Sony-Tata Play dispute: Will JioHotstar be the big winner in the India-England series?

New Delhi: With the India-England Test series beginning today, hardcore cricket fans with a Tata Play connection will struggle to watch the action live.

The series will be broadcast live on Sony Sports channels on television and JioHotstar on OTT.

A television viewer who subscribes to the Tata Sky packs will now have to add Sony Sports separately on an à la carte basis by giving a missed call to the number displayed on their black screen.

This inconvenience for millions of viewers is the result of a dispute between Sony Pictures Networks India and Tata Play over non-payment of dues, which remains unresolved, with the Bombay High Court refusing to grant any relief to the broadcaster on Wednesday.

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For those expecting a breakthrough between the two stakeholders in the wake of the India-England series, neither side was willing to blink at the time of writing this report.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which left several gaps in its regulations, making them anti-consumer, is nowhere to be seen as millions of consumers suffer amid the corporate battle between these two giants.

In disputes between a DPO and a broadcaster, there is no safeguard provided for the consumer.

TRAI regulations mandate that broadcasters supply signals to every legal Distribution Platform Operator (DPO), but there is no such compulsion on DPOs to carry or retain any channel.

In practice, this means a DPO can drop key channels from bouquets without warning, leaving subscribers who have paid in advance helpless. Yet, the regulator continues to promote its rules as consumer-centric.

In the context of the India-England Test series, the viewers’ profile is important to consider. Test match viewers are mature and hardcore cricket fans—largely the decision-makers in their households.

If they are DTH subscribers, they are informed and hyper-connected, and often tech-savvy. While some may avoid the hassle of switching to OTT platforms, most are equipped with resources to make the switch easily.

In the absence of a temporary truce for the test series, both Tata Play and Sony will be under tremendous pressure.

Sony will face dual pressure from viewers and advertisers, while Tata Play will risk losing subscribers.

How to watch India-England test match

Amid all this, the ultimate beneficiary of this dispute will be JioHotstar, which will stream the series exclusively under a special licensing agreement with Sony.

A large number of DTH subscribers now have access to OTT apps on their connected TVs, making switching just a remote control away. Coupled with those already considering the switch to OTT, the ongoing feud will accelerate migration from linear TV to OTT.

This will result in more subscribers as well as increased advertising revenue for JioHotstar.

Ultimately, loyal Test cricket fans will find ways to watch the game, regardless of the one being played in the boardrooms of Tata Play and SPNI.