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Radio Mirchi, Indigo, Adlabs win bids for FM in Goa - By Our Special Correspondent Panaji, Jan. 30: The Times Group's Radio Mirchi, BPL's Indigo and Reliance's Adlabs have bagged the bids for the 24-hour private stereo FM channels that were up for grabs in the Goa region, during the second phase of FM licensing. With a strong listnership and a growing entertainment industry, the FM market in Goa is considered prestigious. The three new channels are expected to go on air by the end of this year, and is expected to expand the fledgling advertisement market here. ENIL (Times group, Radio Mirchi) bid Rs 1.71 crores, while Indigo (BPL) bid Rs 1.29 crores and Adlabs (Reliance) offered Rs 1.21 crores for the channels. Minimum annual guarantee fees are working out to just Rs 42,000 in addition to the one-time license fee bids made and payable over ten years, keeping the costs low for operators. Costs have worked out considerably lower than the Phase I bids in 2000. The first phase of licensing in 2000 has pitched payments higher and all the bidders backed off. The highest bids then were Rs 4.15 crores in 2000, and with a 15 per cent escalation each year would have cost Rs 14.60 crores by the tenth year, with the bidder paying a total of Rs 84.25 crores. While the industry is upbeat about the new channels — seeing employment and revenue flows coming from it — the transmitting technology will exclude a swathe of Goa's southern regions, also its strongest audience base, according to former radio jockey Cajetan Vaz. -- Salaam ali kum. Gabe Menezes. London, England
