MIB to block websites streaming pirated content: Apurva Chandra

Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) will be blocking rouge websites that run pirated content, said MIB secretary Apurva Chandra on Thursday. 

“The new Cinematograph Bill that is underway seeks to protect the entertainment industry from piracy. We are ready to take action against not only those who record the content illegally, but even those who are transmitting it online. The websites which stream pirated content will be blocked,” Chandra said in Mumbai. 

He was delivering a keynote at “The future of video” conference. The conversation was held by Clare Bloomfield, Acting Chief Policy Officer of Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA). 

The proposed Cinematograph Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021, awaits cabinet approval before being sent to the Parliament, Chandra said.  

At present, there are no enabling provisions to check video piracy in the Cinematograph Act, 1952. 

The conference is being organised by AVIA and attended by industry stakeholders such as Prime Video, Disney+Hotstar, PubMatic, Magnite and Samsung Ads to discuss the issues of the OTT industry. 

Terrestrial broadcasting is no longer viable and Prasar Bharati is in the process of closing down most of its terrestrial broadcasting. Everybody has switched to satellite mode, he said. 

“We decided that the frequency which was allocated to terrestrial broadcasting and was lying unused for several years can be used for telecom purposes if required. Otherwise, whatever frequencies allocated to broadcasting will remain with broadcasting,” he noted.  

He also said Prasar Bharti is being revamped and a new version will be unveiled soon. It aims to boost the infrastructure of public sector broadcasters in the country such as Doordarshan, All India Radio, etc.

Speaking on the content, Chandra said, “One of the major reasons why Indian content is more acceptable now is because it is getting translated into more languages. OTT has made it possible for Indian content to be made accessible to a global audience.” 

Chandra also said that considering the potential of Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic (AVGC), the government plans to launch “AVGC mission” to boost the sector further. 

AVGC sector can witness a growth of 14-16 per cent in the next decade, the MIB secretary had earlier stated. 

Chandra also said that the “Direct to Mobile TV” technology would be a game changer as the TV players can then expand their reach to 800 million mobile phone users, as against 220 million households that TV reaches presently. 

"To promote #EaseOfDoingBusiness in broadcasting, we have uplinking & downlinking guidelines, where we give permissions to broadcasters and satellite channels broadcasting in India. We have set up the Broadcast Seva portal, to enable electronic processing & transparency," said the I&B Secretary. 

He added that the Film Facilitation Office of NFDC facilitates domestic and international filmmakers. We are now aligning this with state portals so that it becomes a single window for providing both central and state government permissions and incentives, informs I&B Secretary