European broadcasters are calling on the European Commission to extend its toughest digital competition rules to smart TV operating systems and virtual assistants, warning that Big Tech companies are increasingly controlling access to audiences and audiovisual content

According to a report by Reuters, a coalition of broadcasters and industry organisations has asked EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera to designate major smart TV platforms as “gatekeepers” under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), arguing that their growing market power risks distorting competition in the audiovisual sector.

The appeal was made in a letter sent on Monday by the Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe (ACT), whose members include major media groups such as Canal+, RTL, Mediaset, ITV, Paramount+, NBCUniversal, Walt Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Sky and TF1 Groupe. The move highlights a mounting confrontation between European broadcasters and global technology companies over control of content distribution and advertising revenues in the connected-TV ecosystem.

In the letter seen by Reuters, broadcasters warned that a handful of technology platforms are rapidly consolidating their influence through operating systems embedded in smart TVs. Android TV – developed by Google – increased its market share from 16% in 2019 to 23% in 2024, while Amazon’s Fire OS grew from 5% to 12% over the same period. Samsung’s Tizen OS currently accounts for roughly 24% of the market, according to a 2025 industry study cited by the broadcasters.

Because of this expanding footprint, the organisations argue that such platforms should be designated as gatekeepers under the DMA, the EU regulation that came into force in 2023 to curb the power of large digital platforms and promote fair competition.

“A limited number of operators are therefore gaining a growing ability to shape outcomes for millions of users and businesses by controlling access to audiences and content distribution,” ACT said in the letter. “It is crucial that the European Commission designate major TV operating systems as gatekeepers and ensure adequate oversight to guarantee fairness and contestability,” the broadcasters said.

Industry representatives also warned that Big Tech companies may have incentives to keep users within their own ecosystems, potentially limiting links between competing media applications or restricting redirection from one service to another.

The European Commission confirmed it had received the letter and said it is assessing its contents.

Moreover, the broadcasters’ concerns extend beyond televisions to voice-controlled virtual assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri, as well as emerging AI-driven services. According to Reuters, industry groups fear these systems could increasingly function as gatekeepers for media consumption across devices including smartphones, smart speakers and in-car infotainment systems.

“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,” the broadcasters said.

OpenAI also entered the field last year with a beta feature called Tasks for its AI chatbot ChatGPT, highlighting how quickly the ecosystem of digital assistants is evolving. Under current rules, companies are designated as DMA gatekeepers if they meet certain thresholds, including more than 45 million monthly active users in the EU and a market capitalisation exceeding €75 billion. However, the broadcasters argue that smart TV platforms and voice assistants should be assessed using qualitative criteria even if they fall short of those numerical benchmarks.

The letter to Ribera was co-signed by several European media organisations, including the Association of European Radios (AER), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the European association of television and radio sales houses (egta), Italy’s Confindustria Radio Televisioni (CRTV), Spain’s Televisión Comercial en Abierto (UTECA) and Austria’s Verband Österreichischer Privatsender (VOP).

Their intervention reflects growing concern among broadcasters that technology companies are gaining an increasingly strategic position in the audiovisual value chain – not only through streaming platforms, but also through the devices and operating systems that determine how viewers discover and access content.

As the Commission continues to implement the Digital Markets Act, the debate over whether smart TVs and virtual assistants should fall under the regulation could become a new front in Europe’s wider attempt to rebalance power between traditional media players and global tech giants.