Indian conglomerate Tata Group is reportedly backing one of the bidders in Pakistan’s DTH licence auction, which was recently pushed into next year by the new head of its media regulator PEMRA. A new auction date will not be set until PEMRA’s next meeting, expected to be in the third week of January 2016.
Indian conglomerate Tata Group is reportedly backing one of the bidders in Pakistan’s DTH licence auction, which was recently pushed into next year by the new head of its media regulator PEMRA.
Local reports claim the salt-to-steel giant, which controls the Tata Sky DTH joint venture in nearby India, has already been talking to government officials about the investment.
Tata was unable to comment on the speculation.
PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) was due to kick off the bidding for licences to operate its first three DTH satellite TV services on 7 December. However, the regulator paused the process after an internal meeting on 4 December to give Absar Alam, its newly appointed chairman, time to fully understand what he said was the biggest and most significant project of the regulator’s history.
A new auction date will not be set until PEMRA’s next meeting, expected to be in the third week of January 2016.
One potential bidder told SatelliteFinance that it was surprised to receive a memo about the auction delay so late in the sale process, noting that the regulator’s internal management issue should have been foreseen. The person added that the delay has created doubts about the reliability of investing in the country’s satellite TV market.
Pakistan has been working towards setting up its first domestic satellite TV provider for many years. In 2003, it issued DTH licences to two companies called Cross Currents and ARY Communications, however, they were never brought into use and the regulator scrapped them five years ago.
Other efforts to auction DTH licences in the past have reportedly been called off over a lack of applicants and the dominance of the country’s cable TV industry.
Interest in satellite TV services has been growing in recent years alongside the illegal pirating of content from India, through firms such as Tata Sky, posing a growing problem for PEMRA.
Although the regulator has been cracking down on dealers and distributors of DTH equipment, estimates of satellite TV users in Pakistan range from 70,000 to three million.
A DTH licence regime would be a boost for local content makers and could potentially open up new revenue streams for the country’s domestic satellite operator PakSat, in areas such as set top box leasing.
According to PEMRA’s auction rules, the new DTH services could use either Pakistani or foreign-owned satellites. Licence bidders must have a minimum paid-up capital of just under US$1m, and ensure that foreign nationals own or control less than 50% of the company’s shares.
PEMRA shortlisted eight bidders on 29 November to compete in its upcoming DTH auction. They are: Sardar Builders, Parus Media & Broadcast, Mastro Media Distribution, HB DTH, IQ Communications, Nayatel, Shahzad CGG and Sharif Feed Mills.
The regulator said 10 companies had applied in total.
