Coming soon to Delhi, Mumbai, B’lore, Kolkata
FRIDAY WAS a big day for FM radio in India. Nearly 58 radio stations spread across 13 cities -- including the four metros and boomtowns like Bangalore and Hyderabad -- saw a horde of bidders vying to bag the rights.
Twenty-five companies, led by the likes of HT Music, Adlabs, Radio City and Radio Today, won stations by forking out Rs 568 crore for 53 frequencies. HT Music won frequencies in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore.
The process of opening the financial bids of the qualified participants was held in the Capital.
Apurva Purohit, CEO of Music Broadcast (Radio City) said: "This is good news for the industry. The whole sector will grow. The process was handled brilliantly and this means great news for consumers. Hopefully, the industry will segment its offering and give a wider choice to listeners."
Anil Mehra, group finance director, Living Media, said, "Even though the bids varied, we believe that the total revenue accruing to the government is as per their expectations."