I&B Ministry
Dish TV bemoans govt’s neglect of DTH sector
MUMBAI: Dish TV, while lamenting neglect and step-motherly treatment of the whole DTH sector by the government, has exhorted policy-makers to remove various discriminations in the licencing conditions of various distribution platforms as it has resulted in taxing times for DTH operators.
Furthermore, Dish TV has also pointed out that video distribution on OTT platforms should be brought under government regulations, similar to those governing other distribution platforms (DPs) to remove anomalies and creation of a level playing field for every stakeholder.
“The present [regulatory] regime for the licence fee is discriminatory against the DTH operators and is designed to provide the leveraged position to cable operator, HITS, IPTV and MSO, etc in the market place as they are not required to pay any annual licence fee,” Dish TV has said in its submission to regulator TRAI’s consultation paper on issues related to uplink/downlink of TV channels and whether they could be auctioned in a way similar to FM radio licences.
One of the largest satellite TV operators in India has added that because of discriminatory licencing regimes, the additional financial burden in terms of monthly subscription fee is put on a subscriber of DTH service when compared to subscribers of cable TV or HITS services.
“It is a matter of record that in the month of March 2008, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) had taken a decision to fix the [DTH operator’s] licence fee @ 6 per cent of the gross revenue, which had the concurrence of the TRAI also. However, for reasons best known to the government, the decision is yet to be put into effect,” Dish TV has said.
Pointing out that the DTH sector (India has six DTH licencees at present, according to MIB) has played a critical role in making the digitisation dream a success even while providing a world class experience to consumers, Dish TV has urged the government/regulator to “remove anomalies” by creating a level playing field for the DTH operators and rationalising the licence fee.
Dish TV is also hopeful that TRAI’s new tariff structure and inter-connect regulations—which are in suspended animation owing to being legally challenged in Madras and Delhi High Courts by Star TV and Tata Sky and Airtel Digital combine, respectively—would go a long way in easing the pains of DTH ops. “Though the tariff order and the regulation are under challenge, however, it is just a matter of time that when the new regulation will sail through these minor hiccups and become a reality,” it added.
Incidentally, as reported by Indiantelevision.com earlier, MIB is contemplating referring the issue of DTH policy guidelines review to its sister organisation, Ministry of Law, for an opinion.
Meanwhile, Dish TV in its submission to TRAI has made a strong financial case for rationalisation of DTH licencing regime, while highlighting how owners of TV channels continue to play favourites with various DPs, has also urged a regulatory regime for video distributed on OTT platforms.
In a section that dwells on OTT platforms, Dish TV has accused broadcasters or owners of TV channels of circumventing regulatory framework by distributing video on the internet or OTT platforms.
Arguing that by starting OTT platforms broadcasters don’t just remain ‘broadcasters’, but also become ‘distributors’ of TV channels, Dish TV has said that such an arrangement breaches various existing regulations, including cross-media and cross-services restrictions.
“It is important to note that the content being provided by the broadcasters [on OTT platforms] are free of cost with an intention to create a captive subscriber base and create a monopolistic situation. Because of ‘free of cost’ provision of the content by the broadcasters through OTT services, other distributor[s] of TV channels are heavily prejudiced… threatening the existence of other distribution platforms,” Dish TV has stated, adding such an arrangement could also create a monopoly where the broadcaster, being the distributor, would also control the end mile solution.
It may be pertinent to note here that Dish TV’s sibling Zee group too has an OTT platform whereby it distributes TV programming to subscribers. Zee unveiled on Valentine’s Day a new avatar of its video streaming service called ZEE5.
Though TRAI had initially left video streaming services out of a regulatory framework when it announced guidelines pertaining to Net Neutrality late last year, a section of the media has reported that the regulator is now thinking afresh and could bring in regulations for video content distributed via the internet (read video OTT platforms).
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I&B Ministry
India turns up the heat on piracy, orders Telegram to axe 3,142 channels and blocks 800 websites
New legal teeth, nodal officers and notices to intermediaries signal that the government is done playing nice with copyright thieves
NEW DELHI: India’s war on film piracy just got significantly more aggressive. The government has ordered Telegram to remove 3,142 channels distributing pirated content, blocked access to around 800 websites through internet service providers, and put the full weight of freshly sharpened legislation behind the crackdown. The message from New Delhi is unambiguous: the free ride for copyright thieves is over.
Minister of state for information and broadcasting L. Murugan spelled out the legal architecture to the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023, he said, now contains specific provisions designed to make piracy a genuinely painful proposition. Sections 6AA and 6AB prohibit unauthorised recording and transmission of films, with violations attracting a minimum of three months’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 3 lakh. At the upper end, offenders face three years behind bars and fines of up to 5 per cent of a film’s audited gross production cost — a figure that, for a big-budget production, could run into crores.
The legislation also gives the government powers to act against intermediaries hosting infringing content, by notifying them under Section 79(3) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and compelling takedowns and blocking actions. Under Section 79(3)(b), intermediaries are legally required to remove or disable access to unlawful content upon receiving government notice or court orders. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, add a further layer of obligation, requiring platforms to ensure their services are not used to host or distribute content that violates copyright or proprietary rights.
To put enforcement into practice, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has established a dedicated institutional mechanism, complete with nodal officers to receive complaints. Copyright holders, authorised representatives or individuals can report piracy through a prescribed format, after which the government issues notices to intermediaries to disable access to infringing links.
The most headline-grabbing action came on 11 March 2026, when Telegram was formally notified under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act and directed to remove and disable 3,142 channels found to be distributing unauthorised content belonging to OTT platforms, content owners and producers. The complaints that triggered the action came from OTT platforms including JioCinema and Amazon Prime Video, which alleged that copyrighted films, web series and other material were being shared on the platform on a massive scale. Telegram’s architecture, with its large file-sharing limits and capacity for user anonymity, has made it a favoured vehicle for exactly this kind of large-scale piracy.
The Telegram action sits within a broader pattern of escalating enforcement. Just days before the Lok Sabha statement, the ministry banned five OTT platforms for streaming obscene content: MoodXVIP, Koyal Playpro, Digi Movieplex, Feel and Jugnu. In July 2025, the Centre ordered the blocking of 25 OTT platforms accused of streaming obscene, vulgar or pornographic material, a list that included ALTT, ULLU, Big Shots App, Desiflix, Boomex, Navarasa Lite, Gulab App, Kangan App, Bull App, Jalva App, ShowHit, Wow Entertainment, Look Entertainment, Hitprime, Feneo, ShowX, Sol Talkies, Adda TV, HotX VIP, Hulchul App, MoodX, NeonX VIP, Fugi, Mojflix and Triflicks.
Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, provides the regulatory hook for those actions, prohibiting platforms from hosting content that is obscene, pornographic, invasive of privacy, gender-harassing, racially or ethnically objectionable, or that promotes hatred and violence.
For an industry that loses billions of rupees annually to piracy, the direction of travel is welcome. The question, as always, is not whether the laws exist, but whether the enforcement machinery can keep pace with the ingenuity of those determined to circumvent it. Three thousand channels down, and the pirates are already busy opening three thousand more.
