Have FM licence, can join club

There is a clear divide between those who have paid up for the FM licenses and those who haven’t. It became apparent when the new club members met here last Tuesday to thrash out the issues before them, without the participation of the Radio Group. Till recently, the Delhi-based Radio Group (a registered body with 21 FM bidders as members) has been a guiding force for the entire FM community.

According to a member of the new club, which is still unnamed: “We have decided to form a smaller club with five to six representatives from the licensee companies in the metros.” Since Radio Group members also include those who have defaulted on the license fee such as Zee Group’s New Media Broadcasting, Observer Network, and Nimbus, the remaining members - those with FM licenses have decided to form a separate club.

Reasons out a member in the new club: “Our agenda will be different from that of those who haven’t paid the bank guarantee for setting up FM radio stations.” So, an informal club of FM licensees, who have a similar agenda, makes sense, he added. In any case, said a member of this informal club, the government had written a letter to the licensees persuading them to meet each other in a consortium in order to thrash out crucial issues such as third-party participation and deciding the size of the tower.

In their first meeting after the FM Radio agreements were signed with the government, the licensees discussed the modalities of setting up FM radio stations. Of those attending the meeting last week were representatives from Bennett Coleman’s Entertainment Network, Living Media’s Radio Today, Mid-day Radio, Millennium and Music Broadcast.

Last week’s meet was significant in that the members decided to discuss some crucial issues with a senior official of the Information & Broadcasting Ministry within a day or two. “The meeting with the I&B official will help these new club members understand a lot of issues concerning FM.”

Among the primary concerns of the FM licensees is the issue of re-bidding of FM circles by the government. These players feel that giving another chance to the defaulters is not fair.

Even though the government stand on re-bidding is not clear yet, Zee Group’s New Media Broadcasting-the biggest defaulter - has been directed by the Delhi High Court to get back to the government on whether it is serious about acquiring the FM license or not. Earlier, New Media had moved court against the government demanding a refund of its advance money.

Nivedita Mookerji

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