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Prasar Bharati invites fresh bids for 7pm-11pm slot

The Prasar Bharati has invited fresh bids for the 7 pm to 11 pm slots on DD-Metro, this time without a floor price, after no broadcaster responded to its earlier call.

Doordarshan sources said the fresh bids were decided on June 20, two days after the deadline for the first one expired, though the announcement was made on Friday.

Under the new tender, there is no floor price for the hourly slots from 7 pm to 11 pm. Earlier, dividing the time band into one-hour slots, it laid the floor price of Rs 22 million, Rs 32 million, Rs 42 million and Rs 17 million.

None of the broadcasters bid for the 7-10 p.m. slot though a Delhi-based company had given proposals for the 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. slot, when the deadline expired on June 18.

The last date for submitting proposals for the fresh invitation is July 4.

Under the general instructions released while inviting bids, Prasar Bharati said programmes in Hindi will be telecast between 7 to11 pm.

Meanwhile, HFCL-Nine Broadcasting , whose Nine Gold was a success on Doordarshan's Metro Channel, Thursday night announced downsizing operations after September when its television business on the channel would cease to exist.

It decided not to bid for prime time slots on DD Metro because of "unrealistic non-financial terms" of contractual agreements but said it was still interested in the partnership if the channel decided to deal on "realistic terms".

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