ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) conducted on Tuesday bidding for issuance of five satellite television licences against an advertisement issued on Sept 1.

The process was delayed due to litigation and was initiated after the courts ruled in favour of the authority.

The bidding was held at the Pemra headquarters. The categories for the satellite TV licences were: News and Current Affairs, Entertainment, Sports, Agriculture, and Health and Education.

The authority had invited applications through advertisements from eligible companies for the grant of satellite TV licences through bidding under Section 19 of the Pemra Ordinance, 2002.

The companies that participated in the bidding included M/s BOL Enterprises (Pvt) Limited, Karachi; M/s Galaxy Broadcasting Network (Pvt) Limited, Lahore; M/s Hamza Sadiq News Network (Pvt) Limited, Lahore; M/s Glam Network (Pvt) Limited, Islamabad: M/s Venus Enter­tainment Company (SMC-Pvt) Limited, Karachi; M/s Renaissance (Pvt) Limited, Karachi; and M/s Media Roots (Pvt) Limited, Islamabad.

The successful bidders in each category are M/s Galaxy Broadcasting Network (Pvt) Limited, Lahore, in news & current affairs category for Rs63.5 million; BOL Enterprises (Pvt) Limited, Karachi, in entertainment category for Rs48.5m; M/s Media Roots (Pvt) Limited in agriculture category for Rs10.5m; M/s Glam Network (Pvt) Limited in health category for Rs10m; and M/s Renaissance (Pvt) Limited, Karachi in education category for Rs10.5m.

The successful bidders will be required to deposit the balance amount of earnest money within 15 working days.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2018