TVE in decline? Verizon kills off Xbox One and Samsung smart TV apps, says nobody was using them

After slowly proliferating across the plain of mobile and OTT devices for the past seven years, is TV Everywhere in retreat?

Verizon (NYSE: VZ) said it's retiring FiOS TVE apps for Xbox gaming consoles and Samsung smart TVs and Blu-ray players on March 31 because of lack of usage.

"On March 31, 2016, the FiOS TV app you are using to watch your FiOS TV programming through a Smart TV or an Xbox gaming system will be retired and will no longer be available for use. Sorry for the inconvenience," said Verizon, in a message sent users of these apps. (This story was first reported by Ars Technica.)

Verizon said FiOS customers will still be able to access multiscreen services through iOS and Android apps. 

Verizon's move follows recent decisions by both Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and AT&T U-verse (NYSE: T) to cut support for the older Xbox 360 platform. ESPN will also end multiscreen support for the aging console, as well. 

Notably, Verizon hasn't joined the Future of TV Coalition, a group of leading pay-TV companies opposing the FCC's proposal to open up the largely proprietary pay-TV set-top box market to third-party manufacturers. The coalition's argument against the proposal is that, with widely distributed TVE apps, the pay-TV ecosystem is already proliferated across a wide range of third-party devices.

For more:
- read this Ars Technica story
- read this Multichannel News story

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