DTH
IDM R&D unveils initiatives to support local, international R&D needs
MUMBAI: The Interactive and Digital Media (IDM) Research and Development (R&D) Programme Office has unveiled its comprehensive initiatives to support and develop IDM R&D in Singapore. The move is already garnering local and international industry support.
The news follows last year’s announcement that the National Research Foundation had allocated SGD $500 million (USD$325 million) over the next five years to fund the development of a strategic IDM research programme. The foundation was to set up a multi-agency IDM R&D Programme Office within the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) to spearhead the growth and development of Singapore’s IDM sector.
The following four initiatives have been formulated to create an effective IDM eco-system involving all stakeholders including entertainment companies, institutes of higher learning (IHLs) and consumers:
Drive demand for IDM services: To anchor and jumpstart the demand for IDM services, the IDM R&D Programme Office will seek the proposals of companies interested in developing applications, services and platforms that could generate new business models.
Grow a network of local and international research organisations to augment the capabilities of the local IDM sector: Under this initiative, the IDM R&D Programme Office will call for research proposals from the world’s top IHLs and Research Institutes (RIs) to address key focus areas and custom-tailor R&D results to the needs of both the local and larger international IDM industries.
Encourage the generation of innovative ideas and projects for the IDM R&D landscape: An online virtual jam session for idea sharing, i.Jam will be piloted in late January 2007, encouraging consumers to contribute their ideas and explore R&D projects. Ideas with potential for commercialisation will be further supported by the IDM R&D programme office through mentors from the industry or IHLs. With a full-scale launch slated for July 2007, i.Jam is envisioned to be a platform to capture and nurture ideas into viable projects.
Establish Singapore as an international test-bed for IDM-enabling infrastructure and applications: The funding of innovative applications and services generated by the IDM R&D Programme Office will be administered by MDA, the Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA). This extensive governmental support will help elevate Singapore as a global R&D leader.
Speaking on the issue , Mica permanent secretary Dr. Tan Chin Nam said, “The economic potential of IDM is tremendous and its impact transformational. Collectively, the implementation of the four initiatives, together with the efforts of the agencies including MDA, EDB, IDA, A*STAR, the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Mica, will help position Singapore as a global media city.”
MDA CEO Christopher Chia added, “Going forward, as we prepare to move into the digital age, MDA will actively engage the community and work closely with our industry partners to ensure that consumers will enjoy more tangible benefits with the roll-out of these initiatives.”
To provide focus for the R&D initiatives, three R&D directives have been identified:
– Animation, games and effects – to strengthen investments in technology R&D, tools and platform development, as well as explore new genres.
– Media intermediary services – to invest in technical capabilities in the organisation, distribution and security of digital media.
– On-the-move media services – to invest in R&D to identify new ways of reaching and interacting with mobile-connected people who are always on the move.
IDM R&D executive director programme office Michael Yap said, “We aim to bring together all the stakeholders including IHLs and businesses to build sustainable and vibrant industry sectors around these R&D focus areas. The four initiatives unveiled today provide the IDM R&D Programme Office with the necessary means to do so.”
The IDM sector is projected to make a significant contribution to the growth of the media industry that aims to realise a value-added contribution of S$10 billion (UDS$ 6.5 billion), up from S$3.8 billion (USD$ 2.5 billion) in 2003, as well as create approximately 10,000 new jobs by 2015.
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.
