Leading Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) brands Amul and Mondelez are now advertising on Prasar Bharati’s over-the-top (OTT) platform, WAVES. Haleon’s oral health brand, Sensodyne, is also targeting consumers in regional languages across multiple states through the public broadcaster’s OTT platform. Within a month of its launch in December, the platform surpassed one million downloads.
Currently, WAVES is displaying two five-second ads, including Mondelez’s Cadbury campaign, along with several trailers and promotional content available on the platform. Amul Gold ad is placed on home screen of the app. While most of the original content and live streaming feature 20-second and 30-second trailers and promos for available shows. Some of the featured show promos on the platform include Battle of Bands, Yatra, and Rangoli.
Several broadcasters and content providers have praised Prasar Bharati’s revenue-sharing model. A senior executive from a broadcasting network stated, “The ad rates haven’t been released yet, but the platform is displaying ads on a case-by-case basis. The 65:35 revenue-sharing model is a win-win for the ecosystem. Our live channels are also being streamed on WAVES, with TV ads masked for the WAVES audience. Prasar Bharati has provided us with a dashboard that updates whenever an ad is placed on our content or live channel.”
The broadcaster said, “One of the platform’s key offering is localization. Advertisements are accurately being displayed in vernacular languages based on user’s location. This will benefit brands advertising on the platform. For now revenue generation via WAVES is yet to be looked at and will be ascertained once we complete six months on the platform. It is too early to predict the performance and reach of WAVES, as a platform for advertising for now.”
According to Prasar Bharati’s Content Sourcing Policy, advertisements on the OTT stream will be inserted by Prasar Bharati at appropriate points in the stream, depending on the availability of the SCTE-35 marker. Any unsold inventory on the channel will be shared between Prasar Bharati and the broadcaster for monetization or the airing of in-house promos and fillers in a 65:35 ratio.
If the broadcaster monetizes the unsold inventory, the revenue split remains the same—65% for the channel and 35% for Prasar Bharati. For commissioned programs, Prasar Bharati will allocate up to 10% of the net project cost (excluding GST and other taxes) for content marketing, in line with its existing policy.
For Advertising-Based Video on Demand (AVOD) and Transactional Video on Demand (TVOD) programs, the revenue-sharing model remains 65:35—where production houses, producers, rights owners, or aggregators receive 65%, and Prasar Bharati receives 35% of net revenue after operational costs. Net revenue, in this context, refers to earnings from advertisements on PB OTT programs after deducting costs such as transcoding, CDN, and other platform-related expenses.
Revenue from Subscription-Based Video on Demand (SVOD) will be distributed based on hourly viewing, though the per-hour rates are yet to be determined by the broadcaster’s management committee.
Recently, Prasar Bharati issued a notice inviting all agencies empanelled with the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) to advertise on its OTT platform, WAVES. According to the notice, agencies will receive a 20% discount on the total business they bring in.
Each agency is responsible for selecting and planning its own ad-serving arrangements. “The costs associated with using ad servers will be borne by the individual agencies,” the notice states.
Before integrating an ad server from a new agency, Prasar Bharati will conduct a technical feasibility assessment to ensure compatibility with the existing infrastructure. This evaluation includes checking for seamless data exchange, performance standards, and overall integration with the current system.
Prasar Bharati’s streaming platform offers content in SD, HD, and 4K, initially supporting 10 million concurrent users with scalability to 100 million. The OTT app has introduced features like integrated gaming for kids and online shopping via the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).