OTT market in India is right now going through an interesting phase – While Govt. may force regulation and censorship model, leading players are opposing this move.
Whereas, there are some OTT players, who are actually supporting this move!
In which direction will the OTT battle move from here?
Netflix, Amazon Prime Reject Self-Regulation Model
As per reports coming in, the self-regulation model proposed by Govt for OTTs in India has been rejected by Amazon Prime, Netflix, Zee5, AltBalaji, Arre and MX Player.
At the same time, India’s #1 OTT player: Hotstar along with Jio and SonyLiv have supported this move. Infact, Hotstar and Jio have formed a Digital Content Complaint Council (DCCC), whose aim is to implement content regulation for all OTT players.
Amazon Prime, Netflix, Zee5, AltBalaji, Arre and MX Player are not joining this council, and have made themselves clear: There has to be no regulation, imposed by any body.
At the same time, Times Group, which owns MX Player, have stated that self-regulation by each OTT is the way forward, and not any ‘body’ or counsel which imposes such move.
Karan Bedi, CEO of MX Player, said, “Individual OTT media platforms are in the best position to determine the nature of the content and the kind of restrictions that it requires. Each platform can put a process and system in place based on their respective viewer demographics, market share, business strategies and revenue models,”
Will Govt Enforce Self-Regulation?
In an ongoing case related with censorship of digital content, Govt. has informed the Apex Court that there exists no rules or laws to censor and regulate digital content as of now.
But they suggest an institutional self-regulatory model, just like in print media and other traditional media platforms.
If this is implemented, then every movie and show streamed on OTTs such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and others will have to be passed and cleared, and maybe a certification as well.
We will keep you updated, as more details come in.
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