The third round of auctions for radio stations is expected to attract 50-60 players including existing operators, reports Anushree Bhattacharyya in New Delhi. The government is expected to earn an additional R550 crore as revenues from the new licences. Vineet Singh Hukmani, MD, Radio One, says that since his firm already has a good presence in the seven metros, the game plan will be to consolidate in the large cities. “We would expand our presence from seven big cities to 10,” Hukmani says. Tarun Katial, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network, is pleased his firm can venture out into new cities and towns.
“We have have always lived by the motto of being the largest network and will continue to do so even during the Phase III auction,” Katial says. According to Apurva Purohit, CEO, Radio City, her firm will bid for some stations.
Jehil Thakkar, head, media & entertainment, KPMG, new players, mainly regional print companies, are expected to jump on the bandwagon.
“The first set of bidders will comprise existing networks such as Radio Mirchi, Red FM, Big FM and the Dainik Jagran Group which recently acquired Radio City, who will bid for a pan-India presence while another group would include regional print players who want to consolidate their regional presence,” Thakkar says.
CVL Srinivas, CEO, GroupM South Asia, points out that while the auctions will allow private radio companies to expand their reach, FM broadcasters should be allowed to broadcast news and current affairs apart.
“Private FM operators will be able to command higher advertising rates only when they are different,” he says.