Sun TV’s Red FM on Sunday said it would move court against the government’s decision denying it permission to participate in phase III of FM auctions.
On July 15, five companies of Kalanithi Maran-promoted Sun TV were not allowed to participate in Phase III FM auctions as the Information and Broadcasting Ministry rejected their applications.
Red FM, a part of Sun TV group, is one of main bidders for the phase III of FM auctions, which would grant permission to run 135 radio channels in 69 cities.
“We will move court against this decision. We have full faith in the judicial system of our country and we are confident that we will get relief from the court,” said RED FM COO Nisha Narayanan.
She said, “We are surprised that a channel that mainly plays Hindi music and is an entertainment centric station has been denied security clearance.”
The private FM station claimed that if the company did not participate in the auction, the intensity of bidding would be reduced and it would be less competitive.
“We believe that this will harm the industry in the long run as a major player will be absent. For the industry to grow and the market to expand you will need the existing players to expand into more centres as well as more players to come into the FM business,” she added.
An Application Review Committee had rejected the applications of the companies belonging to the Sun TV group, which had failed to get a security clearance from the Union Home Ministry.
