New FM station to broadcast soon |18 May 2012

Owned by Pure Entertainment Ltd, the new FM station is a body corporate registered in Seychelles and is not related to the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation’s Paradise FM in any way.

With the recent liberalisation of the airwaves to allow for different types of broadcasting services, the department of information communication and technology (DICT) has said it has so far received four radio and three television station applications.

The director for radio communications with the DICT, Paul Pierre, was speaking to the media yesterday, where he said the liberalisation of the broadcasting sector has also come with a significant reduction of the broadcasting license fees.

“A year-long license for a radio station costs R100,000 and one for a television station costs R250,000 and for subscription television license is R800,000,” he said.

Mr Pierre said that only one license has been granted so far because the other applications have technical information missing, which the department is still waiting for.

“The law states that to open a radio station, the owners must be a body corporate and registered in Seychelles. And we need to have all the details of how the project will operate so that we know that the radio or television station about to be launched will be technically sound,” he said.

“As for the legalities, one has to be a body corporate, registered under the Seychelles law, under the Companies Act, and then you submit your application.”

In terms of the content of the station, the DICT said it is more in line with the Seychelles Media Commission’s mandate