Copyright Royalty Board Proposes 'Sports Surcharge' Royalty for Cable Systems
The Copyright Royalty Board sought comment Tuesday on an NPRM that would require cable systems to pay a separate “Sports Surcharge” per-telecast royalty for secondary transmissions of sports events in addition to other royalties mandated under Copyright Act Section 111.…
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The proposed royalty stems from a January settlement reached by the American Cable Association and NCTA to terminate an ongoing proceeding on sports royalties, the CRB said in a notice in the Federal Register. The proposed surcharge would amount to 0.025 percent of a cable system’s gross receipts during the semi-annual accounting period in which a sports event was retransmitted. The proposed surcharge would affect only major Section 111 “Form 3” cable systems and would take effect Jan. 1, the CRB said. Comments are due June 20.