839 new FM stations to be added covering more than 294 towns across India
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issues policy guidelines for FM radio Phase III auctioning
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Sanjay Salil, Managing Director, MediaGuru Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
-- In a bid to expand the FM services pan India including J&K, NE States and island territories, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued policy guidelines for FM radio Phase III auctioning. This phase will see 839 new FM stations to be added covering more than 294 towns across India. This process has opened the market for entrepreneurs willing to cash on the booming media industry. The auctioning process is expected to start in October.
"The first round of e-auctioning for the third phase of FM radio expansion (FM-III) is expected to see stiff competition between radio firms as it will cover those towns which are already exposed to private FM radio services and in a change from the past the FM-III policy allows operators to own more than one station in a town. The new policy changes have opened the field for new and old players alike however it will be a big challenge for the new entrants to compete with established players ready with their plans to penetrate in the new markets", said Sanjay Salil, Managing Director, MediaGuru Consultants Pvt Ltd.
The Phase II expansion of FM radio resulted in huge growth in FM radio industry and opened up new areas of employment opportunities. However many cities remained untouched as only the cities with a population of three lakh and above besides State Capitals were taken up for bidding during the first two phases of FM radio expansion. In due course this created strong pull for FM radio in other cities. According to new policy guidelines all cities with a population of one lakh plus have been awarded FM station bandwidth, leading to over 800 new stations to be launched in the Phase III.
According to new policy guidelines the Reserve Price for new channels in existing FM Phase-II cities shall be the highest bid price received for that city in Phase-II. In cities which are being taken up afresh, the reserve price shall be the Highest Bid price received during FM Phase-II for that category of cities in that region.
Notes to Editor
MediaGuru Consultants Pvt Ltd is a media consultancy company. It provides end-to-end solutions for either starting or revamping media ventures in every sector including Television Print, Radio Stations and in New Media. It has helped non media companies diversify into media domain and assisted international media players and channels enter the Indian media market. In the radio domain, it has helped Radio Mango (Malayala Manorama Group FM) and 95 FM Tadka (Rajasthan Patrika Group FM) to expand to the new markets while assisted Ananda Bazaar Patrika and Dainik Bhaskar in pre-bid process for FM Radio Stations. It has had a 100% success rate for bid consultancy during the FM Phase II period. Headquartered in India, MediaGuru has a global presence through its offices in Europe and Singapore.
