The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued Amendment No. 1 to the Auction Rules (dated November 27, 2024) for Private FM Radio Batch III channels e-auction under Phase III.
As per the new amendment, issued on April 9, the Ministry has extended the duration of each round in the Rank-wise Multiple Rounds allocation stage from 30 minutes to 60 minutes. This change aims to provide bidders with more time per round during the allocation stage, potentially facilitating a more considered bidding process.
This amendment specifically revises Clause 1.6.1 (c) of the original Auction Rules.
“This way, there will be Rank wise Multiple Rounds in the frequency allocation stage. The duration of each round would be 60 minutes and there will not be any time extension available to the bidder in this process,” the Ministry said in a circular signed by Rajan Kumar Chanana, Under Secretary to the GOI.
The Ministry initiated the third batch of e-auctions under Phase III of the Private FM Radio policy, aiming to expand FM radio services to 234 previously uncovered cities by offering 730 new channels. The FM Phase III policy, approved by the Union Cabinet in 2011, seeks to enhance the reach of private FM radio across India. The first two batches of auctions, conducted in 2015 and 2016, resulted in the allocation of 163 channels across 104 cities. The current third batch focuses on cities that have not yet received private FM services, aiming to promote local content, generate employment, and provide diverse entertainment options.
The amendment has been communicated to all applicants participating in the FM Radio Batch III e-auctions. For further details or clarifications, stakeholders are advised to refer to the official notification or contact the Ministry directly.
Storyboard18 earlier reported that the third batch of phase-III FM e-auctions hasn’t found many enthusiastic participants because of high reserve prices and the 9-year long hiatus. Many radio players will likely limit spending to 10% of previous levels.
With major players choosing to stay away from participating in the third batch, including the likes of Radio Mirchi and City, insiders had shared that “with so few participants, the auction is more about survival than growth for the industry.”
The absence of major players also comes after radio channels reportedly requested a nearly 70% reduction in the reserve price in the auction – mainly because the third batch is set for the cities with less business opportunity and a high cost of operations.
“Batch one witnessed the most lucrative bids. The government should have opened the new batch around 2016 only because players were still bullish at that time – ‘reach’ used to be a big word for radio players but today station owners would not take these 734 cities very seriously – it’s not something that’s going to change the fortunes of anyone,” shared founder and former MD 94.3 Radio One, Vineet Singh Hukmani. StoryBoard18