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India to invite bids for 300 FM radio stations
By agencies
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Friday, 06 January 2006, 20:30 IST
MUMBAI: India will invite bids for more than 300 new FM radio stations, sparking a rush of global broadcasters to enter the country's liberalized radio sector. The information and broadcasting ministry will launch the process for 337 radio stations in a new stage in the opening of the sector started in the late 1990s.
According to a ministry official, There will be financial bids for 337 FM radio stations in 91 cities on January 6. Global broadcasters have landed in the Indian capital New Delhi to submit bids before the closing date in February.
Some foreign broadcasters have already formed joint ventures to bid for the licenses spread across the whole country of more than 1.1 billion people. BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, and India's Mid Day Multimedia have formed a joint venture to operate locally under the name of Radio Mid-Day West and run its existing FM channel, Go 92.5.
Besides BBC, others who have evinced interest include Virgin of Britain and Star group, owned by Australian media baron Rupert Murdoch.