Internet box will be ruthless supervision of radio and television

All kinds of television set-top boxes, known as "Pandora" boxes, have been facing regulatory scrutiny recently after a turmoil of one year.

On July 14, some media quoted sources from a broadcasting insider, saying that Radio and Television is brewing more stringent regulatory measures. In the future, video websites are likely to only serve as box content providers, can not have a special entry on the box, nor can they set up video sites.

The face of new heavy news, video companies seem a bit caught. A video site employee told reporters: "Today received a lot of similar inquiries, but the company did not form a unified response."

This news has not been officially confirmed by the radio and television departments. If this news is factual, this is the fourth policy restriction released by Radio and Television in the past month or so. First, it asked BesTV and Huashu Media to close illegal APP download channels in Internet TV terminal products. Then, they reiterated at the Internet Conference Commercial web site does not allow self-built Internet TV content platform; early July require Internet TV integrated broadcast control platform to cancel the television broadcast content review and time-shift functions; and to promote their own research and development of TVOS operating system.

Among them, the order to close the box APP, not the SARFT introduced a new rule, but reiterated the 181 document.

A series of initiatives by Radio and Television are intended to crack down on illegal operations between licensees, TV manufacturers and video companies and to control the management of Internet TV content within the system of radio and television. This also means that the video site long-planned "into the living room", "competing for television" program will face setbacks, and the mode of operation of the box or will be adjusted.

Statistics show that last year the entire Chinese market OTT set-top boxes, sales of about 10 million. Among them, there is no docking with the licensee's broadcasting platform, accounting for more than 80%.

Right now, the TV box manufacturers can be divided into about four types: cable box, telecommunications carrier IPTV box, as well as millet, music as the representative of the Internet box, and some cottage box manufacturers.

In addition to recovering some of the costs through the sales terminals, these boxes are mostly based on service fees, placement ads, and business revenue sharing. Some other manufacturers in order to promote the box, will be exempt from three months to one year service fee. Some businesses even waive service fees for life. In this case, the ads become their main or only profit model for some time.

After this round of rectification, illegal video resources are gradually cleared. Shrinking video resources, which in turn led to a decline in service fees and advertising costs, is the boxing company's original profit-making model that is experiencing serious challenges.

What needs to be pointed out is that this rectification often involves regular boxes, but the bigger problem lies in the box of cottages. For the latter, it is relatively easy to evade supervision whether it is self-built content platforms, pirating works or playing works on the television screen via the Internet. Insiders predict that SARFT may start with companies within its own manageable system, and follow-up will further clarify the market order through a series of actions.

If the future of video sites can only do content providers, and can not have a box on the specific entrance or brand, it can not set up video sites area. This means that some Internet companies may face new policy risks with their box products.

Earlier, there is a "Sohu video" section on the box of millet, while LeTV also set up "LeTV Zone" on its own products and cooperative products. Subsequent commercial interests of the video site will also be affected if it can not cooperate with the integrated service licensee in setting up the portal and the zone.

However, there are video sites claiming they have not been hit. The relevant person in charge of Fantastic Art told reporters: IQIYI works with hardware manufacturers to provide software and content for set-top boxes. The company directly licensed the content to the licensee of the integrated business and did not have a zone dedicated to Fantastic Art. It is reported that Iki's profit model is a patch advertising, its cooperation with Skyworth box printed on the symbol of love Fantastic Art, playing the movie will be marked with love Fantastic Art Watermark.

More often, however, once the freedom of the video site is affected, the business will not be affected in the short term. How to deal with the more stringent industrial environment in the future, all parties obviously have not think well.

"At present, some box manufacturers and Internet companies are still waiting to see the layout of the content." According to Panyi Ming, Analysys International analyst, "For Internet TV, there is not yet a very clear policy in the country, and as soon as enterprises start to push hard, it is easy Legal boundaries. "

In her view, the more stringent norms of regulation will help the healthy development of the industry, but now the law and policy environment is still not perfect, but also will slow the pace of industrial layout.