Gone are the days when satellite TVs were ruling the Indian TV industry. Now are the times of internet based channels like Netflix, Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video and more, known as the ‘Over-The-Top (OTT)’ services. Being an internet based service, they can be accessed anywhere and anytime on devices like smartphones and tablets too other than smart TVS, desktops and laptops. These services are known as ‘Over-The-Top’ because the service does not need you to subscribe to a traditional cable channel besides providing the liberty to choose whatever you want to watch as per your choice and time. A hardware device, an internet connection, download the app, get the subscription plan and you are on!
Over-The-Top Service (OTT) Types
Well, on one side it is getting convenient for viewers to watch anything they want anytime, but there is a flipside to it too. The content could be unsuitable for viewers of a certain age group, particularly under-age audience. Therefore, the topic to regulate the content is of vital importance and needs to be looked at with keen interest. The types of over-the-top services include:
1) Ad supported video on demand (AVOD) – A free service, it gets its revenue from the ads it broadcasts along with video content.
2) Subscription based video on demand (SVOD) – This is a paid service where you can access a whole library of video by paying a fixed amount on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
3) Transactional video on demand (TVOD) – This is a pay per view service and needs no subscription.
With the advent of these services, it will not be a surprise if you find people hooked to their smart phones or tablets while having lunch break or commuting on a bus or a metro. Another crucial aspect of it is that the content that is broadcasted is not scrutinized and is uncertified, vulgar, pornographic, legally restricted and at times sexually explicit as well. There have been PILs / petitions against shows like ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Sacred Games’ about objectifying women as well and requesting to frame guidelines for the same. One such petition was dismissed by the Delhi High Court stating that it could not frame any guidelines because there were stringent provisions vide the Information Technology Act, 2000 already in place. When the petition was taken to the Supreme Court, it issued notice to the Center in order to regulate the content on OTT platforms dated 5th May, 2019. All this means that it will take some time for the OTT content to get regulated.