WASHINGTON – Pay-TV subscribers may soon be able to select which set top boxes they use to watch their programming.
A report in the New York Times on a new proposal by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said the move could have broad implications for the industry, even allowing the likes of Google, Amazon and Apple to offer devices that would blend Internet and TV programming in a way the television industry has resisted.
The report quotes a FCC news release saying that traditional TV service providers and their competitors “should be able to differentiate themselves and compete based on the experience they offer users, including the quality of the user interface and additional features like suggested content, integration with home entertainment systems, caller ID and future innovations”.
TV service providers often impose restrictions on third-party device makers, resulting in a virtual lock on the set-top box market with 99% of their users leasing one or more boxes from them, continues the report. The FCC said the prices for set-top boxes in the U.S., a market estimated at $20 billion a year, have risen an estimated 185% in 20 years, while the prices of most other electronics have gone down.
The FCC’s five commissioners will vote on the proposal on February 18.
