National Association of Broadcasters rallies against Rep. Deal amendment

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCASTERS RALLIES AGAINST REP DEAL AMENDMENT
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Elana Schor]
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is sparing no expense in its bid to block a planned amendment by Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) during today’s video-franchising markup in the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The Deal amendment, which may be co-sponsored by Rep. Charlie Bass (R-N.H.), would prevent TV broadcasters from easily receiving compensation from cable and satellite providers that replay broadcast signals, a system known as retransmission consent. If broadcasters and cable companies fail to reach an agreement on retransmission-consent payments, the Deal plan would send both parties to arbitration, where independent negotiators would be required to select the payment levels that best reflect the fair market value of the broadcast signal.
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