NEW DELHI: The over-the-top (OTT) platform of the public broadcaster-- Prasar Bharti—will be launched on November 20 at the inaugural ceremony of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.
This announcement was made by the secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MI&B) Sanjay Jaju on Wednesday.
Speaking at an India Game Developer Conference (IGDC) in Hyderabad, he said that nearly 60 channels, which are on Doordarshan (DD) Free Dish, would be available on the OTT besides most of the archival material.
"60 channels available on DD Free Dish will be on the OTT platform henceforth. Most of the archival material will be brought to the viewers through this OTT platform," he said.
Besides fresh content and live streaming, services being offered by Prasar Bharti including DD and All India Radio (AIR) and archival material of the publication and photo division have been integrated with the application.
The digital distribution service will work as a revenue-sharing model and the Intellectual property rights will remain with the content creators, Jaju had said earlier.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MI&B) will set up a Prasar Bharati OTT booth at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) offering a sneak preview of the digital distribution service. It will provide guests and delegates attending the festival an opportunity to explore the expanding world of OTT content, engaging with the latest in digital film and television.
The booth will be part of the vibrant entertainment extravaganza – IFFIESTA-- designed to bring communities together through the magic of films, food, art, and interactive experiences. IFFIESTA will be hosted at the Kala Academy in Panjim.
In August, Prasar Bharti issued bids for Application-in-Application integration of OTT, gaming, educational or other applications on a ‘revenue share model’. As per the tender notice for the on-boarding of linear satellite channels for streaming on the broadcaster’s OTT service, only those channels which are permitted or licensed by the ministry for downlinking or distribution could apply.
Preparations to introduce the digital service started last year as Prasar Bharti invited bids to design, develop, commission, operate and maintain its own OTT streaming platform.