Cable and satellite TV companies are opposing any move by the FCC to redefine online video distributors as multichannel video programming distributors.
“In a public comment period that ends in the coming weeks, the commission is asking whether the rules of multichannel distributors — like the right to carry certain popular channels and the responsibility to carry some less popular ones — should apply to new online distributors like Hulu and YouTube,” reports The New York Times.
“If it decides that they should, then more companies could stream TV shows to computers and smartphones, hastening an industry-wide shift to the Internet,” adds the article.
A simple change to the definition of multichannel distributor could have far-reaching effects, including a change to the way companies acquire programming, a shift in bundling practices that could potentially alter the cable model significantly, holding online services to traditional rules of retransmission consent, and more.
“We’re barely into the second inning of how video distribution will ultimately work,” said Will Richmond, editor of VideoNuze. “Broadband delivery is leveling the playing field for new, deep-pocketed, over-the-top entrants to disrupt the traditional pay TV model.”
Cable and satellite TV companies are opposing any move by the FCC to redefine online video distributors as multichannel video programming distributors.
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