Parliament Question: Digital Media Initiatives and OTT Platforms

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3292 (TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.03.2026) DIGITAL MEDIA INITIATIVES AND OTT PLATFORMS 3292. SHRI SHAMBHU SHARAN PATEL: SHRI KESRIDEVSINH JHALA: SHRI MAYANKKUMAR NAYAK: DR. PARMAR JASHVANTSINH SALAMSINH: SHRI AMAR PAL MAURYA: SHRI LAHAR SINGH SIROYA: Will the Minister of Information and Broadcasting be pleased to state: (a) the primary objective behind the launch of the WAVES OTT platform and the number of registered users it aims to reach by March 2026; (b) the manner in which the Prasar Bharati-Shared Audio-Visuals for Broadcast and Dissemination (PB-SHABD) news sharing service facilitate the dissemination of news stories in various Indian languages across the country; (c) whether the archival content of Prasar Bharati is being made available to audiences through newly launched digital platforms, if so, the details thereof; and (d) the time by when the introductory ‘free of cost’ period for the PB-SHABD service will conclude for its users? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING AND PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS (DR. L. MURUGAN) (a) to (d): The WAVES OTT platform has been launched by Prasar Bharati as a digital streaming platform. It streams diverse content including live channels, TV shows, web series, films, live events, radio services, cultural content, educational programmes and archival material of Prasar Bharati. The platform is targeting around one crore registered users by March 2026.A large repository of archival content from Prasar Bharati, including television shows, documentary films and other programmes, has been made available on the WAVES OTT platform. The publishing of archival programmes is being undertaken in a phased manner to enhance discoverability and strengthen audience engagement. Prasar Bharati – Shared Audio-Visuals for Broadcast and Dissemination (PB-SHABD) was launched in March 2024 as a shared feed service to provide access to logo free, daily news items across various formats including video, audio, text, and photos to media organizations. It facilitates dissemination of news across the country in 15 Indian languages namely Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Dogri & Urdu. At launch, PB-SHABD was made available to users without any charges for one year, which is now extended up to March 2027. ******