NEW DELHI: Entertainment Network India Pvt Ltd appears to be the largest gainer of the first stage of the FM Radio Phase III e-auctions declared today with 17 channels in its kitty. The results of 91 channels in fifty-four cities were placed on the website of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
The Ministry said the results do not include the results of the bids by M/s Sun TV, South Asia FM and Kal Radio in compliance with the orders of the Madras High Court.
It also said the Centre had decided to file a special leave to appeal in the Supreme Court against the order of 26 July of the Delhi High Court of Delhi in the petitions by Digital Radio (Mumbai) Broadcasting Ltd. & Digital Radio (Delhi) Broadcasting Ltd. respectively.
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The sole channel in Delhi was bagged by HT Media, which also bagged one of the two channels in Mumbai. The other went to Digital Radio (Mumbai) Broadcasting Pvt Ltd.
Entertainment Network India Ltd bagged the sole channel in Bengaluru and two channels in Hyderabad, with one other channel in Hyderabad going to HT Media. Entertainment Network India Ltd also bagged the sole channel in Guwahati and one of the two in Jammu, the other going to Rajasthan Patrika.
Rajasthan Patrika Pvt Ltd has successfully bid for 14 channels, while Reliance Broadcast Network and DB Corp have got 14 channels. Meanwhile, Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd has got 11 channels and HT Media has 10 channels.
Reliance Broadcast Network Limited CEO Tarun Katial said, “We have consistently maintained a leadership position in the market with top ratings and continue to remain the largest radio network in India with 59 frequencies. We have had a successful FY’14-15 with topline growth of close to 30 per cent YoY and 45 per cent EBITDA margin in Radio. As a result of the recently concluded Phase III Radio Auctions, we have added 14 new frequencies across our focus markets and are certain that we will grow consistently and increase our revenue. We are also looking forward to migrate our existing presence in all metros, mini metros and all key states for a further period of 15 years.”
Radio City CEO Apurva Purohit said, “We are pleased to share that we have won 11 frequencies and in the markets that we were keen on. This increases our footprint across important cities in each state as we become a 39 station network. Together Radio City and Radio Mantra will be dominant players in important state clusters and continue our successful phase II strategy of concentrating on advertiser relevant markets.”
Others who have successful bid are Digital Radio (Mumbai) Broadcasting Pvt Ltd, Abhijeet Realtors and Infraventures Pvt Ltd, Renderlive Films and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, Sarthak Films Pvt Ltd, Abir Buildcon Pvt Ltd, Mathrubhumi Printing and Publishing Co Pvt Ltd and Odisha Television Ltd.
Bhubaneswar which had set a record with a single channel getting the most competitive bidding increment-wise (Rs 7,40,13,559) by going up nine times the reserve price, was bagged by Sarthak Films Pvt Ltd.
The auction was stopped on the 33rd day after just one round, with 97 channels in 56 cities became provisional winning channels with cumulative provisional winning price of about Rs 1156.9 crore against their aggregate reserve price of about Rs 459.8 Crore.
