The main European broadcasters are raising the stakes in their clash with tech giants, asking the European Union to extend stricter rules also to smart TVs and virtual assistants. At the heart of the dispute is the growing market power exercised by major digital platforms in content distribution.
THE CLASH BETWEEN BROADCASTERS AND BIG TECH
Google, Amazon, Apple, and Samsung should be subject to the EU’s stricter technology regulations, according to what was stated by the world’s leading broadcasters to the head of the European antitrust authority Teresa Ribera. The request comes from the Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe (ACT), which brings together groups such as Canal+, RTL, Mediaset, ITV, Paramount+, NBCUniversal, Walt Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Sky, and TF1 Groupe.
The initiative highlights the growing competition between traditional broadcasters and Big Tech for control of market shares in a sector considered highly profitable.
Among the signatories of the letter are the Association of European Radios (AER), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the European association of television and radio advertising concessionaires (egta), Confindustria Radio Televisioni (CRTV), Televisión Comercial en Abierto (UTECA), and Verband Österreichischer Privatsender (VOP).
THE BOOM OF OPERATING SYSTEMS FOR SMART TVS
According to the broadcasters, operating systems such as Android TV, Amazon Fire OS, and Samsung’s Tizen should be designated as “gatekeepers” under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The cited data, from a 2025 market study referenced by Reuters, indeed show significant growth: Android TV rose from 16% to 23% between 2019 and 2024, Amazon Fire OS from 5% to 12%, while Tizen holds a 24% share.
The DMA, in force since 2023, introduces specific obligations to limit the power of large tech companies, promote competition, and expand consumer choice.
THE ALARM ON THE POWER OF GATEKEEPERS
“A limited number of operators are thus acquiring an increasing ability to influence outcomes for millions of users and businesses, controlling access to audiences and content distribution,” ACT said in a letter to Ribera seen by Reuters.
“It is essential that the Commission designates the main TV operating systems as gatekeepers and ensures adequate oversight to guarantee fairness and market contestability,” the broadcasters added.
According to the group, tech companies may have incentives to keep users within their own ecosystems and to limit, through technical or contractual constraints, linking or redirecting between different media applications.
THE RESPONSE FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
The European Commission, which acts as the competition authority in the EU, confirmed it has received the letter and is working to evaluate its contents. Google, Amazon, Apple, and Samsung have not yet provided comments.
CONCERNS ABOUT VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS
The broadcasters, Reuters adds, have also expressed concerns about virtual assistants, including Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri. OpenAI has also entered the sector last year with a beta feature called Tasks for the ChatGPT chatbot.
“The failure to designate virtual assistants creates a regulatory gap, allowing powerful AI-based assistants to effectively become gatekeepers for media content via mobile phones, smart speakers, and in-car radio infotainment systems, without being subject to DMA obligations,” the broadcasters said.
However, for now Brussels has not designated any virtual assistant as a gatekeeper under the DMA.
THE CALL FOR REGULATORY INTERVENTION
The broadcasters have therefore urged Ribera to include smart TVs and virtual assistants within the scope of the DMA also based on qualitative criteria, even if they do not meet the quantitative thresholds provided, namely over 45 million monthly active users and 75 billion euros in market capitalization.
