The pre-qualification bids for these slots, which were opened on Monday at Mandi House, came as a shock to Prasar Bharati officials. They couldn't believe it when they found a solitary bidder-Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC)-for the 10.30 to 11 pm slot. There was no other bidder for this slot or for any other slot.

That DD had cut a sorry figure was quite clear. In fact, one saw Prasar Bharati CEO RR Shah leaving the bid meeting much before it formally ended. Other senior officials stayed on for the sake of protocol. But there was no hiding their disappointment. A senior official told The Financial Express after the meeting: ``We're feeling sorry that this has happened.''

Although the 10-10.30 pm timeband on the channel had become popular with TV Today's Hindi news programme Aaj Tak, even this slot went without a bidder. Industry watchers say that after Prasar Bharati decided to make the entire 10 pm to 12.30 am slot entertainment-based, potential `news' players naturally moved out of the fray. That probably is one of the reasons behind 10-10.30 pm band remaining bidderless. Another reason is the high floor price of Rs 15 crore for the slot.

The channel's misery is also partly due to Prasar Bharati barring Kerry Packer's Channel Nine from bidding in this auction. One of the conditions in the auction form was that any channel/software company clocking over seven hours a week under sponsored category on DD Metro would not be eligible for bidding. Therefore, Channel Nine, which had contributed majorly in lifting the ratings of DD Metro, had to stay out despite its willingness to buy more slots on this channel. Channel Nine had earlier paid Rs 121 crore for the 7 to 10 pm slot on DD Metro.

Although Channel Nine has asked Prasar Bharati for an explanation for barring it from bidding, the public broadcaster is not to be blamed completely for the exclusion, say government sources. Recently, the Parliamentary Standing Committee pointed out that Channel Nine, despite being a foreign company, had got the 7 to 10 pm slot on DD Metro without going through a global bidding. Prasar Bharati had taken a note of the Standing Committee observation, and the result is before us.

Now what? That's the question being asked at Prasar Bharati too. With a lone bidder and no competition, opening of the financial bid on January 17 won't hold any surprise for anybody. For record, the floor price for the 10.30-11 pm slot is Rs 7.5 crore. One only hopes that Pritish Nandy wouldn't let DD down this time, like it did during the very recent Sydney Olympic Games when it walked out of its marketing contract mid-way through the Games.