(a)
(1) In General.— A cable operator or satellite carrier may elect to retransmit, to subscribers in an eligible county
(A) any television broadcast stations that are located in the State in which the county is located and that any cable operator or satellite carrier was retransmitting to subscribers in the county on January 1, 2004; or
(B) up to 2 television broadcast stations located in the State in which the county is located, if the number of television broadcast stations that the cable operator or satellite carrier is authorized to carry under paragraph (1) is less than 3.
(2) Deemed Significantly Viewed.— A station described in subsection (a) of this section is deemed to be significantly viewed in the eligible county within the meaning of section
76.54 of the Commissions 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;
(B) on January 1, 2004, were each in designated market areas in which the majority of counties were located in another State or States; 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 20032004.
(4) Limitation.—
Carriage of a station under this section shall be at the option of the cable operator or satellite carrier.
