Indian public broadcaster Prasar Bharati is set to unveil its much-awaited OTT streaming platform at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa on November 20, 2024. The platform, developed over the past year, will be inaugurated by Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, marking a major step in India’s growing digital entertainment sector.
The platform will offer a broad range of content, including exclusive archives from Doordarshan and All India Radio, presenting everything from classic shows to live sports. Navneet Kumar Sehgal, Chairperson of Prasar Bharati, emphasized the platform’s commitment to providing family-friendly content, setting it apart from mainstream OTT services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, which have faced criticism over the suitability of some content for younger viewers.
A notable feature of the platform is its live sports coverage, utilizing Prasar Bharati’s broadcasting rights. The service will offer content in SD, HD, and 4K formats, available on Android and iOS apps, and through its official website. RailTel, a public sector undertaking, has developed the platform with AWS as the content delivery network (CDN) and cloud services provider. The platform can support up to 10 million concurrent users, with plans to scale to 100 million in the future.
In addition to entertainment, the service will integrate e-commerce capabilities through ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce), offering users the opportunity to shop for products while consuming content. This interactive feature further enhances the platform’s appeal to diverse audience segments, including rural areas.
Prasar Bharati has formed partnerships with Eros Now and Lionsgate, providing premium content through paid apps-in-app models, and will also host educational and gaming apps, offering monetization opportunities through a revenue share model.
The platform’s launch is expected to make a significant impact on the Indian OTT market, providing accessible and safe content to audiences across India, with a special focus on rural viewers.
Key Highlights:
- Prasar Bharati is launching its OTT platform at IFFI Goa on November 20, 2024.
- The platform will offer family-friendly content, live sports, and exclusive archives from Doordarshan and All India Radio.
- RailTel has developed the platform with AWS as the cloud service provider, and it will support up to 10 million concurrent users.
- E-commerce features and a partnership with ONDC will provide interactive shopping options for users.
- Eros Now and Lionsgate will contribute premium content to the platform, which will also host educational and gaming apps.