FCC Chairman Wheeler: OTT Report And Order By Fall

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said that he expected to vote on a report and order on defining some over-the-top video providers as multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) by Fall 2015. In a speech at the Brookings Institution about promoting broadband, Chairman Wheeler said that one way to do that would be to "give over-the-top video providers the ability to choose the same business model as cable and satellite providers, with the same program access rights." Saying OTT's were lining up to "expand video choice," Chairman Wheeler added, "We expect to move that [proposal] to a report and order this fall."

He has already proposed that for "linear" OTT providers -- ones who provide day and date lineups of content channels similar to cable and satellite operators, have nondiscriminatory access to programming affiliated with competing cable and satellite distributors -- but the FCC has yet to vote on the proposal. In December 2014, the FCC launched the rulemaking to define some online video providers (OVDs) as MVPDs, at least with respect to access to cable and TV station programming. The item proposed is to require that linear OVDs be given access to cable-affiliated programming and local TV station broadcasts regardless of whether or not they have facilities based distribution platforms. Beyond that, it tees up lots of questions about how to apply that definition and the ramifications of doing so.