New fittings on old reels could drain OTT wallet

Mumbai: The information and broadcasting ministry's draft accessibility guidelines could substantially raise compliance costs for over-the-top (OTT) platforms, which will have to make their entire content libraries accessible to viewers with hearing and visual impairments within two years, industry executives said.

Under the proposed rules, all new content released six months after notification must include at least one accessibility feature such as captions, audio descriptions or Indian Sign Language (ISL). While most new originals already carry subtitles, the challenge lies in retrofitting older and licensed titles, which involve complex rights and technical constraints.

Given operational constraints, the guidelines exempt live or deferred live content, audio content and short-form videos.

Since platforms do not own the intellectual property of licensed shows, they cannot modify content without producers' consent. Executives said that adding accessibility features will require coordination with rights holders, significant investment and major backend upgrades.

"Original content produced by most OTT platforms is likely to comply with the proposed guidelines. The real challenge lies in applying these requirements retrospectively across the entire catalogue, which includes older and licensed titles," said an OTT executive, who did not wish to be identified.

The ministry has proposed that online content platforms must make their websites, apps and other interfaces accessible to people with disabilities by ensuring they work with assistive technologies.

"The government cannot place the entire onus on the platforms alone, as effective implementation would require participation from the broader device ecosystem," the executive said, adding that the government's own WAVES OTT platform doesn't have such features.

International precedents could help shape compliance, according to another executive. "A significant proportion of global OTT content is already in compliance with comparable accessibility obligations, as such measures have been established as regulatory norms across multiple international jurisdictions," the person said.

Abhishek Malhotra, managing partner, TMT Law Practice, said there are two perspectives to this issue. "The reason for applicability of the accessibility guidelines to content and, therefore, OTT platforms, is the legal requirement under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016," he said.

"As this enactment has come into effect in 2016 and the extension of the obligation to entertainment content is made effective from last year, hence any attempt to require older content to also comply with this obligation is legally unsustainable."

The move echoes the health and family welfare ministry's directive requiring anti-tobacco messages in all films and OTT content released after September 1, 2023. That proposal had also raised implementation concerns, particularly for foreign and older titles. Many global shows were licensed rather than owned, making it legally complex to insert health warnings or alter visuals.