New Delhi: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) told the Rajya Sabha on Friday that the government is guided by “a differentiated approach” for content regulation on over-the-top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and cable TV networks.
Minister of state for information and broadcasting, L Murugan, in a written response to Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) Dola Sen, said that this is because content on OTT platforms is “consumed on-demand,” while content on cable TV networks is distributed “in a linear manner.”
Friday’s response came amid MIB’s attempts to draft a new law to regulate all broadcasters, including online streaming platforms and, arguably, all user-generated content online.
The latest version of the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, or BSRB, can classify all online content creators—from independent journalists on YouTube and Instagram to “thought leaders” on LinkedIn to newsletter writers who write about crocheting—as either OTT broadcasters or as digital news broadcasters, as the case may be.
The new version of the bill, which has been watermarked to trace leaks and was given to select stakeholders between July 24 and July 25, has drawn significant concerns and criticism about its opaque consultation process and about the government’s attempts to control online media, in particular independent journalists on YouTube.
To be sure, both the 2023 and 2024 versions of the BSRB allow the central government to prescribe different programme and advertising codes for OTT broadcasters and linear broadcasters. In at least three meetings that the MIB held with industry stakeholders between May 29 and July 9, ministry officials assured the industry that the government would differentiate between the programme code for traditional broadcasters (such as Sony, Star, and Zee) and online streaming services, HT had reported on July 12. When a top Airtel official had argued that could lead to regulatory arbitrage between broadcasters and streaming platforms, I&B secretary Sanjay Jaju rejected it.
{{/usCountry}}To be sure, both the 2023 and 2024 versions of the BSRB allow the central government to prescribe different programme and advertising codes for OTT broadcasters and linear broadcasters. In at least three meetings that the MIB held with industry stakeholders between May 29 and July 9, ministry officials assured the industry that the government would differentiate between the programme code for traditional broadcasters (such as Sony, Star, and Zee) and online streaming services, HT had reported on July 12. When a top Airtel official had argued that could lead to regulatory arbitrage between broadcasters and streaming platforms, I&B secretary Sanjay Jaju rejected it.
{{/usCountry}}In response to Sen’s question, Murugan, citing the annual reports of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), said that the number of cable TV subscribers had declined from 103 million in March 2020 to 64 million in March 2023, excluding DTH and free dish subscribers. “The decline may be partly attributable to the advent of Over-the-Top platforms,” he said.