The Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe (ACT) is calling for smart TV platforms and virtual assistants to be designated as gatekeepers under the EU's Digital Markets Act, citing Google, Amazon, Apple and Samsung's growing market power. ACT represents major broadcasters, including Canal+, RTL, Mediaset, ITV, Paramount+, NBCUniversal, Walt Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Sky, and TF1 Groupe, and the call reflects escalating tension between traditional media and tech platforms over control of the living room.
The fear driving this push is straightforward. Smart TV operating systems have become living room gateways managed by Google, Amazon, and Apple, controlling what viewers see first when they turn on their television. The concern is not the screens themselves, but the software layer deciding what gets shown, whether that's a recommendation row on a TV homepage or the answer served up when a user asks a voice assistant for something to watch. Unlike regulated app stores and search engines, the software powering smart TVs and voice-activated AI remains largely unregulated in a specific, sector-targeted way.
The scale of the platforms in question is substantial. Android TV increased its market share from 16% to 23% from 2019 to 2024, Amazon Fire OS grew from 5% to 12% in the same period, and Samsung's Tizen OS holds a 24% market share, based on 2025 market data cited by the broadcasters. This concentration matters because connected TV operating systems assume a central intermediary role between media providers and end-users and can therefore exercise significant influence over the discoverability, accessibility and use of media services.
Voice assistants add another wrinkle to the regulatory puzzle. Unlike a single operating system, voice assistants operate across televisions, smartphones, cars, and smart speakers, acting as a universal interface for content discovery. The lack of designation of virtual assistants creates a regulatory void, allowing powerful AI assistants to become de facto gatekeepers for media content through mobile phones, smart speakers and in-car radio infotainment services, without being subject to DMA obligations.
Broadcasters worry about self-preferencing, where platforms nudge users toward their own services. The lobbying group said their Big Tech rivals may have incentives to retain end-users within their own ecosystem and to contractually or technically restrict linking or redirection, for example from one media application to another media application. For cash-strapped public broadcasters, being buried beneath layers of algorithm could squeeze them further.
Tech companies defend their position differently. Big Tech firms argue that their investments in these operating systems provide a seamless, high-quality experience for consumers that traditional broadcasters failed to build, and contend that imposing heavy-handed regulations could stifle innovation in AI and smart home integration. This framing carries weight; Samsung, Google and Amazon have invested heavily in building user-friendly ecosystems.
The regulatory path forward remains unclear. The broadcasters are pushing for the DMA to apply to smart TVs and virtual assistants on the basis of qualitative criteria even if they do not meet the quantitative benchmarks which are more than 45 million monthly active users and 75 billion euros in market capitalisation. The EU's Digital Markets Act, applicable since 2023, sets out obligations aimed at curbing the power of major tech companies, boosting competition and expanding consumer choice. Extending it to these platforms would likely force a ban on favouring their own services or products above those of third parties within their interfaces, greater requirements on data sharing, and restrictions on tracking their users for advertising purposes.
For Australia, this EU regulatory push carries indirect significance. While the DMA officially came into full effect for designated gatekeepers in 2024, the broadcasters' revolt suggests that the tech landscape is evolving faster than the current designations. If the Commission agrees to expand the DMA's scope, it sets a precedent that could influence Australian regulators contemplating similar digital competition reforms. European decisions on platform gatekeeping typically influence policy thinking elsewhere.
The genuine tension here is real. Reasonable people can disagree about whether smart TV platforms are genuinely gatekeeping content or simply offering superior user experiences. Yet the market concentration data is hard to dismiss, and the questions about fairness in algorithm-driven discovery are legitimate. The EU's goal remains ensuring that the digital transition serves the interests of citizens and fair competition, rather than just the balance sheets of a few global gatekeepers. Whether regulation is the right tool, and whether it will improve outcomes for viewers, remains to be tested.