The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Thursday gave its nod to Sun TV’ South Asia FM for operating five radio channels that it had won through the e-auction in the first batch of Private FM Radio Phase III channels.

The first batch of e-auction was concluded last year. However, the Ministry did not declare the results of the bids of Sun TV and its subsidiaries —Kal Radio and South Asia FM — as the matter was sub judice .

The company will now be able to launch five radio channels in Surat, Amritsar, Patna, Chandigarh and Jammu. The cumulative amount spent by the company to bid for these five radio frequencies was about ₹47.57 crore.

When contacted, Nisha Narayanan, COO, Red FM, said the I&B Ministry has given the company the letter of intent for these five radio channels. The company has also got the permission to migrate its existing FM radio licences from phase II to phase III. The company had overall successfully bid for eight radio channels last year.

Last year, the company had run into trouble with the government after the Ministry of Home Affairs did not give it the mandatory security clearance for participating in the auction of the first batch of FM Radio Phase III. The company and its subsidiaries were later allowed to participate in the auction after they got a legal reprieve.

The company is now also looking to expand its presence in the country further as it is participating in the ongoing e-auction of the second batch of the Private FM Radio Phase III auctions.

Meanwhile, eight rounds of bidding were completed at the end of Thursday for the second batch of the Private FM Radio Phase III e-auction. This was the second day for the e-auction which has 266 FM radio channels up for grabs in 92 cities.

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