The chance in upbringing an OTT Platform by the government brought up a lot of curiosities in the digital industry. The competitive market, financial returns, and viewership were its major factors. As per the notice issued by Prasar Bharati, which is the public broadcaster by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) to the Television broadcasters dated August 5 with a view of placing their channel in the former’s upcoming Over the Top (OTT) Platform. This mission aimed to promote “Indian values and Knowledge through family-friendly content”.
However, this initiative has been strongly objected to by the All-India Digital Cable Federation (A.I.D.C.F), which urged the ministry to direct the public broadcaster to withdraw the notice, augmenting the violation of the existing guidelines.
According to the guideline, the satellite channel can only be provided to licensed service providers like multi-system operators (MSO), direct-to-home (DTH) services, internet protocol television (IPTV), and headend in the sky (HITS) operators respectively. Avoiding this aspect could particularly violate the clause 11(3)(f). This could thereby disrupt the distribution ecosystem and undermine its regulations.
Also, as per credible sources, the pay-TV platforms have experienced a sharp decline in the past few years, with the combined subscriber base of cable TV and DTH services declining 33% to 120 million this year. Hence, the DTH operators are also expected to write a similar letter to the ministry regarding this issue.
The sensitive part is that as these platforms are not registered with the ministry or not associated with any regulatory framework, they may have the chance to contribute to content piracy and thus harm the traditional distribution industry.
On an important note, the conflict between traditional TV distribution and OTT platforms is due to its rapid technological advancements and evolving consumer preferences.
Ultimately, as Prasar Bharati does not come under the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) regulations or the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, can offer their own satellite TV channels on the OTT Platform.
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