66 FM channels fetch ₹200 cr; 200 stay unsold

Altogether 66 radio channels have been provisionally sold for over Rs 200 crore in 48 towns in the second round of the FM Phase III auctions held by the I&B Ministry but 200 channels found no takers. The results of the second batch of the FM Radio radio Phase III auctions were declared on Monday as per which an FM Radio channel in Hyderabad notched the highest Rs 23.4 crore.

The bid was made by Sun Group company Kal Radio. The slot for FM Radio in Dehradun 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 channel frequencies on offer with as many as 13 on offer in towns like Leh, Bhaderwah, Poonch, Kathua and Kargil in Jammu and Kashmir getting bids of a measly Rs 5 lakh each. The second batch of FM Phase-III consisted of 266 channels in 92 cities.

Among the prominent companies which picked up FM radio channel frequency spots in the latest round are Entertainment Network (I) Limited, which bagged rights in Akola (Rs 58.98 lakh), Amravati (Rs 3.5 crore), Asansol (Rs 1.94 crore), Durg-Bhilainagar (Rs 1.7 crore), Mysuru (Rs 3.21 crore) and several other cities. 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 compaines was Rs 7.02 crore. Kal Radio also bought FM radio frequency spots in cities like Vellore, Nellore etc. (More) PTI ADS

Meanwhile, Music Broadcast Ltd, promoted by Jagran Prakashan and which operates radio stations under the brand Radio City, on Monday said that it has fixed price band between Rs 324 to Rs 333 per equity share for its forthcoming initial public offer (IPO). The IPO opens on March 6 and closes on March 8. The company is coming out with IPO of equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each for cash at a premium consisting of a fresh issue of up to Rs 400 crore and an offer for sale up to 2,658,518 equity shares by the selling shareholders, a company statement said here.

Radio City is the first private FM radio broadcaster in the country and has grown from four cities in 2001 to 37 cities as on February 2017. These radio stations include Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad etc. which were existing stations. The company acquired 11 additional radio stations under the Phase III policy.

The company is present in 12 out of the top 15 cities in India by population. As on March 31, 2016, its radio stations reached out to over 49.60 million listeners in 23 cities covered by AZ Research.

In addition to presence in 37 cities, the company has a sales alliance with ITM Software & Entertainment Private Ltd (ITM) which operates "Suno Lemon 91.9 FM" (Suno Lemon) in Gwalior and Ananda Offset Private Limited ("AOPL") which operates "Friends 91.9 FM" (Friends FM) in Kolkata.

It also operates online web radio on its web portal Planet Radio City, which was launched in 2010. It operates 40 web radio stations through planetradiocity.com in eight languages.