Mike Snider

USA TODAY

The Federal Communications Commission has pressed pause on its rules to transform the pay-TV set-top marketplace.

Commissioners had been expected Thursday to vote on the measure, which would require providers of cable, satellite and telecom-delivered TV service to make available free apps that would let subscribers watch programming without the need of a set-top box.

But just minutes before the agency's monthly meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m. ET, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and two other commissioners issued a statement that the proposal had been removed from the agenda with future consideration.

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“We are still working to resolve the remaining technical and legal issues and we are committed to unlocking the set-top box for consumers across this country," said Wheeler, who was joined by Democratic commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel on the issued statement.

Rosenworcel had been considered as a swing vote on the issue because she had expressed some apprehension about the FCC's involvement in the licensing process between pay-TV providers and developers or device makers seeking to create apps. Wheeler and Clyburn were expected to approve the measure, with Republican commissioners Michael O'Rielly and Ajit Pai to oppose it.

The proposal could be revisited at the Oct. 27 meeting of the agency.



Content companies such as Disney and Time Warner have also voiced concern about the part the FCC would play in licensing. Meanwhile, pay-TV providers have been among those questioning whether the proposal goes beyond the agency's purview, in general.

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Internet and TV trade group NCTA had also voiced opposition to what it considered a growth in the agency's regulatory reach. "We are pleased that the FCC has chosen to delay consideration of its set-top box item, and hope that additional time will lead to meaningful public review and comment on any newly-crafted proposal under consideration," the group said in a statement.

But others were less thrilled with the move. “This issue has been under consideration at the FCC for two years now, and the benefit of further delay is unclear," said John Bergmayer, senior counsel at consumer technology advocacy group Public Knowledge. "Opponents of unlocking the box will continue to shift from one manufactured concern to another in an attempt to keep consumers renting the controlled, locked-down set-top box, costing consumers billions and holding back innovation and video competition."

A strong proponent of the measure, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass, said in a statement Thursday that "I am extremely disappointed that the majority of the FCC Commissioners have not yet come to an agreement to provide relief for consumers for these bloated set-top box rental fees and certainty to companies who wish to innovate with new products."

Markey and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., had found, in a report released in 2015, that consumers pay, on average, $231 annually to rent set-top boxes and the pay-TV industry takes in about $20 billion each year on rentals of the devices.

"I urge the Commission to complete this rulemaking as soon as possible," Markey said. "Consumers have waited for more than two decades for the promise of a robust set-top box marketplace to be fulfilled; they should not have to wait one more billing cycle.”

The agency had reworked the rules over the months since the commission voted in February to tackle the issue. More than 60 U.S. House Democrats sent a letter to the agency asking for more transparency, seeking for a delay in the rule-making process for the FCC to release the revised rules before a vote. "It is difficult to analyze the full scope of the standard license and the FCC's role in developing and enforcing this license without knowing the full details of the proposal," their letter read.

Rep. Tony Cárdenas, D-Calif., who spearheaded that letter, said Thursday morning that he had "a productive conversation" with Commissioner Rosenworcel Wednesday about content creators' problems with the rules. On Twitter, Cárdenas said he was encouraged that the FCC "recognizes it’s better to do things right than fast."

Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.