ACT calls for connected TV OS providers to be designated as ‘gatekeepers’
The Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe (ACT) has called on the European Commission to designate connected TV OS and virtual assistant providers as gatekeepers.
The European Commission (EC) is preparing to review the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and ACT declares: “It is crucial the Commission designates major TV operating systems as gatekeepers and ensures adequate oversight to guarantee fairness and contestability”.
In an open letter to the EC’s executive vice-president, Teresa Ribera, the organisation links its demand to consumer benefits and the future viability of many European TV broadcasters.
The letter is undersigned by nearly a dozen TV industry groups, including the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and egta – the European association of television and radio sales houses.
ACT believes the gatekeeper designation better reflects the increasingly significant role connected TV OS providers and virtual assistants have in our lives.
It says millions of EU businesses and consumers rely on CTVs to promote and access an expanding range of content via TV applications.
It also argues that the EU connected TV operating system market is becoming more concentrated around large ecosystem platforms such as Android TV, Amazon Fire OS and Samsung’s Tizen OS.
It declares: “A limited number of operators are gaining growing ability to shape outcomes for millions of users and businesses by controlling access to audiences and content distribution.
“CTVs assume a central intermediary role between media providers and end-users and can therefore exercise significant influence over the discoverability, accessibility and use of media services.”
ACT claims: “CTV OS providers may have incentives to retain end-users within their own ecosystem and to contractually or technically restrict linking or redirection, like from one media application to another.
Restrictions impacting media providers
“Such restrictions may adversely affect the distribution models of media providers.
“They may hinder customary forms of cooperation within the sector – in particular recommendations by aggregating media platforms – and limit functional interoperability between media services.”
Another category of services that exercises gatekeeping power in the media sector are virtual assistants, according to ACT and its counter-signatories, who also include the Association of European Radios (AER).
ACT believes these are taking on new functions that may not have been fully anticipated when the DMA was drafted, and believes their scale has also been underestimated.
“The deployment of virtual assistants is a rapidly developing phenomenon, increasingly so with the integration of generative AI systems in the form of chatbots and AI agents,” the letter continues.
“The lack of designation of virtual assistants [as gatekeepers] creates a regulatory void, allowing powerful AI assistants to become de facto gatekeepers for media content through mobile phones, smart speakers and in-car radio infotainment services without being subject to DMA obligations,” ACT claims.
Broad support
The full list of letter signatories is:
- Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe (ACT)
- Association of European Radios (AER)
- Asociace komerčních televizí (AKTV)
- Slovak Television Broadcasters’ Association (ATVS)
- Asociația Română de Comunicații Audiovizuale (ARCA)
- Confindustria Radio Televisioni (CRTV)
- European Broadcasting Union (EBU)
- European association of television and radio sales houses (egta)
- Televisión Comercial en Abierto (UTECA)
- Verband Privater Medien (VAUNET)
- Verband Österreichischer Privatsender (VOP).
ACT monitors policy developments at the EU level and helps its members understand implications for the audiovisual business. It also liaises with EU decision-makers to provide them with first-hand expertise on the AV sector.
Listed members include DPG Media, ITV, Canal+, Warner Bros. Discovery, Sky, TF1, beIN Sports, RTL, Paramount, Atresmedia, ProSiebenSat, NBCUniversal, Mediaset, Virgin Media, Antenna Group, The Walt Disney Company and Hearst Networks.