebate with respect to any period during which 
        the provider denies such 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 the 
        case may be), to provide to such subscriber during such period; 
        and
            ``(2) to establish the appropriate amount of a rebate 
        issued under paragraph (1).
    ``(b) 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 such term in section 
        325(b)(7).
            ``(4) Video programming.--The term `video programming' has 
        the meaning given such term in section 602.''.
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