HIGHLIGHTS

• Hyderabad-based IT engineer landed in jail for allegedly streaming pirated content from OTT platforms on an Android app called Thop TV
• 28-year-old Satish Venkateshwarlu, who ran the Android app Thop Tv, was arrested by Maharashtra cyber police for selling pirated content via his app.
• He charged a nominal fee of Rs 35 per month from the subscribers for the pirated content.

Hyderabad-based IT engineer landed in jail for allegedly streaming pirated content from OTT platforms on an Android app called Thop TV. The 28-year-old engineer was arrested by Maharastra cyber police after multiple OTT companies including Viacom 18, Star India filed complaint against him. The OTT platforms like Amazon Prime, Netflix offer great content, but it may get difficult for some people to buy the subscription for all of them. When people do not want to take the authentic route, they often look for apps that sell pirated content. In this case, Thop Tv offered pirated content from across OTT platforms at a nominal monthly fee of Rs 35.

As per The News Minute, 28-year-old Satish Venkateshwarlu, who ran the Android app Thop Tv, was arrested by Maharashtra cyber police for selling pirated content via his app. It was revealed that Venkateshwarlu was running the Thop Tv app and website for close to two years. He charged a nominal fee of Rs 35 per month from the subscribers for the pirated content that he sourced from various OTT platforms. An Indian Express report revealed that he transmitted content from OTT platforms using API. He was arrested from his residence in Ranga Reddy District, Hyderabad, on July 12.

The publication reports that broadcasters including Viacom 18 and Star Tv had filed a case against Thop TV. Viacom had alleged that Thop TV was transmitting its content without authorization. Lot of subscribers turned to Thop Tv to get the content at a much lower price. This increased the subscriber base of Thop TV to 5000 paid subscribers. Thop Tv had close over one lakh viewers because it offered variety of content including movies, TV shows, sports and more. The OTT platforms had to incur losses due to this as most people who were aware of the Thop TV did not buy subscription to the original OTT platforms.

Venkateswarlu was booked under the Indian Penal Code for cheating, and he will remain in police custody until July 19. Soon after he was arrested, Thop Tv was no longer available for users. The app, however, is still available on Google Play Store.