The Cabinet on Wednesday approve the third batch of ascending e-auctions for 730 channels in 234 new cities with estimated reserve price of ₹784.87 crore. This will enable expansion of FM Radio in the country and has been on the cards under the Private FM Radio Phase Ill Policy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a post on X said, “The Cabinet decision on the rollout of Private FM Radio to 234 cities and towns will enhance access to diverse and local content, thus encouraging creativity and encouraging local languages as well as cultures.”
Licence fee
The Cabinet has also approved the proposal to change annual licensing fee conditions but said that this was applicable for the new FM radio stations that will come up in these 234 cities and towns. “The Cabinet also approved the proposal to charge Annual Licence Fee (ALF) of FM channel as 4 per cent of gross revenue excluding Goods and Services Tax (GST),” the official statement added.
This is in line with the recommendation made by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India which had noted that the existing methodology of determining licence fee impinges on the business of the FM radio operators. While the industry is awaiting more clarity, a senior industry executive said the new conditions have likely delinked licence fee from NOTEF (Non-refundable one-time entry free) conditions but only for upcoming FM radio stations.
The government said that this will lead to creation of new employment opportunities, boost to local dialect and culture and ‘vocal for local’ initiatives. “Many of the approved cities / towns are in Aspirational districts and LWE affected areas. Setting up of Private FM Radio in these areas will further strengthen government outreach in these areas,” it added.
Cities covered
The approved cities and towns include Port Blair, Imphal, Dimapur, Dibrugarh, Arrah, Begusarai, Madanpalle, Korba, Amreli, Bhuj, Rohtak, Anantnag, Dhanbad, Belgaun, Palakkad, Mandsaur, Latur, Goindiya, Puri, Sambalpur, Ludhina, Bathinda, Alwar, Ganganagar, Conoor, Thanjavur, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Etah, Haridwar, Haldwani and Darjiling among others.
Currently, there are 36 private FM broadcasters operating 388 FM Radio stations in about 113 cities in the country. The radio segment revenues grew 10 per cent in 2023 to reach about ₹2,300 crore on the back of more retail and local advertising, and alternate revenue streams, according to a report by FICCI-EY. It added that ad volumes increased by 19 per cent in 2023 in this sector as compared to the previous year, though ad rates remained below their 2019 levels.