FM auction - 39 frequencies remain unsold.
Q. First round for phase-2 of FM radio licence auction closed recently where the GoI raised INR 1064 crore for 91 frequencies in 54 cities. How many frequencies remained unsold?- Published on 18 Sep 15a. 42
b. 41
c. 39
d. 38
ANSWER: 39
Additionally 7 frequencies have reportedly been auctioned. It is the frequencies of smaller towns like Tirupati and Vijaywada which remained unsold. Biggest bidders were Entertainment Network India Ltd(part of TOI group owning Mirchi brand) with INR 339.2 crore for 17 channels and HT Media Ltd which bid INR 339.8 crore for 10 channels. Third in line was Digital Radio Broadcasting Ltd( Sun Group) with INR 134.9 crore for 3 channels and Reliance Broadcast network Ltd with INR 116.9 crore for 14 channels. Delhi fetched the highest bid at INR 169.2 crore which was 5 and half times reserve price of INR 31.4 crore indicating a scarcity premium. Mirchi brand will now cover 43 cities following the auctions. The top 5 companies and their frequencies won and amount spend were:
- ENIL(Mirchi)-17-INR 339.2 crore
- HT Media Ltd-10- INR 339.8 crore
- Digital Radio(Sun)-3-INR 134.9 crore
- Reliance Braodcast-14- INR 116.9 crore
- Music Bradocast-11- INR 62.6 crore Delhi fetched 5.5 times the reserve price of INR 31.4 crore.
