Launch of Delhi FM, Radio Midday gets hiccup

New Delhi, July 30: The Delhi High Court has issued notice to the Indian Performing Rights Society Ltd (IPRSL) on a complaint of Mumbai-based 'Radio Midday' seeking execution of formal licence agreement permitting it to broadcast copyrighted songs on the new six FM channels, including in Delhi.

Justice Rekha Sharma issued notice to the IPRSL to file its reply by August 7, the next date of hearing.

The IPRSL, the society of singers, recording companies and producers having sole copyright for broadcasting and telecasting of songs, had issued a letter to Radio Midday on October 6, 2005 seeking withdrawal of the infancy discount being offered to the petitioner at the time of payment of licence fee, said the petition The Radio Midday West (India) Ltd, a subsidiary of the Mumbai-based Midday Group of newspapers, had entered into an agreement on April 1, 2002 with the IPRSL paying a licence fee for a period of ten years to broadcast film songs, pop, gazal etc while launching its Mumbai FM station.

In the petition, Radio Midday said it had also paid Rs 34 crore as licence fee to the Government of India, Rs 24.46 crore towards migration fees for six new stations (Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Pune), Rs 10 crore capital expenditure, Rs 2.69 crore to Prasar Bharti and Rs 19.23 crore to the Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECL) (for setting up transmission facilities) to set the nation-wide network.

The IPRSL demanded an enhanced licence fee, which was 400 per cent higher than the rates paid in terms of agreement entered ealier when the Radio Midday bagged the licence to launch six more FM stations on revenue sharing basis in the second phase.

Radio Midday, which launched its FM station on July 16 in Bangalore and slated to open Delhi station in the second week of August said the demands of licence fee was ''wholly arbitrary, inflated and exorbitant and violation of the said agreement.'' With the launch of 350 more FM stations, the IPRSL would be receiving at least Rs 319.37 crore at the rate of Rs 91.25 lakh from each station annually and apart from the licence fee. ''It is imperative to mention that by selling tapes and CDs of music, the IPRSL had already covered their costs and continued to generate profits,'' said the petition.

UNI