How Prasar Bharati PPV pilot ties payouts to real audience engagement

New Delhi: Prasar Bharati has notified a pilot Pay-Per-View (PPV) Content Sourcing Policy for WAVES, its national OTT platform, that pays producers on a per-validated-view basis while keeping access free for viewers during the trial period. 

The pilot takes effect from the date of notification and runs till March 31, 2026, after which the broadcaster will decide on a full policy based on performance and costs.

The PPV pilot creates a data-driven, performance-linked payment model to onboard independent filmmakers, production houses and digital creators. Payments are tied to validated views recorded by WAVES’ analytics, with monthly reconciliation and payouts treated as content acquisition costs under the WAVES operating budget. 

Prasar Bharati positions this as a content investment and audience-growth initiative during the pilot.

Rates, slabs and multipliers

Base PPV rate:

Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam: Rs 12 per validated view.

Other Indian languages: Rs 6 per validated view.

Progressive slabs per calendar month (payout multiplier):

0–10 lakh views: 100% of base

10,00,001–50,00,000: 125%

50,00,001–1 crore: 150%

1–2 crore: 175%

Above 2 crore: 200%

Content attribute multipliers:

Exclusive and unreleased: ×1.5

Digital + linear rights: ×1.2

Already available elsewhere: ×0.9

Global territory rights: ×1.2

What counts as a view

A validated view means a unique user account watches at least 30% of a title’s runtime. Repeat plays by the same account do not add to payouts. For series, each episode is treated separately. All figures come from the WAVES Analytics System, which is the sole source for monthly reconciliation.

How payouts will be computed

Payouts are calculated monthly after QC and legal clearance, based on validated views and applicable multipliers. Creators will receive a performance report each month, and a dashboard view at least once a quarter as the tooling rolls out.

Illustrative examples (for explanation only):

A Hindi exclusive that also grants linear rights and clocks 30 lakh validated views in a month would apply: base Rs 12 × slab 1.25 × attributes 1.5 × 1.2 = 1.8 → Rs 27 per view. Estimated payout ≈ Rs 8.1 crore for that month.

A Bengali film already available elsewhere with 6 lakh views applies: base Rs 6 × slab 1.0 × attribute 0.9 → Rs 5.4 per view. Estimated payout ≈ Rs 32.4 lakh.

Rights and licensing

Content is licensed to WAVES for a minimum of one year from go-live. Rights include digital streaming, public exhibition and promotions on WAVES and affiliated Prasar Bharati platforms. Copyright stays with the content provider. Early withdrawal is not allowed without Prasar Bharati’s written consent.

Consumer access and finances

During the pilot there is no consumer paywall. Viewers watch free, while WAVES pays producers per validated view. All payouts are booked as content acquisition costs against the WAVES budget.

Quality control, compliance and fraud checks

All content undergoes technical QC, rights verification and legal vetting before onboarding. Providers must indemnify Prasar Bharati against third-party claims. Fraudulent activity such as artificial view inflation will trigger payment suspension and de-listing.

Governance and evaluation

A PPV Evaluation Committee constituted by the CEO will review monthly analytics, cost-per-view, content diversity and public value and recommend refinements, including potential rate adjustments. At the end of the pilot in March 2026, the Committee will submit a Comprehensive Evaluation Report to inform a final PPV policy, which will supersede the pilot. The pilot remains in force until the revised policy is formally adopted.

For the pilot period, WAVES will reward creators purely on verified viewer engagement while keeping the platform free to consumers, using clear base rates, performance slabs up to 200% of base and content attribute multipliers. The outcomes on audience traction, costs and sustainability through FY26 will determine whether Prasar Bharati adopts PPV as a long-term sourcing model for a public-service OTT platform.