Prasar Bharati invites licensed satellite TV channels to join WAVES OTT

New Delhi: Prasar Bharati has invited applications from licensed satellite television channels to stream on its OTT platform, WAVES, for a period of one year from the date of onboarding. The move seeks to expand the platform’s channel line-up through a formalised collaboration with broadcasters.

Under the commercial framework, the clean feed of each selected channel will run on a 65:35 revenue-sharing model, with 65% of the net revenue from advertisements going to the channel and 35% to Prasar Bharati. Net revenue will be calculated after deducting costs incurred by Prasar Bharati, including transcoding, CDN charges and commissions paid to advertising agencies engaged for ad insertion.

Only linear satellite channels that hold valid permission or licences from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) for downlinking or distribution in India are eligible to apply. Broadcasters can apply only in respect of the channels they themselves own and hold licences for.

A key requirement mandates broadcasters to provide an SCTE-35/ad-marker enabled feed, which allows accurate identification of advertisement break start and end points for dynamic ad insertion. Prasar Bharati will insert ads into the WAVES stream based on these markers. If it is unable to fill the complete ad duration, the remaining time will be used to run promotions for Prasar Bharati or for the streaming channels themselves.

Applicants must also furnish clear and unambiguous proof of their channel’s genre and language classification. Any ambiguity, conflict or lack of clarity in the documentation will result in the application being deemed ineligible and may lead to summary rejection.

All channels meeting eligibility norms will then be ranked using the DAVP rate card, with selection based on the highest rate under all time bands within each category. Channels with the highest DAVP rates in their respective categories will be chosen for streaming on WAVES.

Broadcasters are required to submit applications in the prescribed form listed as Annexure-1, along with all documentation specified in Annexure-2. Completed applications must be emailed to ddfreedish@prasarbharati.gov.in by December 1, 2025 (Monday), 5:00 pm.

Successful applicants will receive a Letter of Allotment from Prasar Bharati. They must sign a formal agreement with the broadcaster within 15 days of receiving the letter, in two original copies. Selected channels will also be required to furnish all technical details necessary to enable onboarding on the WAVES platform.

Broadcasters have been advised to refer to Clause 112, “Streaming Collaboration with Satellite Channels and FAST Channels,” under Chapter 11 of the Prasar Bharati Content Sourcing Policy 2024, available on the organisation’s website, for complete terms, conditions and details of the selection process.