I&B Ministry
Day 13: FM Phase III bids cross Rs 1000 crore mark; no bids for 13 cities yet
NEW DELHI: The thirteenth day of the e-auction for the first batch of FM Phase III cities saw the cumulative provisional winning price cross the Rs 1000 crore mark, though the progress showed only mild signs of rise at the end of the 52nd round.
A total of 87 channels in 56 cities became provisional winning channels with cumulative provisional winning price of Rs 1005 crore against their aggregate reserve price of about Rs 425 crore. Thus the summation of provisional winning prices surpassed the cumulative reserve price of the corresponding 87 channels by Rs 580.23 crore or 136.5 per cent.
Overall, cumulative provisional winning price exceeded the total reserve price of the first batch of 135 FM channels in 69 existing cities of Rs 550.18 crore by Rs 455.08 crore or 82.7 per cent, which is three per cent above yesterday.
The Auction Activity Requirement continued to remain at 90 per cent, raised after the 37th round on 7 August.
The 13 cities for which bids have still not come are Asansol, Gulbarga, Mangalore, Mysore, Puducherry, Rajahmundry, Siliguri, Tiruchy, Tirunveli, Tirupati, Tuticorin, Vijaywada and Warangal.
The demand over the price in most cities fell by up to three per cent and four per cent below the excess demand at the price in 52nd round in Hyderabad.
The Percentage Price Increment (in INR) applicable for the Next Clock Round rose to just one per cent in Amritsar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Hisar, Mumbai and Pune.
The highest Provisional winning price was in Delhi at Rs 162.56 crore (for just one channel), followed by Mumbai at Rs 98.95 crore, both showing marginal increase as compared to yesterday.
Among cities recording more than Rs 10 crore, it rose sizeably in Chennai at Rs 47.89 crore and Pune at Rs 39.59 crore and marginally in Jaipur at Rs 27.24 crore; Chandigarh at Rs 18.30 crore and Cochin at Rs 12.84 crore.
Thus Mumbai is the only other city inching towards the Rs 100 crore figure.
Bengaluru at Rs 106.04 crore; Ahmedabad at Rs 42.68 crore, Hyderabad at Rs 18 crore, Patna at Rs 17.89 crore, Lucknow at Rs 14 crore and Nasik at Rs 10.30 crore remained static.
I&B Ministry
AIDCF moves TDSAT over Waves plan to stream linear TV channels
Industry body flags regulatory gap as OTT push sparks broadcast turf war
NEW DELHI: The battle between traditional television distributors and digital platforms has found its way to the courts, with the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) moving the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against Prasar Bharati’s latest OTT play.
At the heart of the dispute is Waves, Prasar Bharati’s OTT platform, which has invited applications to onboard linear satellite TV channels. Aidcf, which represents multi-system operators (msos), argues that this move sidesteps existing broadcasting rules and risks tilting the playing field in favour of digital platforms.
The federation’s petition hinges on a key provision in the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines, 2022. Clause 11(3)(f) allows broadcasters to downlink channels only if they provide signal decoders to recognised distribution platforms such as MSOS, DTH operators, hits operators and iptv platforms. OTT platforms, aidcf points out, do not feature on that list.
In simple terms, AIDCF’s argument is this: if OTT platforms are not officially recognised distributors, they should not be receiving broadcast signals in the first place. By inviting channels onto Waves, the federation claims, Prasar Bharati is opening a backdoor that lets broadcasters bypass long-standing rules.
The concern goes beyond legal interpretation. Aidcf says OTT platforms currently operate without a clear regulatory framework, allowing them to expand into traditional broadcasting territory without the compliance burden that cable and satellite operators must carry. That, it argues, creates an uneven contest.
There is also a warning for broadcasters. If they provide signal decoders to an OTT platform like Waves, they could risk breaching the very conditions under which their downlinking permissions were granted.
For its part, Prasar Bharati’s Waves initiative is positioned as a step towards wider access and digital reach, bringing linear television into the streaming era. But critics say the move blurs the line between regulated broadcasting and largely unregulated streaming.
The matter is expected to come up before tdsat next week. The outcome could do more than settle a single dispute. It may help define how India regulates the fast-merging worlds of television and OTT, where the lines are getting fuzzier by the day and the stakes, sharper than ever.
