Consumer Video Choice Coalition Forms To Influence DSTAC
The divisions between pay-TV companies and the other entities on the Downloadable Security Technical Advisory Committee were formalized Wednesday when many of the non-multichannel video programming distributor groups on DSTAC said they are forming the Consumer Video Choice Coalition. With membership that includes DSTAC members Public Knowledge, Google, Hauppauge and TiVo Inc., plus non-DSTAC members such as Computer and Communications Industry Association, Comptel and Writers Guild of America, West, the group “will demonstrate to policymakers at the FCC and on Capitol Hill that there is broad support to promote competition and innovation by making video networks more available to third-party devices,” said a news release.
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The coalition was formed to allow its members to coordinate their advocacy efforts as the DSTAC approaches its Sept. 4 deadline to report on a comprehensive downloadable security technology, said Public Knowledge Senior Staff Attorney John Bergmayer. The issues of downloadable security have been stalled at the FCC for so long that stakeholders no longer believe they will ever be resolved, Bergmayer said. This FCC has already shown it's willing to move on traditional sticking points, he said: “There's a chance for real reform here.” The DSTAC meets next on Tuesday.
The group is made up of the same entities that signed a May letter asking the FCC not to limit the DSTAC’s scope to downloadable security alone, as had been requested by the committee's MVPDs in their own letter to the commission. Discussions about banding together to formally oppose the MVPDs' efforts to narrow the committee's scope was first discussed then, Bergmayer said. The FCC issued guidance saying both factions on the DSTAC should issue recommendations.
“The market is driving video consumers to go over-the-top, break the bundle and now unlock the box,” said Chip Pickering, Comptel CEO, in an emailed release. “A more robust marketplace for set-top boxes and other video navigation devices is vital to ensuring that consumers, device manufacturers and content providers can receive maximum benefits from the rapid changes occurring in how consumers are viewing content.” NCTA and Charter Communications had no comment on the formation of the coalition.
Cable officials said they aren't aware of any plans to form a similar group on the MVPD side. Last week, Reps. Gene Green, D-Texas, and Bob Latta, R-Ohio, sent a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler (see 1506190057) supporting the MVPDs' position that the coalition entities and commission staff are steering the DSTAC outside the scope mandated by the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization. Bergmayer and a spokesman for Comptel said there's no particular reason for the timing of the coalition announcement, but Bergmayer said the Greene and Latta letter highlighted the need for the coalition to counter the MVPD efforts.