Govt-owned Prasar Bharati Launches Its Own OTT Platform 'WAVES' to Rival Netflix, Jiostar and Amazon Prime

Prasar Bharati, India's national public broadcaster, recently launched its new OTT platform called WAVES. The platform aims to offer a diverse range of content, including classic shows like Ramayan and Mahabharat, contemporary programming, live events, educational content, and more.

Chief Minister of Goa Dr.Pramod Sawant launched ‘WAVES’ the OTT platform of the national public broadcaster, Prasar Bharati at the opening ceremony of 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, on 20 November 2024. Shri Sanjay Jaju, Secretary I&B, among other dignitaries was also present on the occasion.

Over 65 live channels, movies, interactive games, live events, and even online shopping are available on WAVES. Available in over 12 languages, including Hindi, English, Tamil, Marathi, and Assamese.

‘WAVES’ makes its entry as a large aggregator OTT with Inclusive India stories embracing Indian culture with an international outlook. It will be spread across 10+ Genres of Infotainment. It will provide Video on demand, free-to-play gaming, Radio streaming, Live TV streaming, 65 live Channels, several App in App integrations for video and gaming content, and online shopping through Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) supported e-commerce platform.

WAVES has three tiers subscription plans —Platinum, Diamond, and Gold, with varying features and pricing.

The Prasar Bharati OTT app is Free to download and view content, with subscription fees for premium content.

WAVES cover live events like the US Premier League Cricket Tournament and religious events like Prabhu Shriram Lalla Aarti from Ayodhya.

WAVES aims to provide a rich viewing experience by blending traditional favorites with innovative new content across multiple genres. It's designed to cater to a wide audience, including those in rural areas, through the BharatNet infrastructure. 

Prasar Bharati, BISAG To Launch 51 DTH Education TV Channels

In a landmark step, India’s public broadcaster Prasar Bharati entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BISAG), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology today.

Under the ambit of this MoU, 51 DTH education TV channels comprising of Swaymprabha (22 channels) (M/o Education), e-Vidya for classes 1 to 12 (12 channels) of NCERT, Vande Gujarat (Govt. of Gujarat) (16 channels) and DigiShala under M/o Electronics and IT (1 channel) shall be available as DD co-branded channels to all DD FreeDish viewers.

This move aims to bring quality educational programmes to every household, including those in rural and remote areas.

The services will be available free of cost for all the viewers 24x7, in line with Government’s commitment towards skill development and providing quality education to the last person in the country. This Government initiative will go a long way in achieving Government’s goal of providing education to all.