Prasar Bharati to share 65% of OTT ad revenue with TV channels

Prasar Bharati has invited applications to onboard linear satellite TV channels for streaming on its OTT platform for a one-year period.

TV channel feeds will be streamed on the OTT platform under a revenue-sharing agreement, where 65% of the net revenue generated from advertisements will go to the channel and 35% to Prasar Bharati.

Net revenue for this purpose is defined as revenue earned from the channel after adjusting all costs borne by Prasar Bharati for the respective channel, such as transcoding cost, CDN cost, and commission of the ad agency hired for ad insertion, said Prasar Bharati in a notification. 

Broadcasters wishing to place their channels on the OTT platform must provide an SCTE-35/ad marker-enabled feed that signals the start and end times of advertisement breaks.

Prasar Bharati stated that advertisements on the OTT stream will be inserted at appropriate points based on the SCTE-35 markers. If Prasar Bharati cannot fill the entire ad duration, the remaining time will be used for promos of Prasar Bharati and the respective streaming channels.

SCTE-35 is a standard used in the broadcasting industry for signalling and managing the insertion of advertisements in digital streams. It defines a protocol for inserting cue tones (ad markers) into the video stream to indicate where ads can be inserted during a broadcast. It ensures the precise placement and timing of ads, making the process efficient and maintaining the viewer's experience.

All applicant TV channels will be ranked based on the DAVP rate card. Selection will be determined by the highest rate of a channel across all time bands within each category. Channels with the highest rates according to the DAVP rate card in their respective categories will be selected for streaming on the OTT platform.

Categorisation of TV channels by genres/language for onboarding on the Prasar Bharati OTT Platform will be as follows:

One can submit the completed application and required documents via email to ddfreedish@prasarbharati.gov.in by 5:00 PM on Monday, August 12, 2024.

Detailed terms and conditions, selection process, etc. are given in clause 11.2 (Streaming Collaboration with Satellite Channels and FAST Channels) under Chapter 1 of  'Prasar Bharati's Content Sourcing Policy 2024'. 

The starting date will be considered the date on which the streaming channel is placed on the OTT platform. 

Prasar Bharati will issue a 'Letter of Allotment' to successful channels. Each successful channel must sign an 'Agreement' with Prasar Bharati in two original copies within 15 days of receiving the 'Letter of Allotment'. 

Only satellite channels, permitted/licensed by the Ministry of I&B for downlinking/distribution in India under relevant guidelines are eligible for streaming on Prasar Bharati's OTT platform.

Only companies holding valid permission/license from the Ministry of I&B for downlinking/distribution of satellite TV channels can apply for participation in the selection process in respect of their own channels for on-boarding on the PB OTT Platform.