MUMBAI: After hesitating for months, the Information and Broadcasting ministry has finally decided that the bidding of vacant channels of FM radio broadcasting in Phase II be cancelled.

In a circular dated 28 August 2008, the ministry says that 'a combined tender be floated in respect of vacant channels of Phase II and channels of Phase III'.

The Government is also considering the formulation of a 'fresh policy' in this regard.
After the formulation of the new policy in respect of Phase III, the tendering process for the vacancies of Phase II and channels of Phase III would be initiated, the notification says.

The ministry had in its notice dated 11 January 2008 informed the eligibile bidders that the date of financial bidding was postponed.

The move to cancel the bidding for phase II however is an expected one within the industry. According to AROI president Apurva Purohit, it makes better sense for the remaining 80 licenses under phase II to be given out after deregulation is brought in with phase III. While some of the broadcasters who were interested in bidding for the licenses currently would have to wait a little longer, the final outcome would be positive for the industry as a whole as the larger issues of FDI, news and current affairs and multiple licenses per city are likely to be addressed by the time the consolidated licenses are brought under the hammer in phase III, she said.

"The ministry had been giving indications that they would merge the auctions of the

balance frequencies of Phase II with Phase III. So it is not an entirely un-expected move," Radio Mirchi CEO Prashant Panday.The Ministry had announced in the beginning of 200 that new dates for submission of bids for 97 FM radio stations in 48 cities would be January 14 and 24. But those dates were also cancelled follows the Delhi High Court's dismissal of a review petition filed by the I&B Ministry against an earlier court order allowing Radio Today to bid if it fulfilled certain conditions. Following HC's dismissal of the petition, the Ministry was forced to postpone the bidding due to several complications.

Reliance Unicom (Big 92.7 FM), Entertainment Network India (Radio Mirchi), Sun TV (South Asia FM), and regional players such as Rajasthan Patrika, Ananda Offset Pvt Ltd, Shri Puran Multimedia (Dainik Jagran) and Synergy Media Entertainment (Dainik Bhaskar Group) were in the fray for the FM slots.

The bidding was originally scheduled for November 12 and 26 2007, but was cancelled just five days before the bidding. The new dates given at that time were December 17, 2007 and January 7, 2008, which were later changed. These were revised to December 29, 2007 and January 10, 2008, only to be postponed yet again to January 14 and 24, 2008.

Says My FM CFO Vijay Garg, "This move comes as an disappointment for us as
we were expecting to bid for metros and other cities in Phase II itself. Now
that the vacant frequencies would be merged with Phase III, it might get a bit
competitive to get licenses."

BAG Films & Media Ltd Managing Director Anurradha Prasad says, It is a major setback on part of the radio industry as we were bidding for as many as 15 licenses all over. It was quite evident the way things were happening since the past four-five months that nothing fruitful would come from the delays. We were wishing that the government would have continued with the Phase II even after the delay and we have no clue what to expect from the Phase III after Phase II is cancelled. Our plans for third phase would primarily depend on the number of frequencies, type of frequencies and formulation of the new policy....

Talking about the industry's expectations from Phase III, Panday adds, "The first expectation that the industry has is that it should be announced soon before the elections happen and the ministry has repeatedly assured us about their commitment towards this. Secondly, the biggest need for the radio industry is to increase the number of channels in the major markets, as well as to allow broadcasters the permission to run multiple stations in the same market. Both of these will help provide more programming diversity to listeners. Also, if the phase III policy is likely to get delayed, then the radio industry feels that the balance frequencies of Phase II should be auctioned rightaway."

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