Indian commercial radio station Win 94.6 FM in Mumbai closed down yesterday after two years of broadcasting. The station’s owners, Millenium Broadcasting, say that they cannot afford to continue because of the high cost of renewing their broadcasting licence. Hundreds of listeners, some in tears, called the station after it announced the decision on Wednesday. But it may not be the end: the station went off the air for a month last year, citing the same reasons. The CEO of Millenium Broadcasting, Gautam Redia, told listeners that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was “seized of the matter”, and he believes that “something positive will come out of it.” He described his visits to Delhi to renew the licence as “not pleasant.” TRAI has suggested deferment of license fees for private operators. It’s now up to the government to make the next move.
on Mar 16th, 2009 at 09:07
It is really interesting, govt of India has to promote private sector to start FM stations in country.