The government has taken a significant step towards integrating streaming platforms into its advertising ecosystem by opening financial bids for the empanelment of over-the-top (OTT) platforms. The move is part of a broader strategy to strengthen digital outreach and streamline how government campaigns are delivered across emerging media channels.

According to a Storyboard18 report, this development marks a crucial stage in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s efforts to formalise ad distribution across streaming services. The process is being overseen by the Central Bureau of Communication (CBC), which aims to bring OTT platforms under a structured framework similar to television, print and traditional digital media buying.

The financial bid opening follows a months-long exercise that began with a request for proposals issued in January. During the pre-bid consultations, participating platforms had raised concerns around pricing mechanisms, particularly the adoption of cost-per-view benchmarks for video advertising.

At the core of the empanelment model is a rate discovery system that will define how government advertising is priced on OTT platforms. Under this structure, the lowest bidders within each category will establish benchmark rates, which empanelled platforms will be required to adhere to across formats such as pre-roll ads and homepage takeovers.

Officials have designed the system to reflect private-sector media buying practices while ensuring strong oversight. Platforms will need to meet a minimum 80 percent view-through rate for video advertisements, comply with third-party measurement protocols, and maintain detailed logs for audit purposes.

The policy also clearly differentiates between full-scale OTT platforms and aggregators. Only services that own or exclusively license at least half of their content and operate under their own brand will qualify for empanelment. This effectively limits participation to major streaming players while excluding intermediary platforms that primarily host third-party content.

This move aligns with the government’s evolving digital advertising strategy following the rollout of the Digital Advertisement Policy 2023. Since then, the CBC has expanded its focus beyond conventional digital channels to include social media and now OTT, signalling a shift towards high-engagement and measurable advertising formats.

For streaming platforms, empanelment could open up a consistent stream of government ad spending, though under tightly regulated pricing structures. For the government, it represents an effort to modernise communication in an increasingly fragmented media landscape.

With financial bids now in play, the next phase will determine which platforms are empanelled and at what cost—an outcome that could influence the economics of government advertising on OTT platforms over the next few years.