Prasar Bharati's Waves OTT: A unified platform for entertainment, education, and shopping

New Delhi: Prasar Bharati launched its OTT platform Waves at the International Film Festival of India, Goa (IFFI).

Waves was launched by Pramod Sawant, the Chief Minister, Goa. 

Sawant said, “It is indeed a momentous occasion for the Indian entertainment industry with the launch of Waves OTT. I am very happy to see the diverse range of content on the platform, including a host of films and content across languages, including Konkani.”.

Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, said, “Waves OTT marks a significant step in the Indian government's Digital India vision. The comprehensive, inclusive and diverse OTT will bridge the digital media and entertainment divide on the back of its collaboration with BharatNet for last-mile connectivity to rural audiences.”

Waves has made its entry as an aggregator OTT, with stories embracing Indian culture with an international outlook, in 12+ languages—Hindi, English, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati, Punjabi, and Assamese, spread across 10+ genres of entertainment: video on demand, free-to-play gaming, radio streaming, live TV streaming, 65 live channels, several app-in-app integrations  (Lionsgate PTC, to name a few) for video and gaming content (Mud Games, Tag Labs, Freak X Games and Game Tech Point), educational content (like PACE bringing test prep tutorials for students) and online shopping through CSC-SPV’s ONDC supported e-commerce platform.

Chairman, Prasad Bharati, Navneet Kumar Sehgal, said, “As part of our commitment towards healthy family entertainment and providing a window for India’s rich and vast cultural landscape, we are bringing a one-stop information hub to the millions of Indian homes. Waves is one of the only OTT networks, which is your window to not only the world of clean family entertainment but also to shopping, games, news and current affairs for kids and youth. A bonanza for all.”

Under its notified Content Acquisition Policy 2024 for acquiring content for Waves OTT, Prasar Bharati has curated a strong content lineup to satisfy the diverse tastes of subscribers in all age groups across urban, metros, middle India and NRI audiences who seek an Indian, regional/international viewing experience.

Gaurav Dwivedi, CEO of Prasar Bharati, commented, "Waves brings a wide range of content for clean family viewing into every Indian home that can use this platform to watch, listen, read, play, and shop in a curated environment. As a conscious step to unlock the potential of young creators in the creative economy, Waves also offers its platform to content creators like the National Creator Awardees—Kamiya Jani, RJ Raunac, Shraddha Sharma of Your Story, Tech Guru Gaurav Chaudhary, some of whom are at IFFI.” 

Waves has opened its portal to student-grad films, and film and media colleges like FTII, Annapurna, and AAFT have partnered with Prasar Bharati on Waves.

New Films and shows on Waves to be screened at IFFI include Roll No. 52, a student grad film from Annapurna Film and Media Studio by Nagarjuna and Amala Akkineni aligning with the Young Film Maker’s theme of IFFI ‘24; Fauji 2.0 a modern adaptation of the iconic 1980s Shahrukh Khan show Fauji, and will be screened by Director Sandeep Singh and cast Gauhar Khan. The other films to be screened are Oscar winner Guneet Monga Kapoor’s social change film Kicking Balls, a true story on child marriages and will be screened by Guneet; Jackson Halt a crime thriller, which will be screened by producer Neetu Chandra; and Jaiye Aap Kahan Jayenge with a social message of mobile toilets, screened by Sanjay Mishra.

Spotlight on Waves includes live events like the Prabhu Shriram Lalla Aarti live from Ayodhya and the monthly Mann ki Baat by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

The upcoming US Premier League Cricket Tournament will be carried live on WAVES from November 22. WAVES has also launched a Cyber Security awareness campaign with Daily Video messages in partnership with CDAC, MeitY. This campaign is backed by programs such as Cyber Crime ki Duniya (a fictionalized series) and Cyber Alert (by DD News features).

Some other films and shows on WAVES are fantasy action super hero Monkey King the Hero is Back, the national award-winning film Fouja, Armaan, Vipul Shah’s thriller show Bhed Bharam, family drama Thode Door Thode Paas featuring Pankaj Kapoor, Kailash Kher’s music reality show Bharat ka Amrit Kalash, Sarpanch, BeCubed by Hotmail Founder Sabeer Bhatia, women-centric shows and films Corporate Sarpanch, Dashmi, and Kariathi, Jaanki. 

WAVES also carries a selection of popular animation programs, including Doggy Adventure, Chota Bheem, Tenaliram, Akbar Birbal, and games like Krishna Jump, Fruit Chef, Ram the Yodha, Cricket Premier League tournaments.

Expanding the repertoire of content formats, language, genre and reach on Waves are Live channels including Doordarshan, Akashvani, and private channels across multiple categories such as news, general entertainment, music, devotional, and sports.

Central Government ministries and states are also joining hands with Prasar Bharati to co-develop or contribute varied content, such as docudramas, dramatised or fictionalised shows, and reality shows with entertainment value, as an effective vehicle for meaningful messages.

Some content includes a documentary on the 75^th anniversary of the Supreme Court of India, cyber security awareness with CDAC MeitY, the NFDC archives titled Cinemas of India, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s rare archival content like historical photos compiled in subject-wise photos albums, and Journals and publications. The Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Finance, IGNCA, Ministry of Culture and India Post have also contributed informative and entertaining programming to WAVES.

The Digital Experience of Waves fuses Indian ethos with a modern look and feel, friendly UI/UX, cross-platform compatibility, personalised profiles and curated playlists. 

Waves is an OTT with a difference—it provides an e-commerce platform in collaboration with ONDC/CSC-SPV that will promote MSMEs and local enterprises, fostering their growth and visibility.

This launch signifies a major leap forward not only for Prasar Bharati but the digital media and OTT audiences as a complete ecosystem.