Two major cable television providers are taking an initial step to move away from a piece of hardware that allowed subscribers to watch digitally-encrypted TV channels using third-party set-top boxes.
This week, Comcast and Altice U.S. affirmed different plans to wind down their support for CableCARD, an access card technology that allowed subscribers of traditional pay TV services to watch encrypted digital channels without having to lease equipment from their cable company.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for years required cable TV providers to support CableCARD as a way of increasing competition in the tuner marketplace. The access cards were widely used in TiVo set-top boxes for customers who favored that platform, and some third-party tuners sold by Samsung and SiliconDust. A few TVs also sported CableCARD slots that allowed customers to ditch the set-top box altogether for a more-clean look.
While CableCARD was good in theory, the lack of consumer education on the device meant most cable customers were likely never aware that they had alternatives to the cable set-top box unless they sought out that information on their own. That was likely one of the biggest reasons why CableCARD never caught on with consumers or device manufacturers, most of which eventually decided that integrating Internet-connected platforms like Android TV or Roku were the better option.
Four years ago, the FCC ended the CableCARD mandate for cable companies, allowing them to decide for themselves whether to continue supporting the standard. Charter, which operates cable services under the Spectrum TV brand, was the first to move on from CableCARD, telling customers in 2022 that their existing CableCARDs would stop working and that they’d need to contact the company to receive compatible equipment or to learn about other ways to receive Spectrum TV.
Now, Altice U.S. is following Charter in doing the same, telling customers of its Optimum cable TV service that their CableCARDs will stop working entirely in October. Optimum TV customers who have CableCARD devices will be able to exchange them for Optimum Stream, and Android TV-powered device that includes access to Optimum TV’s streaming channels along with third party apps like Netflix, Disney Plus and Amazon’s Prime Video.
Comcast is taking a more-measured approach: The company will stop issuing CableCARDs to new and existing Xfinity TV customers from October 24, but it will continue to support CableCARDs that are in use by current Xfinity TV subscribers.
“If an existing CableCARD…breaks, or the customer wants a new one for some reason, we will not replace it with another CableCARD,” a Comcast spokesperson clarified to The Desk by email on Friday. The spokesperson said Comcast will point subscribers with CableCARDs toward other solutions, including the Xfinity Stream app or equipment powered by the company’s X1 platform. If a CableCARD holder decides to swap out their card for an X1-powered set-top box, Comcast will waive any lease fees associated with the box for one year, the spokesperson affirmed.
The move will likely impact users of some TiVo boxes with lifetime service subscriptions, particularly among those who subscribe to Optimum TV, where those devices will simply stop receiving live channels in a few weeks. Xperi, the company behind TiVo, continues to sell CableCARD-compatible boxes and associated guide subscriptions, but tends to market other solutions — including their TiVo Stream 4K dongle, which runs on Android TV — and will soon bring their TiVo-powered television sets to stores in the United States.
SiliconDust, which manufactures a version of their network-connected HDHomeRun digital video recorder (DVR) that utilizes CableCARD technology to receive linear cable channels, also sells a number of devices that work with digital broadcast television.
