Cable boxes are a drag on your cable bill, costing on average $230 a year. The FCC would like to get rid of them, or at least make it possible for anybody to make one. And so, hoping to beat the FCC to the punch, Comcast is introducing an app that will let you send that box back for good.
The app is coming to Samsung Smart TVs and Roku in the near future, and it’s what you’re used to. You can scroll through channels, learn whether or not that Simpsons rerun is worth watching, and look at what the premium channels are getting with jealousy. The only thing really unique about it is that you’re not having to rent out a piece of technology that doesn’t make any sense to own anymore.
That said, it’s unlikely to please the FCC. What the FCC would like to see is, say, people getting tools to put channels in whatever order they wanted or blacking out channels from the scroll altogether, something that makes cable operators nervous. After all, if you go through and strike every channel you don’t watch, you might start asking yourself why you’re paying for them. It would also mean they have to surrender the claim that somehow data they stream to your TV arrives on a magical separate cable from your Netflix stream. So expect more apps, and plenty of arguments, as cable companies try to keep control of the box.
(via The Washington Post)