Canal+, ITV, Sky, and other broadcasters urge the EU to designate smart TV operating systems such as Android TV and Amazon Fire OS as gatekeepers under the DMA
Google (GOOGL.O), Amazon (AMZN.O), Apple (AAPL.O) and Samsung's (005930.KS) smart TVs and virtual assistants should fall under …
Context & Ripple Effects
The broadcasters’ intervention follows a mixed history of cooperation and dependence on TV-platform owners. In 2024, UK public broadcasters secured distribution for their joint Freely service on Amazon smart TVs through a deal to carry Freely on Amazon TVs.
Android TV’s reach into pay-TV distribution, previously described as serving more than 140 operators, makes the dispute about the interface layer through which broadcasters reach viewers, not only about individual streaming apps.
First-order effects
- Canal+, ITV, Sky and their peers have put Google, Amazon, Apple and Samsung’s TV and assistant ecosystems under direct DMA scrutiny by asking the EU to treat them as gatekeepers.
- The request elevates broadcasters’ concerns over access and treatment on smart-TV interfaces; it does not itself create new DMA obligations for the companies named.
Second-order effects
- Platform owners may need to defend how their TV operating systems and assistants surface, distribute or integrate broadcaster services as regulators assess whether the gatekeeper framework applies.
- Broadcasters gain a regulatory route alongside commercial carriage negotiations, including arrangements such as the Amazon smart-TV distribution deal for Freely.
Third-order effects
- If EU authorities extend gatekeeper designation to TV operating systems, connected-TV home screens and voice interfaces could become a more contestable distribution layer for video services rather than a largely bilateral commercial one.
- The case tests whether DMA oversight can follow consumer attention from mobile and web platforms into device-controlled media interfaces; the outcome will depend on the EU’s designation assessment.
The trend: Broadcasters are increasingly treating smart-TV operating systems and voice interfaces as platform gatekeepers that shape audience access and service discoverability.