[HCDX] New FM channels all set to entertain Goans

[Mukesh Kumar <thecosmosclub@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

New FM channels all set to entertain Goans 

by Sachin Chatte 

The FM radio revolution is all set for its second
phase. The opening of bids by the I&B ministry for
private FM stations is almost complete, with the last
round of bidding to be held on February 3. But the
bids for Goa have already been opened and the top
three bids were that of Entertainment Network (Times
group) which operates under the name of Radio Mirchi
(Rs 1.71 crore), Radio Indigo (Rs 1.29 crore) and
Adlabs, Reliance - Anil Ambani group (Rs 1.21 crore).

This time around, for licensing of FM channels, the
cities were classified according to the size of their
population. Goa comes under category ?D? (population
between 10 to 30 lakhs) and is eligible for three new
private channels, with a transmitter output of 3 KW.
Several cities, especially the metros, already have
private channels which were a part of the first phase
of privatisation in 2000, which went awfully wrong.
The simple reason was that the annual licence fees
were not sustainable.

The companies, which had bid high, mostly chickened
out even before they could start. For instance, the
highest bid for a licence in Goa was Rs 4.15 crore -
which is ridiculously high and would have escalated by
15 per cent every year. No wonder the plan flopped
before it really took off.

The new policy of revenue-sharing makes much more
sense. Under the new policy, the bids mentioned above
are a one-time entry fee (OTEF), as a licence for a 10
year period. Hence in case of the top bidder of Rs
1.71 crore in Goa, it works out to only Rs 17 lakh
annually.

The Reserve Price is calculated as 25 per cent of the
highest valid bid. In this case, the reserve price in
Panaji is Rs 42.75 lakh. The annual licence fee is
either 4 per cent of revenue share or 10 per cent of
Reserve Price, whichever is higher. Therefore, the
minimum guaranteed annual payment for Panaji FM
operators would be 10 per cent of Rs 42.75 lakh, or Rs
4.275 lakh which is certainly a lucrative proposition.

The only local bidder this time was Tarun Graphics
Multigraphics but the winners are all outsiders and it
remains to be seen how they go about their programming
content. Another newspaper group, Pudhari, managed to
win a bid for Kolhapur. The Times group makes a
comeback of sorts in Goa, as they were operating
hourly slots in the mid-nineties along with Radio
Mid-day and HMV.

But under the present policy, all the new channels
will have to use All India Radio?s transmitting
infrastructure and that means they have to share AIR?s
transmitter tower in Panaji. This is certainly a
setback for South Goa, because though currently AIR
operates with a 6 KW transmitter, its reach is limited
in South Goa. The private players can operate only 3
KW transmitters, and unless the co-siting policy is
changed, there will be little to cheer about south of
the Verna plateau.

The three new channels will surely create a few job
opportunities for Goa - and that includes Radio
Jockeys, music managers, producers, marketing & sales,
administration and technical staff. Nisha Narayanan,
former programme head of Radio City Bangalore and
presently a media consultant in Delhi opines that,
with its well-known love of music and high disposable
incomes, Goa is a great destination for FM Radio. The
new channels will basically survive on advertising
revenue, and traditionally radio accounts for 7 per
cent to 8 per cent of total ad money spent on the
media. ?Presently, in India, ad-spend is as low as 2
per cent and this is bound to change in a couple of
years,? she added.

In the current scenario, news is not allowed on
private FM channels but many of the current new FM
players are from the news media. Sources in the I&B
ministry say that the ban on news programming may be
reconsidered in the couple of years. Though the
revolution in television with the advent of cable
channels happened more than a decade ago, Radio was
quite slow to start off the block thanks to the
government policies or rather the lack of it. But now
finally things are looking bright for all those who
are in love with that Marconi?s invention called
Radio. In the second part tomorrow, we will look at
what these channels could mean to Goa and how their
programming content might possibly shape up.
From: www.navhindtimes.com/
Regards & 73?s
Mukesh Kumar
MUZAFFARPUR 
INDIA.



		
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