India at a glance
- Film piracy law
- Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023: up to 3 years’ prison and a fine of up to 5% of a film’s audited gross production cost
- Court blocking
- Delhi High Court “dynamic+” injunctions since August 2023, and real-time blocking of rogue apps since May 2025
- Free TV
- DD Free Dish satellite and Prasar Bharati’s WAVES app (launched November 2024)
- Streaming
- JioHotstar, launched February 2025 by merging JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar, among many paid services
- Time vs UK
- 5½ hours ahead in UK winter, 4½ in UK summer (no daylight saving)
Checked September 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.
Is IPTV legal in India?
India has a huge licensed streaming market: broadcasters’ apps, national streaming platforms and TV bundled with fibre broadband all deliver TV over the internet. None of that is in question. What’s illegal is streaming channels, films or sport without the rights holders’ permission, which infringes the Copyright Act, 1957, and, for films, now also breaches the Cinematograph Act.
Indian enforcement relies mainly on court-ordered blocking, and Indian courts have been unusually creative in making blocks keep up with pirate services. For the checks that apply anywhere, see is IPTV legal?.
The Cinematograph (Amendment) Act, 2023
The 2023 amendment added two anti-piracy provisions to the Cinematograph Act, sections 6AA and 6AB, which prohibit the unauthorised recording and transmission of films. The penalties, as set out by the government, are:
- a minimum of three months’ imprisonment and a ₹3 lakh fine, extending to
- up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to 5% of the film’s audited gross production cost.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has also set up nodal officers who can direct platforms to take down pirated films on complaint from rights holders.
Delhi High Court blocking orders
Most blocking in India comes from the Delhi High Court, which has developed new kinds of injunction:
- Dynamic injunctions let rights holders add mirror and redirect sites of an already-blocked pirate service without a new case.
- Dynamic+ injunctions, first granted on 9 August 2023 in a case brought by six film and streaming studios, also cover content not yet released. The court directed the government’s IT and telecom departments to issue blocking orders, ISPs to block the sites, and domain registrars to lock and suspend their domains.
- Superlative injunctions, granted on 29 May 2025 in favour of a major broadcaster, extend real-time blocking to rogue mobile apps as well as websites, without returning to court for each new app.
The court has also directed the blocking of IPTV websites that stream broadcasters’ channels. For viewers of unlicensed services, it’s the familiar pattern: apps that stop loading, especially during big events. See ISP blocking and IPTV.
Licensed ways to watch TV in India
| Option | What you get | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DD Free Dish | Free-to-air satellite channels from the public broadcaster and others | No monthly fee; needs a dish and set-top box |
| WAVES | Prasar Bharati’s streaming app: live TV, on demand, 12+ languages | Launched 20 November 2024 |
| DTH satellite and cable | Pay-TV packages, with channels chosen under the regulator’s tariff rules | Monthly subscriptions |
| Streaming platforms | JioHotstar (since February 2025) and many others | Free tiers with ads on some, paid plans on most |
| Fibre broadband TV | Live channels bundled with some fibre plans | Delivered over the connection with an app or box |
These apps run on the same devices used for IPTV players. See our guides to Android TV, Fire TV and smart TVs from Samsung and LG.
Indian TV in the UK, and UK TV in India
- Living in the UK and want Indian channels? That’s a different question with different legal options. See how to watch Indian TV in the UK.
- BBC iPlayer only works in the UK, so it isn’t available from India.
- Time: India doesn’t use daylight saving, so it’s 5½ hours ahead of the UK in winter and 4½ hours ahead in summer. For UK guide listings in an Indian player (or Indian listings in the UK), our EPG offset calculator works out the setting.
Before you pay for any service
- Check who runs it: an Indian service should show a registered company, grievance officer details and terms.
- Be wary of apps offering every paid channel and new film releases for a tiny price; they are the target of the court orders above.
- Prefer apps from official stores and known broadcasters, and avoid sideloaded APKs from unknown sources.