India’s public service broadcaster Prasar Bharati is inviting purposes from satellite tv for pc TV channels licensed by the Ministry of Data and Broadcasting (MIB) to hitch its WAVES OTT (over-the-top) platform. Notably, TV channels should e-mail the general public service broadcaster by 5 pm on December 1, 2025.
Elsewhere, Prasar Bharati introduced that it’s going to introduce pay-per-view (PPV) plans for content material on the WAVES OTT platform as a part of its Content material Sourcing Coverage, 2024. The PPV plan’s pilot section in scheduled to final from November 18, 2025, to March 31, 2026.
WAVES OTT Channel Onboarding: Key Particulars
In response to the discover, Prasar Bharati is accepting invites solely from licensed TV channels as designated by the MIB.
Moreover, the general public broadcaster additionally revealed that 65% of the ad-driven income might be allotted to the respective TV channels, with Prasar Bharati retaining the remaining 35% income.
The general public service broadcaster additionally said that TV channels should present them with SCTE-35, a signalling customary for content material suppliers and distributors geared toward promoting and programme management. Notably, this sign is the cue for the OTT platform to show commercials.
Additional, Prasar Bharati said that it’s going to rank all applicant TV channels based mostly on the DAVP fee card. To elucidate, a DAVP fee card lists the official charges set by the Indian authorities for its promoting, together with TV channels and newspapers.
The broadcaster will choose channels in every class based mostly on the best listed fee throughout all time bands. And channels with the best DAVP charges of their respective classes might be chosen for streaming on the OTT platform.
The WAVES of the State-owned Broadcaster
In September 2023, Prasar Bharati floated a young inviting technical help to construct its personal OTT platform to “cater to the rising demand for digital streaming providers”. “The platform goals to revive nostalgia whereas embracing trendy digital traits by providing a wealthy mixture of traditional content material and modern programming,” said their press launch.
In November 2024, the general public service broadcaster launched WAVES OTT on the opening ceremony of the fifty fifth Worldwide Movie Competition of India (IFFI). In the course of the ceremonial speech, Prasar Bharati Chairman Navneet Kumar Sehgal, stated: “This OTT platform is totally different from the opposite OTT platforms available in the market. As a result of we are attempting to present clear and family-friendly leisure.”
In the meantime, in September 2025, MediaNama reported on Prasar Bharati searching for feedback on its draft Content material Syndication Coverage (2025), which goals to monetise content material by way of syndication and distribution on satellite tv for pc TV, digital platforms, and OTT providers.
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For context, the broadcaster invited suggestions from media homes, content material companions, DTH (direct-to-home) operators, OTT platforms, and different trade stakeholders. And an RTI filed by MediaNama revealed that the general public broadcaster solely obtained seven responses as a part of this session, not holding any conferences after its conclusion.
Why it Issues:
For a very long time, Prasar Bharati has been making an attempt to revive itself, as the normal state broadcasting mannequin shouldn’t be efficient, notably in a extremely aggressive TV market dominated by personal channels, internet-driven social media, and the IPTV (web protocol tv) period.
Over the previous two years, it has expanded into the digital house, launching the WAVES OTT platform, introducing AI into its newsrooms, making content material obtainable to creators throughout their copyright disputes with Asian Information Worldwide (ANI), and drafting a Content material Syndication Coverage to monetise materials that has been unused in archives for many years. These strikes exhibit the media establishment’s effort to stay related.
Notably, the general public service broadcaster’s willingness to supply information content material when the ANI copyright conflicts erupted demonstrates a shift towards transparency by opening up PB-Shabd to create content material. In the meantime, its syndication coverage goals to transform long-ignored archives into property.
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