According to Chinese government policy and regulations, OTT [over-the-top content] TV can't deliver live broadcasts. But some small IT companies are working around the edges, offering apps that provide free access to live streaming channels.

"Such apps are illegal. Whether they will be banned depends on whether each TV station is determined to protect its intellectual property," said a senior digital TV analyst who asked to remain anonymous.

He bought an OTT set-top box for study and found that users can get access to a number of satellite TV channels once they download a live streaming app.

Compared with provincial TV stations, China Central Television has a stronger need to safeguard its copyrights.

The analyst said he rarely found the sports channel of CCTV via such apps.

"Some third-party software developers took advantage of this loophole as OTT video service providers failed to meet the users' demand for live broadcasts due to policy restrictions," said Peng Gang, senior vice-president of LeTV.com.

"The government also failed to supervise the content shown on OTT TV by simply forbidding service providers from delivering live broadcasts. We hope the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television will work with us to find a way to make the best use of the Internet platform," he said.

According to Luan Xutao, director of the operator relationship department of Nielsen-CCData Media Research Co Ltd, "The sense of copyright protection will grow stronger as OTT video services become profitable in the future.

"Although most of the videos provided by OTT license-holders and online video portals are authorized, some titles still have copyright problems. This will bring trouble to the OTT TV industry," he said.

Earlier this year, Youku.com Inc, one of China's major online video providers, sued consumer electronics company Xiaomi Inc for allegedly providing unlicensed content on its Android-based stream-to-TV MiBox.

Xiaomi issued a statement saying that it obtains all of its content from Future TV Co Ltd, an Internet TV company authorized by the government, whose partners include such major OTT service providers as LeTV and Huawei.

The case has raised red flags for companies selling their own OTT TV and set-top boxes. Industry observers said the companies might be asked to share part of the responsibility for copyright infringement with their content providers.