MPAA's Dodd Re-Upped Through 2018

The Motion Picture Association of America has renewed the contract of MPAA chairman Chris Dodd through 2018.

Following the defeat of SOPA/PIPA online piracy legislation MPAA had pushed hard for, Dodd's future seemed unclear. But he has remained to fight for stronger content protections and make the case for the importance of the movie and TV production industry to the economy and the national psyche, and will continue to do so, according to MPAA's studio members.

"We are pleased to announce that Chris has agreed to extend his contract into 2018. He has been an impactful leader and a vigorous champion for the industry," said MPAA member companies in a joint statement. "We are confident he will continue to effectively help steer our interests through a challenging media and policy landscape and represent our member companies around the globe.”

“I am grateful to our member companies for their continued support," said Dodd in his own statement. "This is an exciting time of almost unparalleled creativity and innovation in film and television and I look forward to continuing to promote and protect that creativity, and the jobs of the men and women who go to work in this industry every day.”

Dodd recently celebrated a victory with Senate passage of the Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015, which contained intellectual property protections MPAA had sought.

Signing on to the joint statement were Jim Gianopulos, Twentieth Century Fox; Brad Grey, Paramount Pictures; Alan Horn, Walt Disney Studios; Michael Lynton, Sony Pictures Entertainment; Ron Meyer, NBCUniversal; Jeff Shell, Universal Filmed Entertainment; Kevin Tsujihara, Warner Bros. Entertainment.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.