OTT Services

Netflix users will be required to buy an extra member account which can be accessed by two people who are not at the primary location

The company lost subscribers in the first half of 2022 amidst stiff competition from rivals, prompting it to look more seriously into password sharing and launching an ad-supported plan

In October last year, the streaming giant had announced the 'Profile Transfer' feature to prevent password sharing that had been rolled out to all members globally

A selected group of cities and harbors have been asked to send test samples of infected travelers for genome sequencing at the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention

The buzz on TV is low for films that could not perform well in theatres, and even the movies that performed well at the box office, like KGF 2 and RRR, did not see much viewership on TV

Over 100 million Netflix viewers worldwide reportedly use the service without paying for it

Netflix has long been aware that password sharing is a problem that negatively affects its earnings, but the rise in subscriptions in 2020 led the company to avoid addressing the issue

OTT market now embraces 30% of Indian population, YoY growth is 20%

The debate over whether over-the-top services should pay telcos user revenues bids fair to overlap with the issue of net neutrality

Telcos point out that based on global estimates 56% of telco bandwidth is used by OTT communication platforms and in India it is even higher due to the proliferation of users which are over 400 mn

The IAMAI, in its letter to the Department of Communication (DoT), has expressed grave concern about the impact of these changes on India's startup ecosystem and the digital economy

An eclectic bunch of content factories have emerged to feed growing demand for streaming video

This is the second time the company has pointed to a likely drop in subscribers in the future due to the absence of IPL

Industry body argues for 'same service, same rules', says current disparities give OTT players privileges but not responsibilities

The bill provides a regulatory framework for spelling out the govt's role in telecommunication services and networks; telecommunication equipment and infrastructure; and spectrum and its assignment

Streaming services bring complementary revenues and viewership for broadcasters

Reliance Jio has discontinued most of its Disney+ Hotstar prepaid plans in India, leaving only two options available

Under the new telecom bill, if the OTT communication services are brought under the ambit of telecom services, companies will be required to do the KYC verification of their users

The draft telecom bill also recognised that the spectrum is a valuable resource and provided for the assignment of the spectrum for the public good

Spectrum for satellite broadband services is not in the Bill's list and it would likely be auctioned