The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has released the Grant of Permission Agreement (GOPA) for private FM broadcasters selected under Phase III, Batch III. This is a key step in operationalising 730 FM channels across 234 cities. E-auctions are set to begin later this month. The Union Cabinet approved the third batch of auctions in August 2023 with a reserve price of Rs 784.87 crore. Applications opened in October, and in April 2024, auction rules were tweaked to extend bidding rounds from 30 to 60 minutes. The GOPA outlines legal, financial, and operational terms for selected bidders. Licenses are valid for 15 years, are non-transferable without Ministry approval, and come with financial and infrastructure requirements. Stations must go live within 18 months of signing the agreement. The auction has drawn interest from major players like DB Corp, HT Media, ENIL, and Sapphire Media. A total of 19 pre-qualified bidders are competing, with a focus on Tier-II and Tier-I

Storyboard18 has learned that TAM Media Research, the media data intelligence firm and joint venture between Nielsen (USA) and Kantar (UK), is preparing for a fresh innings in India’s audience measurement space with the launch of a multi-screen digital ratings service.   The company is in active discussions with Big Tech firms and Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs) to build a cross-platform measurement system that reflects evolving viewer behavior in the digital age.   This move follows the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s (MIB) recent draft policy, released on July 2, which liberalizes ownership and governance rules for ratings agencies—removing restrictions on board roles and cross-holdings that previously limited competition.   TAM, which has operated in India for over two decades, has already applied for a license to function under the revised framework, and its application is currently pending with the MIB. TAM CEO LV Krishnan told Storyboa

PRmoment has announced the PRmoment Health and Wellness Comms Awards, which will recognise excellence in healthcare and wellness communication across APAC.   Entries from India and across APAC countries are eligible. The companies should have conducted active campaigns between April 2024 and July 18, 2025.   PR consultancy firms with health and wellness practices can apply on or before July 04, 2025.   An Online Jury meeting will be held on August 01, 2025, and the Awards evening is on August 29, 2025.   The jury includes Adhitya Veeraraghavan, head, health sector at Edelman India; Farah Bookwala, corporate communications lead at GSK India; Hemali Bhutani, managing director at GCI Health India; Masooma Pathre, director of communications at Asia Medtronic; Sangita Gopinath, director of growth and business initiative; Sharmistha Ghosh, senior vice president, healthcare and social impact, Avian WE; Shilpa Sindhwani Wadhwa, head, nutrition, health and wellness; Shipra

Nine did particularly well on Thursday, its one day snapshot revealing: 9News was the No. 1 program across Australia on Thursday night with Total People and all key demos. It was the No. 1 program with Total People in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as the news bulletin of choice with People 25-54 and People 16-39 in Adelaide and Perth. The combined bulletins registered a National Total TV Reach of 2.044 million and a Total TV National Audience of 1.354 million - up 16.6% year-on-year. On 9Now, its BVOD audience of 132,00 was up 38.9% on the same night last year. A Current Affair dominated the 7.00pm timeslot with Total People across Australia. It recorded a National Total TV Reach of 1.534 million and a Total TV National Audience of 1.002 million. On 9Now, it achieved a BVOD Audience of 96,000 - up 21.5% year-on-year. Thursday Night NRLW secured a National Total TV Reach of 1.313 million and a Total TV National Audience of 284,000 and on

  Guardian software engineer Sam Cutler. The Guardian has rolled out new secure messaging technology which allows sources to anonymously contact journalists. Secure Messaging uses espionage-style techniques to conceal and encrypt messaging sent by sources to journalists within The Guardian app. Messages are so secret that only the journalists themselves have a decryption key to view them before they self-destruct, disappearing after 14 days. The technology, which was developed in partnership with the University of Cambridge, is open source which means it can be adopted by any other newsroom. This morning, Will Dean, The Guardian’s global supporters editor, shared his interview with Guardian software engineer Sam Cutler, who works as part of the outlet’s investigations unit, about why they built Secure Messaging – and how software experts have become an integral part of how The Guardian does investigative reporting. It’s particularly pertinent as US President Donald Tr

Last night, Influencing attended the Australian launch of trade publication Marketing-Interactive, held at the Ivy Penthouse in Sydney. On stage, Marketing Interactive Australia Editor Matthew Eaton was clearly excited to formally launch the publication, outlining the aims and focus for the Australian operation. Eaton drove the launch of Marketing Interactive in Hong Kong in 2007 and was group editor across the Singapore, Malaysia, and China editorial teams. Before that he was news editor at Australia’s oldest advertising trade media publication AdNews, which is owned by Yaffa Media. The Marketing-Interactive launch in Australia comes off the back of maintaining a strong presence in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand with the publication's parent company Lighthouse Independent Media Editor-In-Chief Rezwana Manjur taking time to explain the insights from each country the publication operates in.  Please see the photos for your viewing pleasu