The rapid spread of a global pandemic over the past year and the ensuing health and safety protocols, such as implementation of stringent curfews and lockdowns, adversely impacted numerous sectors and industries. However, the over-the-top (OTT) media sector stood out as a glaring exception to the economic ill-effects of...
The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) on Friday i.e. September 4, 2020 unveiled the Universal Self-Regulation Code for OCCPs (“Code”). The Code has been adopted by 15 leading Online Curated Content Providers in India. The present set of signatories include Zee5, Viacom 18, Disney Hotstar, Amazon Prime...
With the advent of OTT platforms like Netflix, Hotstar, Amazon Prime video et all, many of us have forgotten about the traditional television channels. These platforms are slowly taking over the television audience at least in the urban sector. With more quality content available, a wide section of audience...
In a sudden move, the President in exercise of its powers under Article 77 of the Constitution amended Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 has included within the ambit of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting the following entries:
“VA. DIGITAL/ONLINE MEDIA
22A. Films and Audio-Visual programmes made available...
Begum Jaan, an Assamese TV series based loosely on the theme of 1948 Assamese movie Siraj ran in legal troubles for allegedly promoting ‘Love Jihad’. Siraj was a critically acclaimed movie which was made on the theme of national integration with a message of communal harmony but in 2020,...
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently notified the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) 2023 Rules, 2023 (“2023 Rules”) on 31st May, 2023 which is to come into effect within 3 (three) months from the date of...
This article was first featured in the magazine 'The Kolkata Protector' (March-April 2018 edition), a magazine for the Kolkata Police. The e-version of the article can be accessed here.
It is not easy to list down only five hurdles faced by the Media and Entertainment industry of India, but I...
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Breaking the practice of the eight-week holdback period from theatrical release, several mainstream Bollywood films are being directly released on OTT. Who would have imagined that an Akshay Kumar starrer film ‘Laxmmi Bomb’ or an Amitabh Bachchan-Ayushman Khurana starrer ‘Gulabo Sitaro’ would go...
It has been often said that media is the fourth pillar of democracy, but this statement appears to be besmirched in the recent past, with our country’s media networks and TV channels being mired with complaints of bias, hate speech, false news, vilification and TRP scandals.
The Supreme Court on...
Netflix, Hotstar, Reliance Jio, Zee5, AltBalaji, Sony-Liv,Viacom 18, Arre are some of the online video streaming platforms who have recently agreed to the Code on Self-Regulation drafted by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) . However, Amazon Prime Prime, TVF, Hungama, Yupp TV Google and Facebook seem...
