DTH
Dish TV redefines its pay-TV services with Verimatrix security
MUMBAI: Verimatrix, a specialist in securing and enhancing revenue for network-connected devices, has announced that it has been selected by Dish TV India Limited to provide cardless security for its direct-to-home (DTH) service offerings. The former will illustrate how security solutions are at the core of all key monetisation strategies for the pay-TV and internet video service at IBC 2017.
DishTV is Asia’s largest DTH video service provider and is the only DTH operator to operate through three satellites in space. The Verimatrix Video Content Authority System (VCAS™) for DVB was selected as one of its critical CAS partners for its future-proof approach to revenue security that can scale with the company as it continues to evolve business models and maintains its position as a market leader.
“Our infrastructural and technological edge allows us to continually develop new innovations and revolutionize our service offerings, so it has become crucial that our revenue security measures are robust yet flexible enough to keep pace,” said DishTV COO V K Gupta.
Based on a single content authority approach, VCAS for DVB offers a modern approach to multi-device streaming as video service providers like DishTV redefine their pay-TV services. The solution is completely compliant to applicable DVB standards and pre-integrated with a broad range of partner headend and software systems. Additionally, its cardless set-top box client technology provides new, essential levels of security that would be virtually impossible to achieve with legacy systems.
“The Asia’s largest DTH provider continues to enhance its offerings and maintains its stance apart from competition in the region,” said Verimatrix president Steve Oetegenn.
“Dish TV has long-established itself as the pioneer in the Indian DTH broadcast industry, and VCAS for DVB is optimally designed to adapt to any scenario it may face as the Indian pay-TV industry continues to undergo rapid transformation. In essence, the security framework will never become obsolete.”
Verimatrix specializes in securing and enhancing revenue for multi-network, multi-screen digital TV services and is recognized in revenue security for connected video devices.
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.
