iWorld
OTT industry working on compliance with new IT rules
Kolkata: For the last few months, the new regulations introduced for over-the-top platforms at the beginning of this year, has been the talk of the town. As the new rules introduced by the government came into effect on 26 May, the industry is working towards complying with all the rules. However, both the self-regulatory bodies, the newly formed digital segment under Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI ) have asked for additional time, as per industry sources.
On 27 May, the digital media division of the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) wrote to the OTT and digital media publishers to furnish all their details and compliance status under Rule 18 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Codes) Rules, 2021 within 15 days.
Soon thereafter, IDBF announced the appointment of Justice (retd.) Vikramjit Sen as chairman, along with six other media and entertainment industry members for its newly formed Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC). IAMAI followed suit and announced its self-regulatory body for streaming content companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. The Digital Publisher Content Grievances Council’s (DPCGC) Grievance Redressal Board (GRB) will be chaired by former Supreme Court judge Arjan Kumar Sikri, it announced.
The withdrawal of broadcaster-led OTTs such as Disney+Hotstar, Zee5, SonyLIV from IAMAI has created two lobbies in the industry. International tech and media giants like Netflix, Amazon have stayed with IAMAI, along with tech giant Apple who also joined the body recently. Several independent bodies have also decided to remain under IAMAI.
According to a senior official with a leading OTT, both are in touch with MIB and have asked for additional time. While the ministry may grant some extension, it seems it is not very happy with the fact that “people have been toying around deadlines”, the official added.
“IBF has to work on the registration, including a new name, trademark for its new body, and IAMAI has to work on the formation of its second-tier mechanism. IBF has assured that it would come up with rigid guidelines exactly based on the code of ethics”, he added.
Indiantelevision.com surfed through websites of leading platforms like MX Player, Zee5, SonyLIV, Disney+Hotstar, and found details of the grievance redressal officers identified by the respective platforms. Moreover, most of the leading platforms have already classified age-rating on their shows, some of the platforms have even rated the overall show, still others have rated each episode wise.
According to a Hindustan Times report over 800 OTT platforms including video streaming services such as Netflix and Hotstar, and digital news media outfits, have shared details under the new IT rules. Most of the top OTT players have shared the details including Netflix, Amazon, Jio, the report said, quoting an unnamed MIB official.
The new rules apply to digital news publishers as well. While traditional media companies with digital footprints asked for an exemption. But MIB clarified that it would not grant any relief because making an exception of the nature proposed “will be discriminatory to the digital news publishers who do not have a traditional TV/print platform.”
The News Broadcasters Federation has stated on Friday that all its current members have duly complied with the requirements of the new rules by providing required information of their entities. However, the new rules have been challenged in court by a few digital news media outfits including LiveLaw and The Wire.
iWorld
T20 World Cup ’26: India–England semi-final sets global streaming record of 619 million views on JioHotstar
India–England semi-final records 65.2 million peak streams
MUMBAI: The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 set a new milestone in global sports streaming, as the India–England semi-final drew record digital audiences on JioHotstar.
The match on 5 March registered 65.2 million peak concurrent viewers, the highest ever recorded for a live event on any streaming platform worldwide. The semi-final also generated 619 million views, making it the most streamed T20 international match in history.
The landmark audience numbers were driven largely by viewers in India, setting a record achieved within a single market, rather than through aggregated viewership across multiple countries.
The high-scoring encounter between India national cricket team and England cricket team produced 499 runs across both innings, fuelling widespread fan engagement across platforms.
According to the International Cricket Council, the digital record surpassed the previous global benchmark of 65 million concurrent viewers, set in November 2024 by another international streaming platform.
Across television and digital platforms combined, the semi-final reached more than 320 million viewers, while total watch time exceeded 23 billion minutes, making it the most watched T20 international match ever.
“This World Cup demonstrates the immense passion of cricket fans and the progress made in bringing the game closer to audiences worldwide,” said ICC chairman Jay Shah.
“This moment reflects the scale of cricket fandom in India and the technological capability required to serve hundreds of millions of viewers simultaneously.”
JioStar vice-chairman Uday Shankar, said the audience surge underscored the future of large-scale digital entertainment.
“One in every three Indians tuned in to watch the second semi-final. Delivering such an experience at scale requires the very best of technology,” he said.
The 619 million views during the match also eclipsed the 533 million views recorded during the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
With the final yet to be played, the 2026 tournament has already set multiple benchmarks in audience reach and digital engagement.
India will face the New Zealand national cricket team in the final on 8 March at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The match will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network and streamed on JioHotstar.
