AllVid API Alternative Said to Be Problematic
SAN FRANCISCO -- Using application programming interfaces to achieve the goals laid out in the FCC’s AllVid notice of inquiry won’t work, said Robin Wilson, vice president at Nagravision. Such an API structure would still lock in service providers to the CableCARD and the proprietary security systems of Motorola and Cisco, he said Wednesday. “Without a license or an onerous sublicense from one of those companies, that API is useless,” he said during a panel discussion at the TV of Tomorrow conference. “The APIs for security are cryptographically locked into one of two systems.” APIs are also problematic because so many of them will be needed to make sure all devices work with every service provider, he said.
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Netflix’s rollout on Android platforms is a good example of that challenge, he said. “Netflix only works on a very specific number of Android platforms,” he said. “That tells you they have many, many different APIs,” he said. “There are probably dozens of different APIs for different classes of devices,” he said. Netflix’s business relies on being available on new devices, said Matt Zinn, TiVo’s general counsel. “I don’t think there is anyone else in the MVPD industry that has those same incentives.” Still, AllVid is not something TiVo is pushing very hard at the FCC, Zinn said. “We are trying to do deals with operators."
It’s hard to argue with the idea of AllVid, but setting rules about how it should work seems unnecessary, said Sherry Brennan, senior vice president in Fox Networks’ affiliate sales and marketing group. “It’s been pretty interesting to see what’s developed in the last few years in this space and we don’t see any need for the government to get in the way.” Fox has brought a similar message to the FCC during recent lobbying visits (CD May 13 p19) .
The FCC should quickly release a rulemaking notice on the proceeding, so that the issue is no longer exempt from the FCC’s ex parte meeting disclosure rules, Wilson said. “If this thing is such a hot potato, let’s have a discussion about it and, if it is really not worthy, let’s have a discussion about why,” he said. “You can’t argue about a document nobody has seen.” It’s hard to say when the regulator might release the AllVid rulemaking, Zinn said. “We don’t know where this is on the chairman’s priority list,” he said. “Meetings with the Media Bureau are neither here nor there because whatever they decide can get vetoed or modified by the chairman’s office.” The bureau is working on the issues involved in the proceeding and holding a meeting with stakeholders to get their input on possible approaches, an FCC official said.
The rulemaking notice may not be needed, said Steve Tranter, vice president of broadband and interactive for NDS. “By the time we get to the place where we actually see what we're standardizing, we've already moved on.” Certain elements raised in response to the NOI are important, such as opening up conditional access, but “I don’t see why it needs to be put in AllVid,” he said. If AllVid rules were already in place, it would probably have stopped cable operators from innovating some popular new products, Tranter said. “You wouldn’t see Comcast in Xfinity, you wouldn’t see Cablevision’s iPad service.” Pay-TV providers need to differentiate their services, and there’s no ability to stand out in a standardized world, he said.