,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #agdh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,june #e1      
#bjai,mr4 ,blumenthal introduced the    
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on the      
,judiciary  ,a ,,bill  ,to decrease the 
frequency of sports blackouts1 and for  
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,furthering    
,access and ,networks for ,sports ,act4 
#b4 ,definition ,in this ,act1 the term 
,sports ,broadcasting ,act of #aifa     
means the ,act of ,september #cj1 #aifa 
7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #abia et seq474  #c4     
,amendments to the ,sports ,broadcasting
 ,act of #aifa  7a7 ,elimination of     
antitrust exemption for sports blackouts
 during retransmission consent          
negotiations ,section #a of the ,sports 
,broadcasting ,act of #aifa 7#ae        
,u4,s4,c4 #abia7 is amended by adding at
 the end the following3 ,the antitrust  
exemption established under this section
 shall not apply1 and the antitrust laws

 shall apply1 to any league of clubs    
participating in professional football1 
baseball1 basketball1 or hockey contests
 to the extent that the league does not 
expressly prohibit sponsored telecast   
licensees of such league1 and any       
agreement with any video licensee1 from 
intentionally removing the live content 
of such league from a multichannel video
 programming distributor 7as defined in 
section #fjb of the ,communications ,act
 of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #ebb771 when   
such removal occurs during or is related
 to a negotiation regarding carriage of 
the games of such league by the         
multichannel video programming          
distributor44  7b7 ,elimination of      
antitrust exemption for local sports    
blackouts ,section #b of the ,sports    
,broadcasting ,act of #aifa 7#ae        
,u4,s4,c4 #abib7 is amended by striking 
1 except within the home territory of a 
member club of the league on a day when 
such club is playing a game at home4    
7c7 ,availability of games over the     

internet where not otherwise available  
on television ,the ,sports ,broadcasting
 ,act of #aifa is amended-- 7#a7 by     
redesignating sections #d through #f as 
sections #e through #g1 respectively2   
and  7#b7 by inserting after section #c 
the following3  #d4  7a7 ,the antitrust 
exemption established under section #a  
of this ,act shall not apply1 and the   
antitrust laws shall apply1 to any      
league of clubs participating in        
professional football1 baseball1        
basketball1 or hockey contests to the   
extent that the league does not make a  
sponsored telecast of a covered game    
available to consumers1 for a fee or    
otherwise1 using an internet platform1  
in any territory in which the game is   
not available for private viewing       
through a local television broadcast    
station or any available multichannel   
video programming distributor4  7b7 ,for
 purposes of this section-- 7#a7 the    
term covered game means a game that--   
7,a7 is played in the home territory of 

a member club of a league described in  
subsection 7a72 and  7,b7 is not        
available for private viewing through a 
local television broadcast station or   
any available multichannel video        
programming distributor2  7#b7 the term 
internet platform means a delivery      
mechanism that uses packet-switched     
protocol or any successor technology2   
7#c7 the term multichannel video        
programming distributor has the meaning 
given the term in section #fjb of the   
,communications ,act of #aicd 7#dg      
,u4,s4,c4 #ebb72 and  7#d7 the term     
television broadcast station has the    
meaning given the term in section       
#cbe7;b77#g7 of the ,communications ,act
 of #aicd 7#dg ,u4,s4,c4 #cbe7;b77#g774 
4  #d4 ,effective date2 applicability   
,the amendments made by this ,act       
shall--  7#a7 take effect on the date of
 enactment of this ,act2 and  7#b7 apply
 to any contract or agreement entered   
into or modified by a league subject to 
the requirements of the ,sports         

,broadcasting ,act of #aifa on or after 
the date of enactment of this ,act4