Today, Public Knowledge filed comments on the Federal Communications Commission’s recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on video device competition. Public Knowledge supports the FCC’s moving forward with an item that could greatly benefit TV viewers by saving them billions in cable overcharges. At the same time, Public Knowledge remains open to refinements in the proposed rules,, particularly involving legitimate concerns raised by broadcasters and programmers regarding potential interference with programmer rights.
The following can be attributed to John Gasparini, Policy Fellow at Public Knowledge:
“Public Knowledge continues to believe that the FCC’s proposal to unlock the box provides the best path forward for consumers, programmers, content creators, and innovators in the modern video marketplace. Our comments reflect our conviction that the competitive navigation solution will lower prices for consumer, increase opportunity for diverse and independent voices, and promote new, creative devices and apps for subscribers to access the content for which they pay.
At the same time, we are pleased the Commission’s proposal emphasizes that it will continue to protect content creators’ copyright rights, and preserve critical privacy protections by providing parity between current MVPD set-top boxes and third-party devices and apps. Where legitimate programming concerns exist, we urged the Commission to be receptive to those issues and to address them appropriately in its final rules. We look forward to seeing this process play out so that the 20-year-long effort to ensure a truly competitive video device marketplace will finally take a meaningful step forward.”
You can view these comments here. You can also view our recent article, “Why owning your cable box won’t kill your favorite shows,” or join the conversation on Twitter using #UnlockTheBox.
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.