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09/08/2016

FCC’s Wheeler to Intensify Push to Break Cable’s Grip on Set-Top Boxes

The nation’s top television regulator is preparing a major push this week to win support for a compromise version of his proposal to open up the market for television set-top boxes, according to people familiar with the matter.

Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has made a priority this year of breaking the cable industry’s longtime grip on the lucrative market for those boxes. The devices have long been used to translate cable signals into TV programs, but several companies see a market for devices or services that offer integrated access to both cable TV and independent video-streaming services like Netflix Inc. or Hulu LLC.

Mr. Wheeler’s plan would require cable companies to make their feeds available to other device makers through apps. Regulators hope the increased competition will help drive down prices. Proponents also say it would give a major boost to internet-based media.

By some estimates, the set-top-box business brings in $21 billion a year in rental fees for cable and other pay-TV providers, which dominate the market. Consumer advocates estimate that customers overall pay $6 billion to $14 billion more for the boxes than they would if there were greater competition.

But Mr. Wheeler remains at risk of being blocked by objections from cable and media companies, say several people familiar with the matter, despite extensive concessions to the cable industry and others that condemned the original plan.

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