Local service providers face challenges

The Ministry of Information and Communications yesterday chaired a seminar to disseminate new policies and laws on the management, provision and use of radio and television services in Ho Chi Minh City. Management of cross-border over-the-top (OTT) radio and television services was the most hotly debated issue at the seminar.

Mr. Tran Van Uy, Chairman of the Vietnam Pay Television Association (VNPAY TV), admitted that when the world's giants entered Vietnam if management agencies do not well handle the service supply, local service providers can lose at home. Worse, when the government does reverse protection, foreign enterprises almost crush domestic enterprises. It is no coincidence that the public telecommunications and terrestrial mobile network infrastructure is for foreign OTTs to do whatever they want. Vietnam has fully prepared in terms of facilities, so it is necessary to have policies to protect domestic businesses, including radio and television stations.

Domestic service suppliers are facing many challenges in the OTT competition. The representative of Vietnam Television Station asked whether there is any new technology to prevent foreign OTTs, especially the streaming server not located in Vietnam.

A representative of VIEON - an application for streaming movies - programs - TV channels, providing high-quality entertainment content - emphasized that a number of foreign businesses have not been licensed but have collected fees directly in Vietnam by paying fees through Visa accounts, even with OTT. In fact, foreign OTT providers, typically Netflix, have brought products with false content, distorting Vietnam's history and sovereignty many times.

According to Mr. Nguyen Ha Yen, deputy general director of the Authority of Broadcasting, Television and Electronic Information under the Ministry of Information and Communications, after the amended Decree 71 supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 06/2016/ND-CP on January 18, 2016 of the Government on the management, provision and use of radio and television services, took effect, Vietnamese authorities are finishing files of service suppliers which do not cooperate to have proper punishment on them.

Statistics from the Authority of Broadcasting, Television and Electronic Information show that by the end of 2022, of 38 OTT enterprises, 22 have been providing OTT TV services. The number of OTT subscribers accounts for 5.5/17.3 million pay-TV subscribers. OTT TV revenue reached VND1,150 billion. It is forecasted that service providers will collect more money in the future.

Mr. Nguyen Ha Yen said that currently, five foreign enterprises including two from the US and three from China are officially operating in the country. They all hoped to cooperate with domestic enterprises.

At the end of 2022, the Ministry issued guidelines and warnings. Thus, Mr. Yen said that any enterprises intentionally violating the Decree 71 and the provision in the decree No. 119/2020/NĐ-CP will receive administrative fines.

According to the Authority of Broadcasting, Television and Electronic Information, the problem of dealing with infringing OTT platforms is similar to the problem of pirated websites that violate copyright. Over the past five years, the Ministry of Information and Communications has resolved thousands of websites that infringe copyright. People's awareness is very significant because this violation will not be completely prevented if people still try to use the service.

The Ministry of Information and Communications said that in addition to state management agencies, the cooperation and coordination of the community, associations and businesses themselves are attributable to the prevention of violations.

Source: SGGP