India's government yesterday announced plans to auction more than 800 FM radio licences, enabling listeners in many cities to tune into private radio stations for the first time.
The auction of the 839 licences marks an ambitious expansion of the sector and is expected to raise nearly US$400 million in revenue, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told a news conference.
Only 86 Indian cities currently have private FM radio services. The main radio broadcast provider is state-run All India Radio.
Mrs Soni also announced that the foreign investment limit in the FM radio station operators would rise to 26 percent from the current 20 percent.
Mrs Soni also told reporters that FM radio licences would be extended to 15 from 10 years and content rules would be eased to allow the stations to carry newscasts.
Currently, FM stations cannot air news bulletins but under the new rules they will be able to carry news from All India Radio.
The sale will be conducted through an online auction which allows for fast bidding and is regarded by experts as a transparent sales method.
Industry officials have said they expect bidding for the FM licences to be subdued as many radio stations which depend on advertising revenue for their earnings are posting losses.
(Source : Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union)
No comments:
Post a Comment