OTT apps join the big fight against Google’s billing policy

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

The move comes a day after Disney+ Hotstar streaming app owner Novi Digital Entertainment moved the Madras High Court in a bid to stop Google from removing the app from Play Store. Disney+ Hotstar is the first non-Indian OTT (over-the-top) platform that has joined the fight with Google which has moved to the high court. The streaming apps seeking intervention include Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, Voot, SonyLIV, Manorama Max, SunNXT and Discovery+.

They are being represented by Indian Digital Media Industry Foundation (IDMIF), an industry body for OTT platforms. The people cited earlier told ET that in a letter to the competition watchdog, IDMIF has termed the commission charged by Google Play Store as unjustified and said that it is an affected party in the matter. They said the CCI has asked the IDMIF to submit a detailed report and that the industry body is working on it.

«IDMIF approaching the CCI on this matter adds a lot of heft to our ongoing case that it is not just the smaller players who are hurting but also the larger players in the space that are going to take a hit,» Vinay Singhal, co-founder and CEO at regional OTT startup Stage, told ET. Stage too has approached the Madras High Court against Google Play Store's billing policy. According to sources, IDMIF’s letter to CCI says that Google's practices could mean the end of business operation for smaller TV channels and OTT players, especially in the content curation business.

They said the CCI has asked IDMIF to submit evidence of the claim it is making. «They are doing that while also telling the court that they should be made a party to the ongoing case,» a source told ET. Email queries sent to IDMIF and its member organisations remained unanswered till as of