TV execs await Radio Ramadan licence nods

Two prominent Asian television executives are awaiting the outcome from media regulator, Ofcom, for their applications to run Radio Ramadan this year.

Ofcom is currently assessing the applications it has received for S-RSLs (short-term licences) to broadcast between 15th June and 21st July 2015. It received 77 applications in the 37 geographical areas it had advertised. Amongst the applications, two names that stood out were Fayaz Ghafoor, COO of ARY Network and Sumant Bahl, who runs World Media Connect and handles PTC Punjabi in UK/Europe.

Ofcom will announce its decision in the coming days. Ofcom said that the applicants in the same region may be competing for frequencies with one another, even though the areas they wish to cover do not necessarily overlap. This may apply to some applications which appear at first glance to be in uncontested areas. In such cases, we may have to put applications into a draw to decide between them.

As it receives every year, this year, Ofcom has received an unprecedented number of applications for Radio Ramadan nationwide. Undoubtedly, Ramadan is the busiest date on the Asian calendar for Ofcom to issue short-term radio licences.