Disney Star sent notice by TDSAT against free streaming of cricket after AIDCF plea

The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has issued notice to Disney Star challenging the free streaming of cricket matches i.e the recently concluded Asia Cup and the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup for all mobile devices offered on its OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar.

The plea that was filed by the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) states that offering free streaming of cricket is unfair for the cable TV industry that pays broadcasters to distribute and showcase cricket matches. The AIDCF has moved the TDSAT to prevent Disney Star from allowing free streaming of cricket on its OTT platform.

The plea filed by the AIDCF stated, “While on one hand, the respondent (Disney Star), has contracted for distributing and transmitting signals of the live events (Asia Cup and World Cup) to the petitioner (AIDCF) and similarly situated entities on payment basis (ala carte or part of bouquet), on the other hand, the respondent is causing transmission in respect of the very same content on a completely free-to-view basis so far as the consumers of respondent’s own platform was concerned. This has resulted in a clear breach of non-discriminatory principle which underpins regulatory framework covering and controlling transmission of TV signals over Telegraph i.e., wire or wireless system.”