FCC Moves Forward With Cable, Satellite Box Proposal

The FCC moved forward Thursday with a proposal that would “unlock” cable and satellite boxes and allow people to get their TV programming through third-party devices, possibly saving consumers hundreds of dollars per year.

The proposal, introduced last month by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, was approved 3-2. Companies and consumers will be able to give their opinion on the proposal before it is revised and put forward for a final vote, which could take several months.

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Under the proposal, TV providers like Comcast or Time Warner would have to provide their programming through other avenues besides the standard-issue box.

Companies charge monthly rental fees for the boxes, which can add up over the long-run. The FCC said that consumers spend an average of $231 per year in set-top box rental fees alone.

Instead, Wheeler’s proposal would let companies like Apple, Google or Amazon build interfaces or apps for their existing products so you could get all of your TV through Apple TV, Chromecast or Amazon Fire if you wanted.

Under the proposal, companies would have to provide three things to third-party developers:

• The actual programming itself — live TV, movies, shows on demand
• Information about what programming is available, like a TV guide or on-demand listings
• Information about what is allowed to be done with the programming, like recording or rewinding

TV providers, though, say that the proposal could affect the quality of programming they could deliver, that advances in TV technology are already abundant and that handing over their content to outside companies could be a copyright disaster.

“The massive outpouring of opposition to this costly and destructive rule from members of congress, the creative community, TV distributors, and public advocates reflects a basic truth: the rules under consideration will drive up consumer costs, hurt programmers (and most especially small and diversity programming), and blow a gaping hole in Congressional protections for our TV privacy – all for an unnecessary government giveaway to Big Tech,” The Future of TV Coalition, which includes Comcast, Dish, AT&T and Time Warner, said in a statement.

And smaller cable providers agreed.

“If the FCC moves forward with new rules, ACA is very troubled that smaller operators and their customers will be significantly burdened because these providers are hardly in position to absorb the cost of deploying new equipment to all customers, which is the likely outgrowth of this rulemaking,” the American Cable Coalition, made up of small and midsized cable providers, said in a statement Thursday.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote Tuesday in a letter to the FCC expressing concern that independent and minority content makers could lose significant revenue because of the proposal.

“We are concerned, however, that the Commissioner’s new proposal could undermine this creative ecosystem by enabling companies to make money distributing content without negotiating with creators,” the letter said.