Govt plans FM radio station auction, OTT roll-out this year
Speaking at an event, IB Secretary Apurva Chandra also reportedly said the government will begin trial of direct-to -mobile television broadcast this year
The government is reportedly planning to conduct a fresh auction of FM radio stations this year, Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra has said. According to media reports, at an event on Thursday, Chandra also said the ministry is planning to launch an OTT platform and begin trial of direct-to -mobile television broadcast this year.
"We are also working towards an auction of FM radio stations this year," one of the media reports quoted him as saying.
Chandra reportedly said the move is aimed at taking FM radio to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities this year as the service currently covered only 60 per cent of the country.
Talking about the OTT plan, he said the platform will be for Prasar Bharti content. “Fresh content, such as the 'Swaraj' serial is not available on the internet for want of an OTT platform. We plan to do that in 2023-24," he reportedly said.
About the direct-to -mobile television broadcast, Chandra reportedly said mobile phone users will have to attach a special dongle to their mobile devices to receive television signals.
