Sixty-six channels fetch Rs 200 cr, 200 go unsold

Altogether 66 radio channels have been provisionally sold for about Rs 200 crore in 48 towns in the second round of the FM Phase-III auctions held by the information & broadcasting (I&B) ministry; but 200 channels found no takers.

A bid of Rs 23.4 crore for an FM station in Hyderabad was the highest one at the auction. The bid was made by Sun Group firm Kal Radio. The slot for FM Radio in Dehra Dun notched the second highest bid of nearly Rs 15.61 crore. It was made by South Asia FM Limited, which is also linked to the Sun Group headed by Kalanithi Maran.

However, the response was not as enthusiastic for all FM channels on offer with as many as 13 in towns such as Leh, Bhaderwah, Poonch, Kathua and Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir getting bids of just Rs 5 lakh each. The second batch of FM Phase-III consisted of 266 channels in 92 cities.

Prashant Panday-led Entertainment Network India Limited (ENIL), picked up 21 channels in the auction. The company that operates brands Radio Mirchi and Mirchi Love across the country added frequencies in cities such as Amravati, Bharuch, Mysuru, Asansol and Warangal to its portfolio, spending a total Rs 51.3 crore. 

"We are very excited with the results of the 2nd batch of auctions! Our 21 new cities give us depth in the most vibrant radio markets in the country. With this expansion, we'll have 74 frequencies in 64 cities. We look forward to expanding more in the future. However only if the government amends the policy and makes the smaller stations viable," Panday said. The Sun Group spent Rs 80.58 crore on acquiring 13 channels. Besides Hyderabad and Dehra Dun, it also picked up frequencies in Leh (Rs 5 lakh), Vellore (Rs 7.02 crore) and Jhansi (Rs 56.9 lakh), among others.

Gujarat-based media company Sambhaav Media picked up a total of 13 frequencies, shelling out Rs 17.5 crore. Sambhaav Media focussed on Gujarat and North India, picking up cities such as Bharuch, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Kargil, Leh and Poonch. Malayala Manorama Co Ltd and Mathrubhumi Printing and Publishing Co Ltd each bought a frequency to run radio channels in Allappuzha (Allepey). The winning bid of both the companies was Rs 7.02 crore.

Several other companies also bagged frequencies, such as Purvy Broadcast in Aizwal and Haflong, and JCL Infra in Kargil, Kathua and Leh. Ushodaya Enterprises bagged frequencies for two channels in Warangal apart from one each in Tirupati, Vijayawada and some other places, while Malar Publications got one frequency in Vellore.

In the first batch of the FM Phase-III radio auctions, the I&B ministry had put up 135 channels for auction, and at closure of the e-auction in September 2015, 97 channels had been sold provisionally in 56 cities. The cumulative winning price totalled about Rs 1,156.9 crore against the aggregate reserve price of about Rs 459.8 crore.