FM radio Phase III auction: Mirchi and Radio City opt out11
As compared to Phase II, which had 70 applicants, Phase III has drawn only 20 players
As reported earlier, players have been staying away from the FM radio auctions because of steep licence fee. Stakeholders have been saying that the government's plan to expand into tier cities and towns lacks commercial feasibility. The lack of audience is the other impediment.
According to MIB’s notification, among the 20 who have applied are - A M Television Pvt Ltd, Ahalia Healthcare Limited, Clear Media India Pvt Ltd, D B Corp Ltd, Eastern Media Ltd, HT Mkdia Limited, JCL, Infra Pvt Ltd, Kal Radio Limited, Lohchab Motors Company Pvt Ltd, Madhuresh Publications Pvt Ltd, Malar Publications Ltd, Pindari Media Entertainment Pvt Ltd, Rajasthan Patrika Pvt Ltd, RLFE Pvt Ltd, Santamonica Tours & Travels Pvt Ltd, Sapphire Media Limited, Setwell Coatings India Pvt Ltd, South Asia FM Limited, The Malayala Manorama Co Pvt Ltd and The Mathrubhumi Printing & Publishing Co Ltd. While HT Media operates Fever, Sapphire Media owns Big FM, DB Corp runs My FM and Kal Radio drives Red FM.
Regional players like Malayala Manorama runs Radio Mango and Club FM is operated by Mathrubhumi. Eastern Media caters to Odisha and owns an FM channel called Radio Choklate. Similarly, Malar Publications run Hello FM in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Phase I and II had more takers
In 2005, the government announced the policy for Phase-II of FM Radio Broadcasting, that resulted in offering 337 channels across 91 cities with a population of three lakhs or more. Among these channels, 284 were successfully bid upon, and after scrutiny, permissions were granted for 245 channels spanning 87 cities. In Phase-II, a total of 222 channels became operational.
