Walled Gardens vs Open Systems: Why Broadcasters Need to Embrace the Pipe

The debate between walled gardens and open systems is nothing new. It emerged at the dawn of the telecommunications age, when carriers attempted to control both the infrastructure and the services running on top of it. Eventually, they learned a crucial lesson: innovation thrives in openness.

Telecommunications companies abandoned their walled gardens and pivoted to what they do best—providing better pipes. They became infrastructure providers, and the result was transformative. All the meaningful innovation happened in the open Internet ecosystem, built on top of these neutral pipes. Applications, services, and platforms flourished because developers could build freely without asking permission from gatekeepers.

Yet broadcasters haven’t learned this lesson. They still cling to their walled gardens, maintaining tight control over content distribution and access. This might explain why they’ve consistently lagged behind Internet innovations. While the digital world moved to on-demand, interactive, and personalized experiences, traditional broadcasting remained largely one-way and inflexible.

The introduction of ATSC 3.0 and next-generation broadcasting technologies presents a pivotal opportunity. Instead of using these advances to build more sophisticated walled gardens, broadcasters should ask themselves: How can we become better pipes? How can we bring Internet-style innovation to our infrastructure?

The answer isn’t to compete with Internet services by replicating them within a closed system. It’s to provide robust, efficient broadcast infrastructure that Internet innovators can build upon. Embrace the role of the pipe, and let the ecosystem flourish on top.

The telecommunications industry already proved this model works. It’s time for broadcasters to follow.