The Week In Review: The FCC Googles The Set Top Box and Facebook Adds CCs.

1. Googling The Set Top Box: What’s Really Behind The FCC’s Moves?One of the most consistent complaints about pay TV has been the horrible interface found on most set top boxes. To add insult to injury, viewers must lease these anachronistic set top boxes from the MVPDs, with limited other options. (Yes, TiVO, we see you.)That may be about to change thanks to FCC Chairman Wheeler, who sees the possibility of third parties providing set top boxes as being a direct line (pun intended) from the decision to break up Ma Bell and their monopoly over both telephone service and telephones back in the ‘80s.The decision, which is due later this month, has the potential to radically disrupt the industry and then some.Set top boxes are a primary source of data and data is the new gold. That’s why the MVPDs are more than a little freaked out by the possibility and have been howling long and loud about it.One of the more interesting howls has come from AT&T, who are claiming they see the hand of Google behind Wheeler’s actions, given that Google already has a set top box (through Fiber, their new broadband service) and well, data.That has more than a ring of truth to it given that we’ve long heard rumors that GAFA (Google-Apple-Facebook-Amazon) were all looking to the government to disrupt the TV industry, given the monopoly the MVPDs have over last-mile broadband access.Their rationale is that so long as the Time Warners of the world control the internet (or at least access to it) there is nothing they can do to gain a foothold in the TV business. It’s just too easy for the MVPDs to raise prices for broadband and shut them out.Access to set top boxes would force the MVPDs to work with them and not on the MPVDs own terms, either. On a more practical level, it would finally allow for the modernization of the TV interface, an interface that’s been badly crippled by legacy legal agreements (e.g. CBS needs to be Channel 2 and at the front of the guide no matter what) and the fact that the MVPDs had no compelling reason to improve it. (Comcast’s X1 box being the sole exception.)Why It MattersIf companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple have access to set top box data, they can tie viewing habits in with online habits and create deeper profiles of users. That will lead to better targeting or more egregious violations of privacy, depending on which side you’re on.But more than that, it will shake up the industry in ways that no one was expecting for quite some time. For consumers, it will eliminate one of the major pain points around pay TV, and spur innovation, which is Chairman Wheeler’s hope. (The MVPDs dispute that, claiming that they are innovating as fast as they can.)What You Need To Do About ItFollow this story as it develops.Think about what kind of data you’d want the GAFA companies to have and what you could gain out of it. Review your BYOD (BringYour Own Device) strategy and make sure your IT team is ready for a Free The Set Top Boxes decision.2. Closed Captioning For FacebookHaving had much success with in-line native video advertising of the sort that silently appears in your newsfeed, Facebook announced that they will be introducing automatic captioning for video ads. So that rather than having to lip-read what your actors are saying (or resorting to title cards), users can read your ads from start to finish.This is a brilliant move on Facebook’s part as many users don’t actually turn the sound on because they’re someplace where listening to an ad isn’t appropriate (e.g. work) or because they just don’t care enough about the ad to bother.Closed captioning solves this problem and allows brands to get their messages out with more detail and thus, deeper engagement.Why It MattersBillions of people see Facebook video ads.  That alone is reason enough. But it also makes their ad product even more valuable, especially compared to Twitter and to the billions of random websites Facebook competes against for ad dollars.What You Need To Do About ItReview your promos and ads and make sure they make sense if you read them. Pay attention to the ratings and see how much of an impact the new format makes.