Will legacy TV and online providers play by the same FCC rules?

Public interest groups have long asked the FCC to include Internet video under the rules that govern broadcasters and pay-TV carriers. Or, technically stretch the definition of Multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) to include over-the-top video providers or, as they’re often known, Online Video Distributors (OVD). This change would create some serious competition for the cable giants.

And expansion of the rules would cut both ways. According to Broadcast Law Blog, if the FCC were to go ahead with this change, it would give online video distributors “equal access to cable network programming in which the cable companies have a financial interest.”

CWA supports an alternative to cable bundling, which costs consumers for programming they don’t want or watch.

Will FCC Extend MVPD Rules to Online Video Providers (Broadcast Law Blog, Oct. 6, 2014)