E-auction of 730 FM radio channels on July 9: Govt

New Delhi, Jul 4 (PTI) Online auctions for 730 FM radio channels in 234 cities across the country are scheduled to start on July 9, the information and broadcasting ministry said on Friday.

"E-auction of third batch of Private FM Radio Phase III channels will tentatively start on 9th July, 2025 (Wednesday) from 0930 hours onwards," the ministry said in a notification.

As many as 19 companies from across the country are listed as pre-qualified bidders for the auction.

The pre-qualified bidders are Ahalia Healthcare Ltd, AM Television Pvt Ltd, DB Corp Ltd (Radio Division), Eastern Media Ltd, HT Media Ltd, JCL Infra Pvt Ltd, KAL Radio Ltd, Lohchab Motor Company Pvt Ltd, Madhuresh Publications Pvt Ltd, Malar Publications Ltd, Pindari Media Entertainment Pvt Ltd, Rajasthan Patrika Pvt Ltd, RLFE Pvt Ltd, SantaMonicaTours and Travels Pvt Ltd, Sapphire Media Ltd, Setwell Coatings India Pvt Ltd, South Asia FM Ltd, The Malayala Manorama Co Pvt Ltd, The Mathrubhumi Printing and Publishing Co Ltd.

In August last year, the Union Cabinet approved the proposal to conduct the third batch of e-auctions for 730 channels in 234 new cities with an estimated reserve price of Rs 784.87 crore, under the Private FM Radio Phase III policy.

In October last year, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting invited applications for e-auctions. Six months later, in April this year, the ministry issued Amendment No. One to the Auction Rules for Private FM Radio Batch III channels e-auction under Phase III.

According to the amendment, 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. PTI SKU MNK MNK