The Hindu Business Line : Govt set to garner Rs 1,100 cr from FM radio privatisation

THE Government is set to garner about Rs 1,134 crore as one-time entry fee and migration fee in the second phase of FM radio privatisation. Of the total 338 frequencies put on block, about 279 were allotted to various players after bidding was conducted in five rounds.

On the last day, of the 64 frequencies in the South that were up for grabs, 53 stations were allotted generating Rs 177 crore as revenues. Kochi attracted the highest bid value of Rs 10.1 crore paid by Adlabs followed by Kozhikode and Vijayawada attracting Rs 7 crore each. Other towns such as Madurai, Pondicherry, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruchi and Visakhapatnam attracted bids of Rs 4-5 crore. Regional players such as Malar Publications, Asianet Communications, The Malayala Manorama Co Ltd and The Mathrubhumi Priniting & Publishing Ltd were among the winners.

Overall, the Sun Group — through South Asia FM Pvt Ltd and Kal Radio — emerged as the top scorer bagging about 67 licences followed by others such as Anil Ambani's Adlabs Films with about 56 stations and Entertainment Network India Ltd with over 30. Others such as Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd (MBPL) and Bhaskar Group's Synergy have also been aggressive.

The Government has invited bids for licences in 91 cities across the country. It is expected to earn about Rs 900 crore as one-time entry fee from operators under the new revenue share arrangement and around Rs 227 crore as migration fee, to be paid by the existing operators to shift to the new regime.

According to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry officials, bids for the remaining towns would be invited later. However, companies such as Adlabs and the Sun Group would have to relinquish some of its licences to comply with the regulation that does not permit a group to hold more than 15 per cent of the total licences.

Ms Apurva Purohit, CEO, Radio City (owned by MBPL), said in a statement, "In the final round of bidding for FM licences, Radio City has bagged the two cities it bid for in the South; Coimbatore and Vizag.