Centre plans OTT platform, D2M, FM auction to increase footprint

In a bid to increase its footprint, the government is planning a fresh auction of FM radio stations, roll out an OTT platform and conduct trials of direct-to-mobile television broadcast this year, Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra said on Thursday. “We are also working towards an auction of FM radio stations this year. We hope to take FM radio to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities this year,” he said addressing the Broadcast Engineering Society Expo here. He said though there were a large number of FM radio stations, the service covered only 60 per cent of the country. Chandra said the government has made an allocation of Rs 2,500 crore over a four-year period for the Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND) Scheme to widen the reach of Prasar Bharati, including in the Left wing extremism, border and strategic areas. The scheme aims to boost public sector broadcasting in the country and focuses on infrastructure development of Prasar Bharati, including All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD).