Trevor Barnes’ Post

⏲ Last week, I shared news from the UK about how FAST channels and OTT Video Services will get pressure soon from regulators. The regulation was mainly about "harmful content" at non-desired hours, among other accessibility topics. 🗞 Today, I found an old (but not so old - from around 6 months ago) article that I missed about similar propositions in the US. 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔: https://lnkd.in/gbM-xyRy 🔔 Bottom line. Prepare yourself with advanced tech. 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 (𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞), 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. It is a question of time. Ask your favorite broadcaster about it ;) #videoapi #fastchannels #fcc

The Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting recently released a draft of the proposed Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023. A crisp summary of the draft Bill by IndusLaw Tech Hotspot can be viewed here https://lnkd.in/dEBNJjM9 Sharing some food for thought on the draft Bill. (Views expressed are personal.) - The draft Bill seeks to bring OTT streaming apps within the ambit of broadcasting regulations. A pertinent question that arises is whether an OTT streaming platform which is an ‘on-demand’ medium can be called a ‘broadcast’? A broadcast ‘pushes’ content to a recipient whereas in an on-demand medium, a user ‘pulls’ content that she wishes to consume. - While it is good to review old laws and keep them contemporary and relevant, isn’t such an exercise meant to adopt a nuanced and technology-specific approach to regulation rather than merely repackage old parameters of regulation for new technologies? - The draft Bill seeks to replace the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 but does not interfere with the operation of any other existing law. This could potentially expose OTT streaming platforms to the multifarious regulations of the telecom sector, including those of TRAI. It is interesting to note that just a few weeks ago, the TDSAT in an interim order had said that an OTT streaming platform is not a “TV channel” and hence cannot be brought within the ambit of the TRAI Act, 1997. - The central government has always prioritised ease of doing business in India. Wouldn’t having two sets of regulations (IT Rules 2021 from a platform regulation perspective and the draft Bill from a content regulation perspective) for the same business (OTT streaming platform) pose major hurdles in the ease of doing business? Public comments on the draft Bill can be sent to the Ministry till 15th January, 2024. #tv #ott #media #entertainment #entertainmentlaw #telecom #broadcast #india #legal #law #bill #government #information #broadcasting #ministry #comment #update #views #industry #business #dth #television #network

Tata Play is in favour of removal of caps on carriage fee of TV channels on a distribution platform under a proposed National Broadcasting Policy, while also batting for putting regulatory restrictions on video OTT platforms and Doordarshan FreeDish as both presently create an imbalance in the distribution ecosystem... Read More At:- https://lnkd.in/gN3kG-E5 Tata Play Ltd #tvchannels #platform #regulatory #video #ottplatform #freedish #doordarshan #news #media #newsupdate #newsfeed #newsflash

Another area of concern is whether the government will bring in a pricing regime for OTT content. Nandita Saikia, Shruti Shreya, The Dialogue, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI), Broadcast Advisory Council, Kalpana Ravi #CableTV #OTT #growth #broadcast #content #programme #broadcast

Doordarshan channel in 1982 to 900 TV channels in 2023, Indian media has seen an enormous explosion of multi-language content, with 200 million TV homes. There are 1500 Multi-System Operators, 1,00,000 local Cable Operators, three private DTH Networks, and Prasar Bharati Free Dish... By Ashok Mansukhani:-  https://lnkd.in/gExS92-8 Ashok Mansukhani Doordarshan News #tvchannels #localcable #dthnetwork #prasarbharati #freedish #news #newsupdate #dailynews #ibwnews

📰 #MediaFeature The government's proposed regulation of OTT video streaming apps through the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023, is raising concerns about potential impacts on content innovation and autonomy. Experts fear that stringent codes may lead to content censorship, affecting the "pull model" where consumers choose content. Questions arise about a pricing regime for OTT content and the role of the Content Evaluation Committee (CEC), a self-certification body. While the Bill brings OTTs under regulation, the specific workings of the self-certification model and government involvement remain unclear. Shruti Shreya, The Dialogue's Senior Programme Manager (Online Safety and Platform Regulation), in conversation with Indiantelevision.com emphasizes that while there can be basic ratings and guidelines, the regulation should not mirror that of cable TV. Shreya stresses the importance of not hindering creativity and allowing creators the freedom to produce content, highlighting the need for careful consideration in providing a code of ethics for content to avoid ambiguity and potential censorship issues. #OTT #censorship #TRAI #RegulationBill #CEC #contentcreation #onlinecontent

The Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill 2023, proposed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) in India, aims to bring various platforms and technologies, including OTT platforms, under a single regulatory framework. The bill seeks to replace the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act of 1995 and expand the MIB's regulatory scope to include digital news platforms. While the MIB argues that the bill will provide a consolidated legal framework, stakeholders are concerned about the impact on content creation and the potential infringement of creative freedom. The proposed legislation could also affect independent journalists and individuals sharing news on digital platforms. #AsiaRisk #Regulation #India Follow us for daily updates on risk and operations in Asia! https://lnkd.in/g8-cQarA

Well done Ofcom for the Code on Television Access Services – Proposed Changes resulting from the Consultation: Ensuring the quality of TV and on-demand access services Highlights worth applauding for me: "While Ofcom is open to the use of different technologies to provide access services, broadcasters need to ensure that their access services are of sufficiently high quality so as to ensure these services are effective in contributing to the accessibility of their programming." "Broadcasters of non-domestic channels with smaller audience shares may instead submit proposals to meet the targets for sign-interpretation or additional subtitling." "Ofcom will consider whether access services are of sufficient quality on a case-by-case basis and take account of various factors to assess this, including: • For subtitles: accuracy, synchronicity, readability, presentation and description of non-speech information." For more: https://lnkd.in/ePUVwKw2 https://lnkd.in/ezD5mmfX #access #language #tech #languagetech #subtitling #signlanguage #languagematters #BSI #TV #streaming #broadcasting

𝐓𝐨𝐩-𝐔𝐩 𝐓𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 ! In a significant development, TV broadcasters and streaming platforms are expressing apprehension regarding the 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠'𝐬 (𝐌𝐈𝐁) proposed legislation, which could potentially curtail their creative freedom. The legislation mandates content certification by an evaluation committee before any broadcast. Under the proposed three-tier regulatory mechanism, the ministry has proposed that each broadcaster and broadcasting network operator would be required to establish content evaluation committees (CECs) and only programs certified by these committees would be permitted for broadcast. To get a detailed description of the legislation proposed, 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞: https://lnkd.in/dUbWUjzu #proposedlegislation #legalupdates #lawfirm #trending #medialaws #mediaandentertainment #postoftheday #trending #legalupdates #news

Divergence is Expediting Convergence Why pay tolls (License Fees), and follow traffic rules (TRAI's NTO), when we can drive seamlessly through the OTT and Free Dish lane? The reason I chose to bring up this topic now is because the issue has become more important than ever before. The TRAI, since 2017, has been trying hard to regulate the pricing and transmission of broadcasting content with the objective of empowering consumers with the flexibility of choice. As a result, the broadcasting industry has been anchored around a set of onerous rules for carrying content over DTH, Cable, and IPTV licenses. However, disseminating content over OTT makes these onerous obligations (8% license fees, prices regulations, etc) suddenly disappear - causing the broadcasting (distribution) industry to shrink at the expense of OTT. Therefore the question one needs to ask is - What is the relevance of these rules (TRAI’s NTO and MIB’s License Fees) when OTT can be used to circumvent them easily? Click on the link to read further. #Broadcasting #OTT #TRAI #convergence