The FCC has issued the Fifteenth Report on Video Competition, as mandated by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Although it had been issued annually in the past, this is the FCC’s first such report since 2010.
Needless to say, a lot has changed since then:
- Cable has lost more than 2.5 million subscribers
- Between them, AT&T and Verizon have achieved 10 million subscribers
- IP delivery and “the Cloud” have transformed TV service infrastructure
- TV programmers are now online via “TV Everywhere”
- Over-the-Top and multiscreen services have become mainstream
- The next round of competitors looms large: Google, Apple, Intel…
It’s interesting to compare this report to the 14th Report, which remains available. My bet is that the 16th Report will make mention of connected cars, home control, and home automation – all of them being on the radar screens of the pay TV service providers.