Govt To Auction FM Radio Stations: Reports

According to Apurva Chandra, secretary of information and broadcasting, the government intends to hold a new FM radio station auction this year. At an event on Thursday, Chandra reportedly said that the ministry intends to introduce an OTT platform and start testing direct-to-mobile television broadcasts this year.

One of the media stories quoted him, "We are also working towards an auction of FM radio stations this year."

According to Chandra, the move will bring FM radio to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities this year because the service now only covers 60 per cent of the nation.

About the OTT strategy, he explained that Prasar Bharti material would be available on the platform. “Fresh content, such as the 'Swaraj' serial is not available on the internet for want of an OTT platform. We plan to do that in 2023-24," he allegedly remarked.

Chandra also highlighted, in order to get television signals from the direct-to-mobile television transmission, mobile phone users will need to connect a special dongle to their handsets.