The Delhi HC’s decision to allow Red FM to participate in the first stage of the Phase III auctions today caused the FM industry to heave a sigh of relief, which was dreading another reason for delay on the eve of the auctions. With 135 frequencies in 69 channels up for grabs in the first phase from a total of 829 frequencies overall in more than 200 cities, the government exchequer is expected to raise more than Rs 2,000 crore, which will be a very welcome windfall for the government. In the first phase beginning today, the government expects to earn around Rs 550 crore. To get an idea of the kind of money up for grabs, if we take the earnest deposit money submitted by ENIL and HT Media, two of the largest networks in the country, they can potentially spend more than Rs 500 crore just between the two of them. Now, with RED FM also entering the fray, this amount will definitely jump even higher. According to MIB, the earnest deposit money, which is 25 per cent of the overall money allowed to be spent by the company in the auctions, put in by all five radio subsidiaries of Sun TV Network (which operates under the unified brand name of RED FM) comes to approximately Rs 77 crore. This means that the brand can spend around Rs 300 crore in the first stage of the auctions.

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