TV platforms and voice assistants should face strict EU regulation, argues a broad group of broadcasters now taking aim at the tech giants.
Streaming services have already reshaped the TV market after a decade of rapid growth for Netflix, Disney, Amazon and others.
That shift is now extending beyond streaming itself, raising a bigger question: Who controls content distribution? The answer increasingly points to the tech giants who own the TV platforms in Smart TVs and streaming boxes, which are emerging as the gatekeepers of the future – much like traditional TV distributors in the TV channel era.
Calls for Smart TV regulation
The industry body Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe (ACT), whose members include Canal+, RTL, ITV, Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Sky, Paramount+ and NBCUniversal, is now calling for Smart TVs to be regulated in the EU.
They argue that Smart TVs and streaming devices should be classified as gatekeepers under the EU's strictest rules, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Reuters reports. In practice, it is the TV platforms they want regulated.
They also want voice assistants such as Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri and Google's Gemini to fall under the DMA.
The letter is co-signed by the Association of European Radios (AER), European Broadcasting Union (EBU), European association of television and radio sales houses (egta), Confindustria Radio Televisioni (CRTV), Televisión Comercial en Abierto (UTECA) and Verband Österreichischer Privatsender (VOP).
TV manufacturers control what is available – and not available – on Smart TVs. Photo: LG webOSTech giants take control
Android/Google TV, for example, has increased its market share from 16% to 23% between 2019 and 2024, while Amazon Fire TV has grown from 5% to 12%. Samsung's Tizen OS holds 24%, according to a 2025 study cited by Reuters.
- "A limited number of operators are therefore gaining growing ability to shape outcomes for millions of users and businesses by controlling access to audiences and content distribution," ACT writes in the letter.
- "It is crucial that the Commission designate major TV operating systems as gatekeepers and ensure adequate oversight to guarantee fairness and contestability."
This marks the first time the traditional TV industry has openly taken aim at the tech giants.
The TV market has long been dominated by a small group of distributors, but typically different players in each regional market. The difference now is that the same handful of tech giants, including Amazon, Apple, Google, LG and Samsung, are poised to control distribution across Europe and beyond.
- Source: Reuters
