FM-III e-auctions to kick off in November

The 3G-style electronic auctions of 839 new FM stations in 294 cities under the FM-III policy will be conducted in three batches, starting with the first batch of 200-250 FM channels in 100-plus towns by November. The remaining two batches will be conducted next year.

The first batch of e-auctions will include the 132 vacant FM slots in existing 86 towns, 33 new slots in the border towns of Jammu & Kashmir and the North-Eastern states and another 100-odd slots in about 30 new towns so far untouched by the private FM radio companies allowed in the first and second phase of private FM policies announced in 2001 and 2005, respectively.

The FM-III policy, cleared by the Cabinet in July 2011, has made key changes over the previous two policies as it hiked the FDI cap to 26% from the earlier 20% and allowed ownership of multiple channels within a city, also not permitted so far. News and current affairs has also been allowed under FM-III policy, thereby making the FM radio sector an attractive financial proposition for those interested to expand their presence in more towns. Also, all auctions will be conducted via the 3G-style ascending e-auctions, much to the dislike of the radio companies.

The Rs1,000-crore private FM radio industry, managed between three-dozen companies, is waiting for the FM-III rollout to help improve the financial viability of the otherwise loss-making sector due to high operational cost and advertising revenue as its lone source of income.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/broadband-and-iptv-news/item/231-fm-iii-e-auctions-to-kick-off-in-november.html
Source: http://cablequest.org/news/broadband-and-iptv-news/item/231-fm-iii-e-auctions-to-kick-off-in-november.html