William Tauzin: “I introduced the bill in November of last year to address the inequitable decision of the Copyright Arbitration Rate…”

“I introduced the bill in November of last year to address the inequitable decision of the Copyright Arbitration Rate Panel to increase the copyright fees that are paid by the direct broadcast satellite providers. This decision has resulted in increased rates for every DBS dish consumer in America. To date, the bill has garnered 157 cosponsors, representing Members from all parts of our Nation. The bill has substantially bipartisan support because it does the right thing, it protects consumers and promotes competition in the video marketplace. H.R. 2921 delays the impact of copyright fees that are paid by satellite providers and ultimately by consumers for distant network signals and superstations. The Librarian of Congress made a decision to raise the rates of satellite services to 27 cents per subscriber for superstation and distant network signals. This rate compares to the rate of 9.7 cents per subscriber for superstations, and 2.7 cents for network signals that cable operators pay.”