DTH
Tata Play launches Deiveegam, a new collection of Tamil devotional content
MUMBAI: This is for the spiritually-inclined or those seeking peace of mind which is a large part of India’s population of 1.4 billion.
Whether it’s the captivating mythological narratives, the moving devotional music, or the tranquil darshans from Tamil Nadu’s sacred temples, these are available on Tata Play Deiveegam which is a new collection of devotional content that the pay TV operator launched recently. With the introduction of this dedicated platform, Tata Play encourages viewers to delve into Tamil Nadu’s rich spiritual legacy like never before. This meticulously curated service provides an authentic experience of Tamil spirituality, enabling audiences to fully engage with enduring traditions of devotion and the deep beauty they encompass.
The aim of Tata Play Deiveegam is to broaden the reach of Tamil Nadu’s spiritual heritage. This platform showcases devotion and spirituality while maintaining the authenticity of its linguistic and cultural roots.
Whether you’re looking to enhance your faith, reconnect with ancient customs, or appreciate the moving essence of Tamil spirituality, this Tata Play Special offers a sacred space for exploration and engagement with these profound expressions of devotion.
The lineup features mythological shows such as Original Ramayan, Adhi Parasakthi, Uttar Ramayan, and Shri Krishna, along with devotional music, daily astrology, and spiritual discourses led by prominent spiritual figures like Sadhguru, Maraban Maindham Muttiah, Dr. Suresh T, Tirupur Krishnan, and others.
Additionally, the service boasts a comprehensive library of documentaries focusing on Tamil Nadu’s temples and deities, daily live temple darshans, and a variety of Tamil calendar events and pan-India live broadcasts, including Tiruvanamalai Karthigai Deepam, Srirangam Pagal Pathu Ra Pathu, and Mahashivratri Live. Viewers can enjoy a delightful mix of morning and evening aartis, followed by the Daily Astro Show hosted by Subash Balakrishnan.
This 24/7 ad-free service is being powered by Shemaroo Entertainment and will be complimentary for the first five days following subscription, after which a nominal fee of Rs 2 per day will apply.
DTH
Prasar Bharati’s WAVES earns Rs 2.9 crore in first year
Platform scales content, users but monetisation gaps limit revenue growth.
MUMBAI: Big waves, small ripples at least for now. When Prasar Bharati launched its OTT platform WAVES at the 55th International Film Festival of India in November 2024, it pitched a bold vision: a homegrown rival to global and domestic streaming giants, blending video, audio, gaming and commerce into a single digital ecosystem. Five months into FY2024–25, however, the platform’s revenue stands at just Rs 2.90 crore, a figure that underscores the gap between ambition and monetisation.
On paper, WAVES looks anything but modest. The platform has ingested 13,608 titles, totalling 9,495 hours of content, with over 13,000 titles already live. It has streamed more than 575 live events from the Mahakumbh Amrit Snan and the 76th Republic Day parade to the Hockey India League, Kabaddi World Cup and Mann Ki Baat while offering 74 live TV channels and 12 radio channels. With over 10 lakh registered users and more than 200 content partners onboarded, the scale resembles that of a fully operational streaming service rather than a pilot project.
The architecture supporting this scale is equally robust. Built under Prasar Bharati’s Central Archives vertical, WAVES runs on a cloud-based infrastructure with DRM, encryption and an integrated analytics dashboard. It includes dedicated units for content ingestion, quality control, publishing, graphics, marketing and billing, and is distributed across platforms such as OTTplay, Tata Play and BSNL. The offering extends beyond video to include audio-on-demand, e-games and even e-commerce via ONDC integration.
Yet, the numbers reveal a core disconnect. Despite its scale, WAVES generated just Rs 2.90 crore in a market where India’s OTT industry crossed Rs 23,000 crore in 2024. A key bottleneck lies in monetisation infrastructure: subscriptions cannot currently be purchased within the app and must be completed via an external website. In a mobile-first country where over 95 per cent of OTT consumption happens on smartphones, this extra step creates friction that most users are unlikely to overcome.
Ironically, content is not the problem, it is the platform’s biggest strength. Prasar Bharati holds one of the world’s richest broadcast archives, including 45,154 hours of digitised Akashvani programming and 35,723 hours from Doordarshan. For WAVES alone, over 3,800 hours of archival content have been made OTT-ready, including classics such as Ramayan and Shaktimaan, alongside rare cultural recordings and historical broadcasts.
There are early signs that this library holds commercial potential. Revenue from archival content licensing rose sharply to Rs 3.38 crore in FY24, up from Rs 67 lakh the previous year. Meanwhile, free digital platforms continue to drive massive reach, the PB Archives Youtube channel clocked 119.78 million views and added 4,02,000 subscribers in FY2024–25, crossing 1.7 million in total, while DD News has over 5.84 million subscribers.
That, however, presents a strategic dilemma. While free distribution builds scale, it also conditions audiences to expect content at zero cost making it harder to transition to paid models. WAVES, designed as a hybrid AVOD-SVOD platform with advertising and subscription layers, is yet to fully crack this balance.
The broader challenge is not technological but strategic. In an ecosystem dominated by platforms offering seamless payments, aggressive pricing and high-budget originals, WAVES is still bridging the gap between being a content repository and a commercially viable product.
For now, the platform reflects both promise and paradox. It has the scale, the content and the infrastructure but until monetisation catches up, WAVES remains less a revenue engine and more a digital showcase of what India’s public broadcaster could become.
