---
kind: "section"
citation: "47 U.S.C. § 341"
title: "47"
title_heading: "Telecommunications"
number: "341"
heading: "Carriage of television signals to certain subscribers"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/47/341"
units:
  - "Chapter 5 — Wire or Radio Communication"
  - "Subchapter III — Special Provisions Relating to Radio"
  - "Part I — General Provisions"
---

# §341. Carriage of television signals to certain subscribers

- (a)
  - (1) **In General.—** A cable [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) or satellite [carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11) may elect to retransmit, to subscribers in an eligible county—
    - (A) any television [broadcast stations](/usc/47/153.md?p=6) that are located in the [State](/usc/47/153.md?p=47) in which the county is located and that any cable [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) or satellite [carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11) was retransmitting to subscribers in the county on January 1, 2004; or
    - (B) up to 2 television [broadcast stations](/usc/47/153.md?p=6) located in the [State](/usc/47/153.md?p=47) in which the county is located, if the number of television [broadcast stations](/usc/47/153.md?p=6) that the cable [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) or satellite [carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11) is authorized to carry under [paragraph (1)](#a-1) is less than 3.
  - (2) **Deemed Significantly Viewed.—** A [station](/usc/47/153.md?p=42) described in [subsection (a)](#a) is deemed to be significantly viewed in the eligible county within the meaning of section 76.54 of the Commission’s regulations (47 CFR 76.54).
  - (3) **Definition of Eligible County.—** For purposes of this section, the term “eligible county” means any 1 of 4 counties that—
    - (A) are all in a single [State](/usc/47/153.md?p=47);
    - (B) on January 1, 2004, were each in designated market areas in which the majority of counties were located in another [State](/usc/47/153.md?p=47) or [States](/usc/47/153.md?p=47); and
    - (C) as a group had a combined total of 41,340 television households according to the U.S. Television Household Estimates by Nielsen Media Research for 2003–2004.
  - (4) **Limitation.—** Carriage of a [station](/usc/47/153.md?p=42) under this section shall be at the option of the cable [operator](/usc/47/153.md?p=38-A) or satellite [carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11).
- (b) **Certain Markets.—** Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a satellite [carrier](/usc/47/153.md?p=11) may not carry the signal of a television [station](/usc/47/153.md?p=42) into an adjacent local market that is comprised of only a portion of a county, other than to unserved households located in that county.

## Source credit

(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, § 341, as added Pub. L. 108–447, div. J, title IX [title II, § 211], Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 3430.)