The cable industry is not interested in the FCC's proposal to unlock set-top boxes so that any company can build them. Instead, industry lobbyists this week proposed a plan to get rid of set-top boxes altogether in favor of apps that will let TV fans watch shows anywhere.
The idea would allow device manufacturers to integrate an app (like Comcast's rather unimaginatively named "Xfinity TV Partner" app) that taps into a subscriber's cable channels. That way, they can watch live broadcasts on any device the way they stream Netflix or other Internet video services.
Cable companies and lobbying groups met with the FCC this week to pitch the idea that, as they put it, the future of TV is apps, not boxes. In a filing submitted to the FCC, the lobbyists argued that their proposal is not only better for consumers, it also addresses the anticompetitive concerns that prompted the FCC's proposal.
The FCC's proposal, introduced in January by Chairman Tom Wheeler, aims to spur innovation, competition, and choice in the set-top box marketplace by allowing anyone — from Apple to Netflix — to create devices or services that compete with traditional set-top boxes. According to the FCC, 99 percent of U.S. consumers lease a set-top box from their pay TV provider, in large part because of outdated government regulations.
The FCC envisions a future where you ditch the bulky set-top box provided by Comcast or Time Warner Cable and tap into Comcast and TWC content via a box (or app) provided by a company like Roku or Google. That, however, would require providers to open up TV data to innovators.
The FCC opened its plan to public comment in February, but has yet to take a final vote on its proposal. The agency said it was cautiously optimistic after hearing from the industry representatives.
"Chairman Wheeler is heartened that the industry has adopted the primary goal of our proposal, to promote greater competition and choice for consumers, and agree it is achievable," the FCC told Broadcasting & Cable. "We all agree that third-party access to pay-tv content, integrated search and the protection of copyright, content security, consumer privacy and minority programmers are critical. There is a lot more work to do."
Whichever plan is adopted, it could be good for consumers, since the industry and the FCC say their goals are to eliminate the roughly $230 a year that households pay for set-top-boxes.