FCC’s Media Bureau Seeks Comment on TiVo Petition

The Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau has set a comment schedule for TiVo's petition asking the FCC to ensure that cable customers can continue to use retail set-top boxes, like TiVo's, that employ CableCARD security technology.

The FCC has set Sept. 16 for comments and Oct. 9 for reply comments on TiVo's petition to reinstate CableCARD rules after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit essentially gutted them as part of a decision that the FCC lacked authority to apply encoding rules to all pay-TV providers, including satellite operators. The decision was not aimed at CableCARDs, but it raised questions about cable obligations to support consumer access to the cards, and TiVo wants the FCC to make it clear those obligations still apply, since CableCARDs also allow access to TiVo recording devices.