App developers were among those praising the FCC for standing down from its vote on an app-centric approach to promoting set-top box competition and access to over-the-top programming.
Following FCC chairman Tom Wheeler's decision to pull a vote from the Sept. 29 public meeting, the Application Developers Alliance, the primary trade group for software developers, signaled that the delay was a good thing "but only if they take this time to consider all the potential unintended consequences of government intervention into a dynamic market," said alliance president Jake Ward.
Related: App Developers Have Issues With FCC Set-Top Approach
The FCC is proposing a standards licensing body to sign off on an MVPD-supplied app that would make cable programming available on third-party boxes alongside over-the-top content.
They suggest that the marketplace is too fluid to be channeled into such a system.
"We are at the cusp of true innovation and opportunity for viewers, publishers, and providers. No one knows what will happen next," said Ward, "and that is the point.”
