FCC Seeks More Information on MVPD Set-Top Plan; Roku Concerned

The FCC gave NCTA and other supporters of the pay-TV backed set-top proposal (see 1607010066) a list of questions seeking more detail on the plan’s specifics, a cable industry official told us. The document seeks more information about the future of HTML5 and how the pay-TV plan would work, and said “we agree that a licensing model is a viable option to ensure a variety of protections.” The FCC also indicated support for the HTML5 standard, which is what that alternative set-top plan is based on: “We agree that HTML5 may be an appropriate platform for app developers to provide access to content.” Both the licensing concept and the HTML5 standard were targeted in comments from proponents of the original FCC set-top plan, such as Public Knowledge. The questions also show the agency is trying to get specific answers to questions raised by critics of the pay-TV plan, such as whether third-party boxes running pay-TV apps will be able to use DVR functionality. There are also signs of contention, such as FCC comments that “innovation and competition in user interfaces has the potential to lead to consumer friendly features.” The pay-TV proposal’s apps would each use the multichannel video programming distributor interface. The FCC had no comment. In an ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 16-42, Roku expressed concern about the pay-TV compromise plan’s use of HTML5. The MVPD proposal “would, as a practical matter, establish HTML5 as the de facto standard in the video distribution marketplace,” Roku said. “Such an approach would be ill advised given that consumers have clearly demonstrated their preference for an array of devices with diverse user experiences at various price points, which has spurred competition and innovation in the marketplace.” HTML5 is a “bulky and expensive architecture” that would require third-party device manufacturers to “include additional processing power and memory to support it, even in their lowest-priced devices,” the company said.