OTT A Major Challenge to Satellite, Ethnic Channels Group Says

Over-the-Top (OTT) broadcasting, an increasingly popular method of video distribution, is having a damaging effect on the industry, according to Ethnic Channels Group Co-founder and CEO Slava Levin. The broadcaster, which provides non-English language digital TV channels to multicultural populations in predominantly English-speaking countries, says the lack of regulation around OTT TV platforms are wreaking havoc on the broadcast industry, especially for its particular niche.

“OTT, being unregulated and really unchallenged, has created a crossroads for the satellite industry, for the cable industry, for the [Internet Protocol Television] IPTV industry — for everybody in the broadcasting space,” Levin told Via Satellite. “And I believe wholeheartedly that satellite is going to be the hardest one hit because of that.”