Prasar Bharati has issued a public notice inviting permitted satellite television channels to join its OTT platform, WAVES, for a one-year period.

The notification, released on November 17, 2025, outlines eligibility, technical requirements and the revenue model for broadcasters seeking to onboard their channels.

According to the notice, only entities holding valid downlinking or distribution permission from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting can apply. Broadcasters must provide an SCTE-35 or ad-marker enabled feed, which allows Prasar Bharati to identify advertisement breaks for insertion on the platform.

The selected channels will be streamed on WAVES under a revenue-sharing arrangement. Advertisements inserted by Prasar Bharati will form the basis of monetisation, with net revenue shared in a 65:35 ratio — 65 percent to the broadcaster and 35 percent to Prasar Bharati. Net revenue refers to earnings after deductions such as transcoding expenses, content delivery network charges and agency commissions.

Channel selection will depend on the DAVP (Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity) rate card. In each genre and language category, channels with the highest DAVP rates will be given preference.

Broadcasters must submit their applications in the prescribed format along with mandatory documents, including downlinking approval, channel logo, proof of genre and language, DAVP empanelment, PAN and GST details. Applications must be emailed to the designated address by 5 pm on December 1, 2025.

The move is aligned with Prasar Bharati’s Content Sourcing Policy 2024, which seeks to widen the OTT footprint of licensed television channels and establish an organised revenue framework for content partners.