I&B Ministry
FM Phase III auction postponed
NEW DELHI: The e-auctions in the second batch of FM Phase III, which completed its 24th day yesterday, will now resume on 9 December 2016.
The auction was not held on Tuesday, owing to the demise of Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha as some bidders rushed back to Tamil Nadu.
The bidding has so far been somewhat slow, but Muzaffarpur has been the sole silver lining over the past week rising to more than Rs 33.7 million and thus also overtaking Mysuru which is still at Rs 32.1 million.
Hyderabad and Dehradun are still at top with Rs 23,43,48,266 and Rs 15,61,00,590 respectively, and there are still no bids for 44 cities and movement of just one or two cities in the bottom rung.
M/s South Asia FM Ltd has been declared as the winning bidder for five Radio FM channels, just a day after the commencement of the auction for the second batch of Phase III. The company will be allotted FM Channels in Surat, Amritsar, Patna, Chandigarh and Jammu.
The first day of auction on 26 October saw a winning price of Rs 1820 milion against the aggregate price of Rs 1792 million, while the second day onwards the bidding has been low.
Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources told indiantelevision.com’s sister concern radioandmusic.com that the aim was to continue till all the channels slated in the second batch were auctioned, but breaks will have to be taken for weekends and national holidays.
This data has been compiled on the basis of system generated “Final Round Result Report” and “Frequency Identification Report” accessible through auction administrator role.
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South Asia FM bags five channels in first round of the second batch of FM Batch III
FM Phase III: Slump in auction, with sole exception of Muzaffarpur leaping to over Rs 33 million
I&B Ministry
Prasar Bharati sets EPG standards for DD Free Dish platform
New specs define 7-day guide, LCN mapping, and device compatibility.
MUMBAI: Your TV guide just got a backstage pass structured, scheduled, and far more in sync. Prasar Bharati has released detailed technical specifications for Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) services on DD Free Dish, laying down a standardised framework for how channels and programme information are organised and delivered. At the core of the update is a defined EPG data structure, covering genre-based categorisation, scheduling formats, and Logical Channel Numbering (LCN). The aim is simple: make navigation less guesswork and more guided experience across the platform’s over 40 million households.
The specifications also introduce a seven-day programme guide window for each channel, alongside clear rules for channel grouping and LCN mapping effectively deciding not just what you watch, but how easily you find it.
On the technical front, the document outlines requirements for Program Specific Information (PSI) and Service Information (SI), including descriptor usage across tables such as PAT, BAT and NIT. It further details service lists and network linkage parameters, giving OEMs and developers a clearer blueprint for integration.
Importantly, the framework is designed to work seamlessly with television sets equipped with in-built satellite tuners, enabling users to access DD Free Dish directly without additional hardware, an incremental but meaningful step towards simplifying access.
The platform will continue to operate on GSAT-15 transponders, using MPEG-4 compression and DVB-S2 transmission standards, ensuring continuity even as the interface evolves.
While largely technical, the move signals a broader push towards standardisation and user-friendly discovery in India’s free-to-air ecosystem because sometimes, the real upgrade isn’t what’s on screen, but how easily you get there.
