BBC could soon AIR on your local FM station

Prasar Bharati CEO K S Sarma will be flying to London on Saturday, armed with the Board’s nod to work out a deal which will be mutually beneficial to both broadcasters.

Said Sarma, ‘‘We are looking at equal time programming, by which AIR will supply programmes to the BBC and the latter will do the same with no money involved in the arrangement.’’

Sarma also said, that while the BBC was open to the idea of sharing AIR’s news, the latter was bound by law not to outsource its news and current affairs content. ‘‘We can have their music while we give them the news from here’’, said Sarma.

AIR’s aggressive forays with the BBC comes in the wake of the plight private fm operators in the country find themselves in today.

While Win 94.6 radio station in Mumbai shut its operations in Mumbai only a few days ago, unable to pay up the steep licence fee, other private FM operators are lobbying hard for the reduction of what they call ‘‘steep licence fees’’ for private FM operators.

Ever since the Government auctioned frequencies in March 2000, a group of private companies submitted huge bids in their bid greed to capture the virgin FM market — but since then they have been asking for help from the Government.

Review of the annual licence fee (ranging between Rs seven and 12 crores with an annual 15 per cent escalation cost) — is top of the agenda.

With most of the operators pegging their cumulative losses at Rs 120 crore last year, they are hoping the Information and Broadcasting Ministry will come to their rescue.