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While regulation of OTT content comes under the ambit of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), the carriage part comes under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). Trai will look into such issues.
The consultation paper will deal with issues like bringing price parity between OTT video platforms and traditional distribution platforms like cable TV and direct-to-home (DTH) services and applying some of the rules for the broadcasting sector to OTT when it comes to live content, one of the persons cited above said.
While TRAI has neither confirmed nor denied that it is planning to come out with a consultation paper, industry watchers said the consultation process is the first step in formulating rules for a fledgling segment that is making massive losses due to cut-throat competition among over 40 OTT platforms in the country.
In the video content industry, broadcast companies are bound by regulations on issues like pricing, bundling, and distribution of content, whereas no such rules exist for OTT players.ALSO READ: Trai bats for national registration of consumer bodies to boost awareness about 5G, 6G, AI, IoT Trai is likely to issue the consultation paper on a suo-motu basis as it has not received any reference from the government, a second person aware of the development said.An email sent to Trai chairman PD Vaghela didn’t elicit any response till press time Wednesday.
There have been calls from different stakeholders in the telecom and broadcasting sectors to ensure level-playing field between broadcasting and OTT segments.
One of the issues Trai’s consultation paper is likely to consider is whether there is a need to define TV channels on the basis of content, irrespective of the distribution mode, and whether live TV channels should be permitted on OTT, people cited above said.
The regulator is also contemplating whether there is a need to make exclusive live content like sports available to all distribution platforms. Currently, most OTT platforms have exclusive content on their platforms that is available only to subscribers/users.
The regulator is likely to look into extending the Sports Act 2007, which currently applies to sports broadcasters, to OTT. This Act mandates media rights owners to mandatorily share the signals of sporting events of national importance like the Olympics and the ICC Cricket World Cup with Prasar Bharati.
The issue of applying the ‘must provide’ and ‘must carry’ clauses, which currently exist in the broadcasting sector, to OTT could also be put up for discussion.
Under the ‘must provide’ clause, broadcasters have to share the signals of their channels with all distribution platforms on a non-discriminatory basis while the ‘must carry’ provision ensures that distribution platforms carry channels of all broadcasters without any discrimination.
The definition of OTT platforms that are likely to come under the proposed regulatory framework will also be discussed in the consultation paper, sources said.
Trai chairman Vaghela had more than once in the past talked about the need to create a level-playing field between OTT and TV broadcasting.
Interestingly, at the recent FICCI Frames 2023 event, he said there is no need to regulate new players while there is a need to reduce the regulatory burden of the broadcasting industry.
“I will be very happy if the industry sits together and gives me a roadmap on how we should go for forbearance,” Vaghela had told broadcast industry stakeholders while citing the example of the telecom sector, where Trai is following the forbearance policy on tariffs. “I would scoff at the idea of regulating new players. I would not want the new players to be regulated or brought under the licensing regime. Existing players must be given some sort of relief,” he had said.
