The All Local Cable Operator Association (ALCOA) in New Delhi, the capital of India, has expressed concerns about potential business impacts from JIO TV’s live airing.
They contend that JIO TV’s live and linear content airing on its OTT platform is causing significant financial losses and job losses for the cable TV industry.
A letter from ALCOA to the Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) states that JIO TV’s actions are not in compliance with the laws as they stand.
According to ALCOA, live content transmission should only be done by IPTV providers, Direct-to-Home (DTH) companies, Multi-System Operators (MSOs), and Headend in the Sky (HITS) operators. Additionally, they stated that JIO TV and other OTT providers should not permit the streaming of linear content since it violates the Cable Act of 1995.
According to the letter, there were 210 million televisions in Indian homes in 2020 compared to 197 million in 2018. The number of homes with cable TV services decreased from 120 million in 2018 to 90 million in 2020 despite this gain, and the trend has continued.
ALCOA claims that broadcasters including STAR INDIA Pvt. Ltd. and INDIACAST distribute linear content on JIO TV and Disney + Hotstar, two of their respective OTT platforms.
Customers are moving from cable TV to over-the-top (OTT) platforms as a result of this practice since they are better and more cheap, especially for young people, housewives, and students.
Furthermore, ALCOA pointed out that OTT platforms—which frequently provide major networks at no additional cost—are unjustly competing with the cable TV industry. They emphasized the negative social repercussions brought about by the unrestricted dissemination of material on these sites.
