Prasar Bharati extends deadline for industry feedback on WAVES OTT Project Management Unit RFP
The new deadline has been moved to October 15, 2025, from the earlier September 30, following requests from industry stakeholders, the pubcaster said in a circular dated October 7, 2025.
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Prasar Bharati has extended the deadline for submission of industry feedback and budgetary offers on its draft Request for Proposal (RFP) for setting up a Project Management Unit (PMU) to support its OTT platform, WAVES.
The new deadline has been moved to October 15, 2025, from the earlier September 30, following requests from industry stakeholders, the broadcaster said in a circular dated October 7, 2025.
The proposed PMU will play a central role in strengthening WAVES, which was launched in November 2024 and has already seen over 3.8 million downloads and 2.3 million registered users.
Prasar Bharati aims to position WAVES among leading global OTT platforms by creating a “lean, high-capability PMU” that will guide content strategy, marketing, user acquisition, technology, distribution, and revenue diversification.
The PMU will assist the broadcaster in achieving ambitious goals, including:
- Growing the user base to over 10 million registered users within a year of onboarding.
- Delivering 5x growth in ad revenue in the first year.
- Ensuring financial sustainability within two years through diversified revenue models - advertising, subscription, syndication, and partnerships.
- Maintaining 70% monthly active user (MAU) ratio and ensuring that at least 80% of new content meets engagement benchmarks.
Comprehensive Scope of Work
The PMU’s responsibilities will span multiple domains - from content evaluation and analytics to marketing and governance. Key functions include:
- Content Strategy: Assess content proposals, curate calendars, identify genre gaps, and benchmark against global best practices.
- Distribution and Monetization: Build telco, smart TV, and app partnerships; optimize SVOD/AVOD models; and structure ad inventory.
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- Marketing and Growth: Oversee promotional campaigns, influencer collaborations, and loyalty initiatives while tracking KPIs such as CAC and DAU/MAU.
- Analytics and UI/UX: Analyze user sentiment, churn, completion rates, and recommend UI improvements through A/B testing.
- Governance: Coordinate across teams, prepare executive dashboards, and facilitate performance reviews for the CEO and Board.
Key Deliverables and Resource Plan
The PMU will produce bi-weekly platform trackers, monthly revenue and user growth reports, and quarterly strategic reviews.
It will be staffed by a team of six specialists, including a Project Director, Content Strategy Lead, Monetization and Partnerships Lead, Marketing Advisor, Analytics Expert, and Project Coordinator.
The engagement will initially span two years, with an option for a one-year extension based on performance.
Eligibility and Evaluation
Interested consulting firms must meet strict eligibility and technical criteria, including:
- Registration under Indian law and a positive net worth.
- Demonstrated experience in large-scale media consulting projects, with at least one OTT-specific engagement and one government media project.
- Proven capability in executing large-scale IT or digital projects for government clients.
The bid evaluation will follow a Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) model, with 80% weightage for technical scores and 20% for financial bids. Only firms scoring 70 marks or higher in the technical evaluation will qualify for financial consideration.
Prasar Bharati has invited feedback and budgetary offers to be submitted by October 15, 2025, via email to archives@prasarbharati.gov.in (cc: priyankasaini@prasarbharati.gov.in).
