DTH
Dish Network and A+E sign multi-year contract renewal deal
MUMBAI: TV viewers in the US will be happy for Dish Network and A+E Networks have decided to continue with their content sharing deal. The duo has agreed to terms for a multi-year contract renewal. With this, Dish customers will have access to A+E Networks’ high-quality content and award-winning programming from its entire portfolio.
This innovative agreement includes OTT multi-stream rights for live and Video-on-Demand (VOD) content. It also expands Dish customers’ access to programming on the satellite service through increased distribution of H2 and FYI in the America’s Top 200 programming package, as well as authenticated live and VOD A+E Networks’ programming on Internet-connected devices.
The renewal applies to the entire suite of A+E Networks’ channels, among the top brands in the media landscape, including: A&E, Lifetime, History, LMN, FYI, H2, History en Espa?ol, Crime + Investigation and Military History.
“I am pleased to call A+E Networks an innovative partner in developing this wide-ranging, creative agreement that will help to define the future of TV,” said Dish president and CEO Joseph P. Clayton through a statement. “Together we are enhancing the customer experience with fresh, dynamic programming that Dish customers will be able to watch when and how they prefer,” he added.
The new OTT rights allow access to A+E Networks’ content through a future multi-stream subscription service of linear and VOD content. With this capability, the content will be available to an untapped segment of customers that is seeking a flexible, content-driven and internet-accessible service.
“We have had a great partnership with Dish for many years and we are delighted that this renewal will carry our partnership well into the future,” said A+E Networks president and CEO Nancy Dubuc. “We are thrilled that Dish’s valued customers will be able to enjoy A+E Networks’ award-winning portfolio of brands across their multiple platforms. We continue to grow and make significant investments in new brands, and as such, we’re particularly pleased with the expanded distribution of FYI and H2.”
The renewal also expands the authenticated A+E Networks programming available to Dish customers at home or on-the-go via internet-connected devices – televisions, computers, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles and other devices. Dish customers will be able to use the Dish Anywhere app, dishanywhere.com or A+E Networks’ web properties and apps to view live, VOD and full-season content.
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.
