DC Circuit Vacates Copyright Royalty Board Allocation, Remands for Explanation

The DC Circuit vacated the Copyright Royalty Board's phase-one royalty allocation for 2014–2017 cable retransmission compulsory licenses and remanded. While the Court upheld most of the Board's methodologies — including the regression analysis and Bortz Survey adjustments — it found the Board's final synthesis of the two methods arbitrary and capricious because it failed to explain how it weighted and combined them. The anomalies in the allocations contradicted the record and the Board's own statements. Judge Rogers concurred in part and dissented in part, warning the majority's resolution of other challenges was premature. This matters for firms advising broadcast, cable, and copyright licensing clients because the remand requires the Board to redo a critical portion of its methodology without necessarily changing the outcome. Watch for the Board's revised allocation and whether the same methodological tensions resurface in future proceedings. The decision also reinforces that agencies must transparently reconcile competing valuation approaches under APA review.