Attention Turns to FCC’s AllVid Rulemaking

Industry and FCC attention has turned to the AllVid rulemaking for all pay-TV providers’ services to be accessible from consumer electronics devices, now that commissioners have approved an order making fixes in the interval until the gateway devices become available (CED Oct 15 p1). A rulemaking that could be voted on this year now becomes the focus of lobbying at the FCC concerning video devices, agency and industry officials said. No AllVid item is ready for a commission vote, and it’s unclear when such a rulemaking notice will circulate, commission officials said.

"The FCC has brought us closer to the day when consumers will be able to purchase smart video devices that can access all multichannel video programming services, enabling consumers to pick the service provider that best suits their needs and interests without with the inconvenience of replacing their video devices,” said Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass. He looks forward to progress by the agency, Markey said late Thursday. Industry and commission officials expect an AllVid item from the Media Bureau on gateway devices to be voted on at a meeting soon, perhaps in December (CED Sept 28 p4). A bureau spokeswoman declined to comment.

With the CableCARD order adopted, “a bigger fight looms over the FCC’s related ‘AllVid’ initiative to foment standardized device competition across multichannel platforms for traditional and Internet video, which is being pushed by TiVo and others,” including Best Buy, Google and Sony, Stifel Nicolaus wrote late Thursday. That initiative “raises concerns for cable as well as DBS and telcos,” including providers such as DirecTV, Dish Network and Verizon, the analysts added.

"Numerous commenters agree that AllVid could jumpstart retail video device competition,” Google told the FCC. The agency should “expeditiously” approve a rulemaking on the subject “so that consumers can control their own video experiences,” the company said in an Oct. 6 filing. Days later, Sony made a similar request. DirecTV said Oct. 1 it’s “gravely concerned” the AllVid mandate that some seek could “interfere with market-based initiatives already in progress” and put direct broadcast satellite at a competitive disadvantage to cable. An NCTA spokesman declined to comment on the AllVid proceeding.

The Consumer Electronics Retailers Association was among those saying they look forward to working on AllVid. CEA President Gary Shapiro on Thursday called the CableCARD decision “historic.” American Cable Association President Matt Polka said the ruling letting operators use inexpensive HD boxes without DVRs or CableCARDs means they can free up capacity for additional HD channels and Internet Protocol services and increase broadband speeds. Operators will keep “working constructively with TiVo and other providers of retail ‘cable ready’ products to assure that our mutual customers can seamlessly enjoy all of the cable services available to them,” NCTA President Kyle McSlarrow said.