The Telletopia Foundation has formed the TV Neutrality Alliance to align like-minded over-the-top (OTT) service providers and broadcasters in promoting innovation and competition in multichannel video programming.
The group has filed comments with the FCC urging the commission to move forward with its proposal to classify online video distributors (OVDs) of broadcast station signals as multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs).
The alliance includes BiggyTV, BitTorrent, Camino Real Communications, Cocola Broadcasting Companies, Cooper Communications, Pi Omni-Media LLC, Pluto TV, Telletopia and Ventura Broadcasting Company. Together, the members stress the urgent need for the FCC to level the regulatory playing field by giving OVDs the same rights and responsibilities as other MVPDs.
“Today, a few large and powerful companies control the pay television business with a virtual monopoly, which isn't good for consumers or the industry,” said Gary Koerper, co-founder and CEO of Telletopia. “While we applaud the FCC's recent efforts to 'open the set-top box' as a means of encouraging competition in pay-TV service provisioning, their proposed solution addresses a symptom of a larger problem. We want to help the FCC move the MVPD industry to the Internet by enabling much-needed competition to traditional cable, satellite and telco providers."
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