On Wednesday, the CEO of Prasar Bharti, Shashi Shekhar Vempati stated that Prasar Bharati had entered into a collaboration with IIT-Kanpur, where a pilot project was underway to work out the feasibility of direct-to-mobile broadcasting. He further said that if this results in a successful effort, smartphones would be able to receive broadcast content in the upcoming future.
Vempati said in his keynote address speaking at the 10th Big Picture Summit, which is being live-streamed online, “In the event of a high-viewership event such as the IPL, there is no reason why millions of users need to receive that content on a unicast mode through the Internet. If this works, all of that content can be delivered directly on broadcast frequencies to the people on their smartphones or smart TVs.”
The CEO pointed out that since he joined the public broadcaster, digitization was one of the key changes that took place over the last 3-4 years.
“Practically every Doordarshan channel and All India Radio station now has a digital presence spanning multiple platforms, be it YouTube for live streaming or on social media to engage with the audience,” he said, and further added that the Prasar Bharati app, which has 200-plus radio streams, was one of a kind in the world, for, irrespective of where one was located in the world, could listen to one’s hometown radio station.
To discuss opportunities and address challenges CII organizes the Big Picture Summit every year. The theme of this year is: ‘Scaling New Heights of Content, Creativity, and Innovation’.
Its primary objective is discussing global trends and opportunities, macroeconomic turbulences leading to a softening of revenues, understanding domestic consumer preferences, and the growing focus on local opportunities for a global audience.
(With inputs from IANS)