Inside WAVES' digital pivot towards a creator platform

Prasar Bharati is moving towards a transformation in line with India's evolving digital media landscape — from a traditional public broadcaster into a platform operator seeking to build a creator economy around its OTT service WAVES.

The public broadcaster's recently updated content sourcing framework for WAVES suggests a shift that goes well beyond content acquisition. Industry executives and media analysts say the revised structure resembles a hybrid model that borrows elements from YouTube's creator economy, OTT licensing ecosystems and digital marketplace platforms, while retaining the oversight mechanisms of a government-backed institution.

The revised framework introduces a streaming-minutes-based monetisation model, expanding the range of eligible content formats and significantly tightening rights verification and compliance requirements for creators, producers and aggregators seeking to onboard content onto the platform.

"What we're seeing is not merely a content policy update. This appears to be an attempt to create a structured digital content marketplace under the Prasar Bharati umbrella," said a senior media executive at a leading entertainment company, requesting anonymity.

"The larger question is whether WAVES can emerge as a meaningful monetisation destination for creators who currently depend on YouTube, Meta platforms and commercial OTT services."

Beyond public broadcasting

The move comes at a time when India's creator economy is witnessing rapid growth, with millions of content creators competing for advertising revenue and audience attention across global platforms.

Industry executives say Prasar Bharati appears to have concluded that replicating the traditional broadcaster commissioning model may not be sufficient to attract digital-first creators.

Instead, the broadcaster is opening the platform to a wider range of content formats, including creator-led programming, microdramas, short-form video content, educational entertainment, music programming, documentaries, films and other digital-first productions.

"The inclusion of formats such as microdramas and creator-driven content is particularly significant," said a digital media consultant advising multiple OTT platforms.

"These are formats that have exploded globally over the past two years. Their inclusion indicates that WAVES is not positioning itself only as a public-service broadcaster's streaming app. It wants to participate in the broader creator economy."

Industry observers say the expanded content categories suggest that WAVES is seeking to appeal to a generation of creators who are increasingly building audiences outside traditional television and film ecosystems.

Shift to watch-time economics

The policy shift also reflects changing industry economics.

Unlike conventional licensing arrangements where platforms acquire content for fixed fees, the revised framework places greater emphasis on audience engagement. Payouts are linked to actual streaming consumption, with viewing time emerging as a key performance metric.

Media analysts say the approach mirrors a broader industry trend where watch time has become a more valuable indicator than raw view counts.

"Views can be gamed. Watch time is much harder to manipulate and provides a better indicator of audience interest," said a senior executive at a major digital content network.

"The move suggests that Prasar Bharati has studied lessons from global streaming platforms and adapted those principles for WAVES."

The transition also indicates that the broadcaster wants creators to focus on audience retention and content quality rather than simply generating clicks and impressions.

Industry experts say this could encourage longer-form engagement and help improve the platform's content discovery and recommendation systems over time.

Rights governance takes centre stage

However, industry observers believe the most consequential aspect of the revised framework may not be the monetisation model but the extensive emphasis on rights governance.

The updated onboarding process introduces multiple layers of declarations, affidavits, indemnities and ownership certifications. Applicants are required to provide extensive documentation relating to rights ownership, prior licensing arrangements, digital availability, exclusivity status and third-party clearances.

Several industry executives said the level of documentation resembles institutional content acquisition processes typically associated with large broadcasters and global streaming platforms.

"The paperwork may appear excessive at first glance, but it reflects a real challenge facing digital content platforms," said a lawyer specialising in media and entertainment transactions.

"As platforms scale, rights disputes become inevitable. If WAVES is preparing for a significantly larger content catalogue, strengthening rights verification becomes essential."

According to industry experts, the framework appears designed to address one of the most persistent problems in India's fragmented digital content ecosystem: unclear ownership structures and overlapping rights claims.

Independent producers, aggregators, creators and distributors frequently operate through complex chains of rights assignments, increasing legal and commercial risks for platforms.

A senior OTT executive said the revised framework suggests that Prasar Bharati may have encountered operational lessons during the platform's pilot phase.

"The move towards stronger declarations and indemnities indicates that the organisation is thinking about long-term scalability rather than experimental content acquisition," the executive said.

Creators asked to bring audiences

Another notable feature is the growing responsibility placed on creators themselves.

Content providers are now expected to submit detailed marketing and audience-engagement plans outlining promotional strategies, social media activities, influencer collaborations and audience outreach initiatives.

Industry observers view this as a recognition that discoverability has become one of the most critical challenges in streaming.

"Having content is no longer enough. Platforms need creators who can bring audiences with them," said a digital strategy consultant.

"By asking for marketing plans upfront, WAVES is effectively signalling that creators must participate in audience development rather than rely entirely on platform promotion."

The requirement reflects a broader shift across the streaming industry, where creators are increasingly expected to act as both content producers and audience builders.

A new role for public-service media?

The strategy also raises broader questions about the future role of public-service media organisations in an increasingly platform-driven entertainment economy.

For decades, broadcasters primarily commissioned, curated and distributed content. Digital platforms, however, increasingly function as ecosystems that connect creators, audiences and monetisation opportunities.

Several media executives believe Prasar Bharati is attempting to position WAVES within this emerging ecosystem.

"This may be one of the first serious attempts by a public broadcaster anywhere to build a structured creator marketplace around a national OTT platform," said a media investor tracking India's digital entertainment sector.

"The challenge will be scale. Creator economies work when audiences, creators and monetisation all grow simultaneously."

Whether WAVES can emerge as a credible alternative to established digital platforms remains uncertain. Audience scale, creator earnings and platform engagement metrics will ultimately determine its success.

But the revised framework signals that Prasar Bharati's ambitions now extend beyond streaming public-service content. The broadcaster appears to be laying the foundations for a broader digital content ecosystem — one where watch time, creator participation and rights governance could become the pillars of its next phase of growth.