The FCC has just paved the way for Apple TV’s future
On Thursday, February 18th, the FCC has approved new rules regarding Pay TV set top boxes. The deciding vote of the five-member FCC commission has finally enabled rule-makers to draft the way Pay TV set top boxes will be manufactured by third parties. By this token, consumers will be able to have choices on whether to rent streaming boxes from Comcast, Verizon and other Pay TV providers, at a cost to consumers that has now reached over $200 per annum, or purchase set top boxed from third party manufacturers, once, sensibly reducing their cable bill every month.
This could mean a great deal to Apple especially, at the new rules could allow Apple TV to be upgraded with functions capable of directly interfacing with, and streaming Pay TV content, should the new rules allow such possibility.
With that said, Apple is not the only one with a finger on the pulse of this ruling. Microsoft and Google are two parties with a strong interest in delivering consumer content. Google already owns several properties designed to deliver shows and movies to consumers, including YouTube Red, and Google Play Movies, along with its ongoing plan to develop Google Fiber, as its own cable alternative to Comcast, Verizon and Time Warner.
Microsoft has also started investing heavily in the delivery of consumer content, through the Windows Store, and should the Redmond software giant be allowed to modify its own Xbox One platform to receive Pay TV channels, or even build a dedicated set top box for that purpose, it would certainly make it easier for consumers to centralize their experience.
Apple has been working its way into offering its own content streaming service for some time, and it has been in talks with content providers like CBS and NBC, as well as the NFL Network, for sports streaming rights.
leveling the playing field
Allowing tech companies to offer their own set top boxes to access Pay TV has two major upsides for consumers. First, as mentioned earlier, the yearly cost to consumers would be sensibly reduced. Second, with more money in their pockets, consumers will be in the position to cherry-pick the subscriptions they want, between regular Pay TV, and other a-la-carte streaming services, like HBO NOW.
Pay TV providers have been up in arms over the FCC ruling, calling the mandate “...both destructive and wholly unnecessary...”, and have threatened to fight the ruling in court.
On the other side of the fence, Democratic commissioner Ajit Pai has commented that “...Our goal should not be to unlock the box; it should be to eliminate the box. If you are a cable customer and you don’t want to have a set-top box, you shouldn’t be required to have one...”.