Grover

G. Norquist
President

June 4, 2019

Dear Chairmen Wicker and Graham, and Ranking Members Walden and Collins,

Given the pending expiration of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act
Reauthorization Act of 2014 (STELAR, PL 113-200) at the end of this year, I urge you
to consider the importance of free market negotiations for all goods and services, and
changes in the entire video marketplace for viewing audiences via over-the-top
(OTT) services, broadcasting, satellite, and cable. Allowing STELAR to sunset this
year would be a constructive step forward.

Market forces are the best tool for unleashing innovation and fostering creativity, not
government intervention. The terms of the compulsory copyright license in STELAR
are set by federal statute that does not allow for negotiations on carriage of
programming via distant signals or retransmission. All parties should be allowed to
negotiate mutually agreeable terms. There is no way, ultimately, for a legislator to
decide what the fair market value of a product or service is.

STELAR’s initial passage included a sunset provision in recognition of the extreme
fluidity of the television marketplace and the evolving services for content
distribution. Today, STELAR’s combined Communications Act and Copyright Act
provisions are not necessary for viewing audiences, but instead, hinder competition
and free market negotiations for the carriage of local broadcast television content.

Allowing these provisions to expire is not the only thing Congress should do to
remove barriers to free market negotiations. The traditional television marketplace,
including satellite, cable and broadcast, is far too encumbered by outdated regulatory
regimes. Congress should remove all barriers to market negotiations by repealing
compulsory licensing and retransmission consent, carriage mandates, and restrictive
ownership caps.

Congress need not look far to find a flourishing market for the successful negotiation
of video copyrights free from government intervention: the over-the-top (OTT)
marketplace. OTT services continue to grow both in terms of the number of
subscribers as well as licensing content and original productions. This includes the
successful negotiation and carriage of cable networks and local broadcast channels
on these OTT services all without government intervention.

We should have a market where setting prices, forbidding actions on one side or the
other, preventing the acceptance of payment for one service or another, or
prohibiting collection of compensation for the use of property are things of the past.

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Allowing the expiring provisions of STELAR to sunset at the end of this year, would
not only be a major first step in removing outdated subsidy and government
regulatory regimes, but also represent one of the more significant modernizations to
our nation’s video carriage laws in over twenty years.

If you should have any questions or comments, please contact me or Katie McAuliffe
by phone, 202-785-0266, or email, kmcauliffe@atr.org.


Onward,

Grover G. Norquist
President
Americans for Tax Reform