I&B Ministry
FM Phase III e-auctions off to slow start; Govt claims Rs 395 crore as winning price
NEW DELHI: The e-auction for FM Radio channels in Phase III got off to a slow start with no bids in certain cities and the provisional winning price lower than the clock round price.
In all, four rounds of e-auction were held today with 135 FM channels in all the 69 cities of the first stage being opened.
At the close of first day of bidding, 78 channels in 54 cities became provisionally winning channels with cumulative provisional winning price of around Rs 395 crore against their aggregate reserve price of about Rs 357 crore.
The e-auction began today (27 July) with Auction Activity Requirement set at 80 per cent. A total of 26 bidders were allowed to participate in the auction.
However, there were no bids for 15 cities and the demand over the price in many cities fell by up to three per cent below the aggregate demand.
The Percentage Price Increment (in INR) applicable for the next clock round was five per cent or higher in the metros of Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai and in cities like Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru, Aurangabad, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Jodhpur, Karnal, Patna and Pune.
The highest provisional winning price – the same as the clock round price at the end of the fourth round – was in Mumbai – Rs 41.91 crore, Delhi – Rs 37.41 crore, Bengaluru – Rs 25 crore, Hyderabad – Rs 18 crore, Pune – Rs 16.21 crore, Chandigarh – Rs 15.61 crore; Chennai – Rs 14.2 crore; Lucknow – Rs 14 crore and Ahmedabad Rs 13.89 crore.
The ongoing auction is a Simultaneous Multiple Round Ascending (SMRA) e-auction, which is being conducted online from Auction Control Room No. 404 B Wing, Shastri Bhawan.
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.
