Light Reading: Here is a nice story on what could be the key issues faced by IPTV carriers when they start to acquire content rights.
“Content licensing is going to be a killer,” reckons (Tonse Telecom analyst Sridhar) Pai. “For a country that’s not completely used to respecting copyrights,” the idea of paying for on-demand video services could be hard to catch on. Movies and computer software are “blatantly copied and no one cares,” he says. “But for the content industry to flourish they need to have respect for copyrights.”
Now there are going to be revenue sharing issues too. Telcos and content owners will find it difficult to reach a common point as to charge how much for the content. Pai says. “They’re going to be asking ‘how much are you going to charge them and how much are you going to pay me?'” Which is why Reliance is doing content-side acquisitions (Adlabs Films). Also, Light Reading says that Disney “is planning mobile and IPTV content initiatives in India and is in talks with Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd”.
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