The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), after 15 hours of bidding on Thursday, auctioned three Direct-to-Home Service (DTH) licenses for Rs 14.69 billion.
“All the three licenses were sold for Rs 14.69 billion,” informed PEMRA Chairman Absar Alam, while speaking to the press. “PEMRA receives offers for 3 DTH licenses for Rs 4898 million each from M/S Mag Entertainment, M/S Shahzad Sky and M/S Startimes, he said.
The highest bid was raised by Mag Entertainmen for Rs 4.91 billion, followed by M/S Shahzad Sky for Rs 4.90 billion and M/S Startime for Rs 4.89 billion respectively.
Licenses to the bid winners would be awarded after clearance from the Interior Ministry and law enforcement agencies.
Earlier, after getting conditional permission from the Supreme Court, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) on Wednesday started auction process of first three licenses for DTH service.
The bidding started from Rs 200 million and at midnight crossed the figure of Rs 4 billion. Out of twelve short-listed companies, eleven participated in the bidding process while Mastro Commissions failed to appear for the bidding.
The companies participating in the auction included Mag Entertainment, Lahore, Sardar Builders, Islamabad, Startimes, Islamabad, Smart Sky, Islamabad, Orient Electronics, Lahore, IQ Communion, Karachi, Shahzad Sky Islamabad, Skyflix, Islamabad, HB DTH Islamabad, Naya Tel, Islamabad and Parus Media and Broadcast, Islamabad.
