OTT-as-MVPD Has More Market Promise Than Set-Top Rules, TVNA Says
Pushing for increased competition in the program navigation market is the right move, but any industry agreement on a standardized approach will take years, with implementing that standard nationwide taking even longer, said the TV Neutrality Alliance (TVNA) in an…
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ex parte filing Thursday in FCC docket 14-261. The FCC should focus on a "bigger, more viable prize" -- creating competition in multichannel video programming distribution by moving on its proposal to classify some types of over-the-top as MVPDs, the group told Media Bureau officials including Chief Bill Lake and aides to Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioners Mike O'Rielly and Ajit Pai. Since online video distributors don't have the same capital expenditure hurdles that cable and satellite operators do, that regulatory change "can open the door to a wave of new entrants that are poised to bring innovative services, navigation tools and 'skinny bundles' to consumers today," said TVNA members Pi Omni Media, Telletopia Foundation and BitTorrent. TVNA has been actively lobbying (see 1606140018) on the OTT-as-MVPD proposal that was seen as largely dormant (see 1606060033). MVPD interests have proposed a compromise plan on Wheeler's unlock the set-top box initiative (see 1606200048).