TV Today Network‘s board members have agreed to sell seven stations of its Oye FM to Entertainment Network (India) Limited (ENIL), the company said in a notification with the stock exchanges. TV Today informed that the company had entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding with ENIL and that the sale is subject to contractual obligations and receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals including permissions from the ministry of information and broadcasting.
Speaking to Radioandmusic.com, ENIL managing director Prashant Pandey said that the acquisition is part of the company’s overall expansion plans and will also participate in the phase III FM auctions. “The maximum limit imposed under Phase III is 56 frequencies.” ENIL, which operates Radio Mirchi, has 32 stations operating in different cities all over India will get access to Oye FM which operates in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Jodhpur, Amritsar and Patiala.
Earlier in 2006, TV Network promoter, Living Media, sold the FM radio business under brand Red FM to a consortium of investors and later Kalanithi Maran’s Sun Network bought a stake in the company. It’s also worth noting that in December 2014, Jagran Prakashan Limited has received board approval to acquire Music Broadcast Private Limited (MBPL), which operates the radio network Radio City 91.1 FM.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has come out with a memorandum (pdf) for phase III auctions of 135 FM radio channels in 69 cities in India. The proposed auction process, according to PTI, is expected to add an estimated revenue of over Rs 550 crore to the national exchequer on successful auctions of all proposed channels.
