Why Does Sports Broadcasting Act Not Include OTT Platforms?

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) recently re-uploaded the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act, 2007, on its website. For context, this legislation mandates that broadcasters in India must share live links of “sporting events of national importance” with India’s public service broadcaster, Prasar Bharti.

As per the notification of this Act, broadcasters in India have to inform Prasar Bharti at least 45 days before the live event, and share the live link without any commercial advertisements included in it. However, this Act particularly refers to television and radio broadcasting, excluding OTT (over-the-top) services and platforms.

What are sporting events of national importance?

Under the 2007 Act, only the MIB, in consultation with Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (YAS Ministry) and Prasar Bharati, has the authority to determine which sporting events qualify as being of “national importance”.

In this context, the MIB issued its latest notification in May 2022, under which the Government of India has designated the following as games of national importance:

• All Olympic Games
• Commonwealth Games
• Asian Games
• Specified international events relating to cricket, tennis, hockey, football, badminton, kabaddi, and the Khelo India Games
• Also, events in shooting and archery organised by National Sports Federations (NSFs) that are recognised by the Government

Why are OTT platforms excluded from Sports Broadcasting Act?

The above-mentioned Act only mandates the sharing of a live sporting link in broadcasting and radio transmission, thereby excluding OTT services.

Addressing this gap, one Adithya Modi approached the Madras High Court (HC) through a public interest litigation (PIL) in 2020 to ask it to include mandatory sharing of live links to online streaming as well.

However, the HC ruled that it couldn’t intervene in this issue and left it to the MIB and YAS Ministry to decide whether the mandatory link-sharing needs to be expanded to OTT platforms as well.

Pertinently, Prasar Bharati did not have its own OTT streaming service in 2020, except for a YouTube channel and archival services. But in November 2024, the public service broadcaster launched WAVES OTT at the opening ceremony of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

Back then, the Indian public broadcaster’s chairman Navneet Kumar Sehgal said that their platform was distinct from other OTT services as it focused on providing “clean and family-friendly entertainment”.

Therefore, the question now remains: whether the MIB or YAS Ministry will amend the framework to include OTT platforms alongside television and radio broadcasters?

Why it matters

When there were rumours regarding the possible parting of ways between the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Reliance-owned JioStar with respect to media rights for ICC-organised tournaments, there were media reports indicating that Prasar Bharati was eyeing to grab these rights. But the ICC dismissed these media reports, clarifying in a joint statement that “JioStar continues as the ICC’s official media rights partner in India”.

From Prasar Bharti’s perspective, Doordarshan can still broadcast ICC-related games, specifically India’s matches in ICC tournaments as well as semi-final and final match-ups. And surprisingly, Doordarshan’s television viewership for India’s cricket matches has, at times, surpassed that of the official rights holder.

For instance, during the India-Australia series aired in September and October 2017, DD National reportedly recorded higher viewership than Star Sports for the first two One-Day Internationals (ODIs), and marginally lower numbers for the third and fourth, according to data from the Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC India).

However, JioHotstar is not expected to make a loss due to Prasar Bharti/Doordarshan broadcasting selected ICC tournament matches. For context, Doordarshan may bring additional viewership from smaller towns in India, but it will have a negligible impact on JioHotstar’s revenue inflow as media rights partners normally sell ad inventory (ad space sold to advertisers) for any matches or tournaments before they begin. And even back in 2021, a media executive told Mint that broadcasts on Doordarshan don’t necessarily mean reduced viewership for official sports broadcast partners.

But even as Prasar Bharati’s current framework for TV and radio broadcasts remains clear, there is uncertainty around how it intends to navigate in terms of OTT platforms sharing live broadcasts of sporting events of national importance.

What does the sporting calendar in 2026 look like?

Importantly, one must look at India’s Sports Broadcasting Act and the concerns around OTT platforms sharing live broadcasts (or not) with Prasar Bharti terms of the upcoming sporting calendar in both India and abroad.

For context, India will host the men’s ICC T20 World Cup in February and March 2026, followed by the women’s ICC T20 World Cup taking place in England and Wales in June-July 2026. These cricketing showpiece events will be followed by the Commonwealth Games in July-August 2026, and the Asian Games in September-October 2026.

And beyond 2026, Ahmedabad in India’s Gujarat state is confirmed as the host of the 2030 Commonwealth Games: which mark the centenary of the multi-sport event. Furthermore, India’s bid for the 2036 Summer Olympic Games is in the ‘Continuous Dialogue’ phase with the Future Host Commission of the IOC.

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