Creative industry groups, unions oppose new set-top box plan

FCC Chairman Wheeler’s new set-top box proposal has the same customer privacy concerns as the old proposal, but that’s not all that’s wrong with it. The new proposal would require video providers – who negotiate with and pay artists and creators for their work – to turn that content over to third parties like Google for free.

“The creative community, with near unanimity, has made clear from the start that we support competition in the set-top box market. We do not profit from set-top box fees and welcome new distribution opportunities for our creative content,” a diverse group of creative industry groups, associations, and labor unions wrote in an announcement. “But it cannot come at the expense of the millions of Americans who make a living in the film, television, and music industries.”

The new set-top box proposal describes a licensing body that would let third-parties like Google require video providers turn over their previously negotiated content in an app – without paying the creators of that content. “The FCC creates an unacceptable and unworkable de facto compulsory licensing regime that requires creators to allow their work to be shared across multiple platforms without compensation and without regard to the creators’ rights to exclusively control their distribution,” the statement said. “That’s authority the FCC does not have.”

The Directors Guild of America (DGA) and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) – together representing more than 140,000 members – also sent Senator Udall (D-NM) a letter opposing the new proposal, reiterating the concerns over content protection that they had with the first attempts to “unlock the box.”

“The new proposal introduced last week by Chairman Wheeler, still leaves little for our members,” said the DGA/IATSE joint letter. “The proposal continues to enable the largest screen in the home, the TV set, to double as a portal for unlicensed content. The proposal continues to enable third parties to provide commercial video services that include copyrighted programs for which they have not paid. In other words, the proposal continues to shrink and shut off revenue streams from which DGA members derive substantial income and IATSE members’ strong health and pension plans.”

The FCC’s new set-top box proposal fails to protect privacy and provide fair compensation to those who create the video programming – and for these reasons, must be rejected.

Links:

Privacy concerns remain in FCC’s new set-top box proposal (Speed Matters, Sept. 9, 2016)

Creative community joint announcement opposing the FCC’s new set-top box proposal (Members of the creative community, Sept. 14, 2016)

Letter to Senator Udall opposing the FCC’s new set-top box proposal (DGA/IATSE, Sept. 13, 2016)