News-sharing service by Prasar Bharati launched, content to be ‘free of copyright’

Unveiling PB-SHABD (Prasar Bharati-Shared Audio Visuals for Broadcast and Dissemination), in Wednesday, Union I&B Minister Anurag Thakur said it will be offered as a “free service for one year to all news organisations registered with the ministry”.

I&B Minister Anurag Thakur at the National Media Centre in New Delhi, Wednesday. ANI

Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, public broadcaster Prasar Bharati launched a news-wire-like service to offer free content across mediums, which will be free of copyright or credit obligations.

Unveiling PB-SHABD (Prasar Bharati-Shared Audio Visuals for Broadcast and Dissemination), in Wednesday, Union I&B Minister Anurag Thakur said it will be offered as a “free service for one year to all news organisations registered with the ministry”.

This may include newspapers, periodicals, TV channels and even social media news channels registered with the I&B Ministry, and the content provided will include newsfeed, videos, audio, text and images, available on the websites of DD News and Akashvani News as well as updated News on Air mobile app, as per officials. However, the content won’t be available to end users.

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“Over the years, Prasar Bharati has cultivated an elaborate network of news gathering as well as news delivery… Now, we intend to share this accurate and meaningful content with the rest of the print and electronic media industry,” Thakur said. Officials say the news organisations will be provided with clean feed and will not have to carry the logo of Doordarshan. “This will support smaller news organisations,” said senior Prasar Bharati officials.

The minister said the SHABD service is being offered free of cost for the first year as an introductory offer and will provide news stories in all major Indian languages across 50 categories.

Prasar Bharti CEO Gaurav Dwivedi said they will make an outreach to media organisations and share audio, video, photo and text-based information gathered by its network.

Divya A

Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More

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