Prasar Bharati seeks partners for digital outdoor advertising push

MUMBAI: The broadcaster wants its billboards to do more than stand tall, they’re now expected to light up the balance sheet too. Prasar Bharati has invited expressions of interest (EOIs) from private companies to develop and operate digital outdoor advertising infrastructure at Akashvani Patna and Doordarshan Kendra Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair), as it steps up efforts to monetise its land assets through public-private partnerships.

Issued separately by the two centres, the EOIs seek private partners that will fully fund the installation, operation and maintenance of LED unipole advertising structures while sharing annual revenue with the public broadcaster. The selected concessionaires will also be required to provide 33 per cent of the total display time across all time bands free of cost for Prasar Bharati and government campaigns.

The last date for submitting applications for both projects is July 22.

Under the Akashvani Patna proposal, the successful bidder will develop and operate LED unipole structures at the broadcaster’s Frazer Road premises in Bihar. The agreement will initially run for five years, with an option to extend it by another five years. At the end of the concession period, ownership of the infrastructure will be transferred to Prasar Bharati.

The Port Blair project follows a similar model. Doordarshan Kendra Sri Vijaya Puram has invited agencies to install, operate and maintain LED unipole advertising structures at its Delanipur campus in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The selected partner will commercially utilise the digital infrastructure while sharing revenue with the broadcaster under mutually agreed terms.

For both projects, private agencies will be responsible for carrying out site surveys, preparing structural designs, securing statutory approvals, arranging electricity connections, installing the LED displays, managing advertising content and ensuring structural, electrical and mechanical maintenance throughout the contract period.

The concessionaires must also comply with Prasar Bharati’s advertising policy, municipal advertising regulations, traffic and highway norms, structural safety certifications and environmental standards. The broadcaster has clarified that it will not be liable for theft, damage or any obstruction affecting the advertising structures during the concession period.

According to the technical specifications, the LED displays will feature high-brightness full-colour screens with a minimum service life of 100,000 hours, while supporting remote content management for digital advertising campaigns.

The initiative forms part of Prasar Bharati’s broader strategy to diversify revenue streams beyond conventional broadcasting. In recent years, the public broadcaster has increasingly explored commercial opportunities through digital billboards, infrastructure partnerships and the monetisation of its real estate portfolio.

The latest move also reflects the growing appeal of the digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising market, where LED unipoles have become a preferred medium for brands thanks to dynamic content delivery, remote campaign management and higher revenue potential compared with traditional static billboards.