New Delhi: The ambitious Rs 1,600 crore DTH (Direct To Home) venture of Rupert Murdoch's Star Network and Tatas is all set to receive a final clearance by the Government, heralding competition with lone player Zee's 'Dish TV' now and Prasar Bharati's venture shortly.

The Star-Tata application, which had been pending with the Government for quite some time now, is expected to be cleared by the year-end, highly-placed official sources said in New Delhi.

"The venture had a problem earlier. However, as almost all stipulated clearances have been given, it will be cleared shortly, before the end of this calendar year," the sources told.

The Star-Tata venture, in which the Indian partner holds 80 per cent equity as per Government guidelines, is called 'Space TV' and when launched will be the third player in the segment, considering that public broadcaster Prasar Bharati's DTH platform will be on air by that time.

The Government is also studying several aspects related to the segment with the number of players set to rise, the sources said.

"These include things like tackling the free availability of pornographic material through the DTH platforms," they said, adding that broadcast regulator TRAI's recommendation on the matter would also be considered.

Notable among TRAI's recommendations was the issue of DTH players sharing content with each other on a non-discriminatory basis.