The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) in an appeal filed by cable operators against Star India Pvt. Ltd. (Star), alleging that Star is providing free broadcast of ICC Cricket World Cup on mobile devices through its App, Disney+Hotstar, while charging the cable operators for broadcasting its TV channel is discriminatory and violating Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) guidelines, observed that “prima facie, OTT platforms are not covered by the definition of ‘distribution platform’ under regulation 2(r) of TRAI Regulations, 2017”. The TDSAT further observed that OTT platforms are not TV channels, therefore, does not require any permission or license from the Central Government.
