I&B Ministry
Meeting of expert committee on WIPO early next month
NEW DELHI: The first meeting of the expert committee constituted earlier this year for the protection of broadcasting organisation at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) will be held on 2 September.
The aim is to discuss with members from broadcasting organisations and broadcasters to examine and articulate the stand being taken by India.
The meeting will discuss the text of the broadcasting treaty and proposals submitted by India during the 26th SCCR; discussion on the informal proposal submitted by Japan; discussion on the proposal submitted by European Union and discussion on the formats circulated by WlPO secretariat.
The members of the committee include representatives of all the concerned Ministries, representatives of the News Broadcasters Association and Indian Broadcasting Foundation, the radio industry, the film industry, Prasar Bharati, Amit Shukla who is Director (Copyright) in the Registrar of Copyrights (copyright division) of the Department of Higher Education; BECIL; the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI); Centre for Media Studies (CMS); Community Radio Forum; Community Radio Association; Association of Regional Television Broadcasters of India; School of Legal Studies in Cochin; Cine & TV Artistes Association; the Film Federation of India; the Indian Music Industry and the Film & TV producers Guild of India.
I&B Ministry
AIDCF moves TDSAT over Waves plan to stream linear TV channels
Industry body flags regulatory gap as OTT push sparks broadcast turf war
NEW DELHI: The battle between traditional television distributors and digital platforms has found its way to the courts, with the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) moving the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against Prasar Bharati’s latest OTT play.
At the heart of the dispute is Waves, Prasar Bharati’s OTT platform, which has invited applications to onboard linear satellite TV channels. Aidcf, which represents multi-system operators (msos), argues that this move sidesteps existing broadcasting rules and risks tilting the playing field in favour of digital platforms.
The federation’s petition hinges on a key provision in the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines, 2022. Clause 11(3)(f) allows broadcasters to downlink channels only if they provide signal decoders to recognised distribution platforms such as MSOS, DTH operators, hits operators and iptv platforms. OTT platforms, aidcf points out, do not feature on that list.
In simple terms, AIDCF’s argument is this: if OTT platforms are not officially recognised distributors, they should not be receiving broadcast signals in the first place. By inviting channels onto Waves, the federation claims, Prasar Bharati is opening a backdoor that lets broadcasters bypass long-standing rules.
The concern goes beyond legal interpretation. Aidcf says OTT platforms currently operate without a clear regulatory framework, allowing them to expand into traditional broadcasting territory without the compliance burden that cable and satellite operators must carry. That, it argues, creates an uneven contest.
There is also a warning for broadcasters. If they provide signal decoders to an OTT platform like Waves, they could risk breaching the very conditions under which their downlinking permissions were granted.
For its part, Prasar Bharati’s Waves initiative is positioned as a step towards wider access and digital reach, bringing linear television into the streaming era. But critics say the move blurs the line between regulated broadcasting and largely unregulated streaming.
The matter is expected to come up before tdsat next week. The outcome could do more than settle a single dispute. It may help define how India regulates the fast-merging worlds of television and OTT, where the lines are getting fuzzier by the day and the stakes, sharper than ever.
