DTH
DishTV expands its portfolio by 23 channels
MUMBAI: Dish TV has expanded its portfolio by adding 23 new channels. This includes nine high-definition channels and 14 standard definition channels, taking the total count of channels and services to more than 615.
High definition technology has taken the country by storm. Not only the urban but the rural hinterlands of the country have started adopting high definition viewing.
DishTV has taken the initiative to take HD to masses with the introduction of lowest entry pack and now with the addition of these 9 channels, the promise of widest range of HD channels continues. And with these additions, the company’s HD portfolio becomes stronger with a total of 68 HD channels on its platform. The list of channels are as follows:
Adding further to the offerings, DishTV has accumulated 14 standard definition channels to its gamut of channels and services. Having already built a strong connection with the regional audience through their eclectic range of regional channels, the addition of 14 more new regional standard definition channels exemplify DishTV’s commitment to cater to a wide range of viewers across all regions. The list of the respective channels are as follows-
In addition, to make HD more affordable and to get the most viewed HD channels at Rs.86 + taxes per month, DishTV has introduced HD Ala-carte (small HD entertainment add on packs) to capture the interest of consumers towards HD viewing by offering them more HD content and mix of genre at a nominal price of Rs.86+ taxes per month. This offering enables DishTV subscribers to select these ala-carte as per their preferences and needs. With this, DishTV made entry to HD very easy and simple with two-step process – select any base pack and add any of the HD ala-carte worth Rs.86 + taxes per month.
Commenting on these additions DishTV India chief executive officer Arun Kapoor said, “TV viewing in India has undergone a sea change over the years. From the days when people had a handful of channels, today, we live in an era where people are spoilt for choices. We at DishTV have always been at the forefront in enhancing TV viewing experience and exploring opportunities to bring wholesome entertainment to the audience. With a sharp focus on regional language content, the move aims at connecting strongly with the regional language subscribers. Addition of these 23 channels will not only strengthen our presence in the HD and SD space but will also diversify our offerings.”
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.
