GoKawiilC. Scott Brown / Android Authority
TL;DR Top TV broadcasters in Europe have alleged that smart TV platforms have too much control over users’ content choices.
They have urged the EU’s antitrust regulator to impose stricter controls on these platforms.
The lobby claims that this would prevent these platforms from solely promoting their own apps or services.
A lobby of Europe’s biggest TV broadcasters has demanded that connected TV platforms in the region be subject to stricter regulations. This calls for action against the Big Tech-owned biggest video content platforms in the region, including Google TV, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung’s Tizen smart TV interface.
According to a recent Reuters report, the Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe (ACT) has alleged that smart TV platforms, such as those listed above, command enough power to sway viewership trends, influence audiences, and impact broadcasters. The ACT has therefore urged the EU’s antitrust regulator to include these providers in the region’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The DMA, designed to help improve competition and broaden user choices in the EU, designates large companies as “gatekeepers” and sets special rules for them. Gatekeepers must not endorse or force users to use their own products, and allow users to switch to other services more freely. Violations can result in offenders being fined 10% of their annual turnover.
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The Association notably includes stalwarts such as Canal+ TV, Disney, ITV, NBCUniversal, Paramount+, RTL, Sky, TF1 Groupe, and Warner Bros Discovery. It has been alleged that, by controlling nearly 70% of the European market, “a limited number of operators are therefore gaining growing ability to shape outcomes for millions of users and businesses.” While Samsung’s Tizen TV platform occupies 24% of the market share, Android TV comes in second with 23%, followed by Amazon’s Fire TV OS at 13%, as per numbers shared by the industry group.
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