RIYADH ? Electronic Resources Ltd., bagged the fourth FM radio license in the Kingdom. The company?s bid for the new radio channel amounted to SR68 million. Dr. Abdul Aziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, made the announcement in this regard at a ceremony held here at the King Fahd Cultural Center, Saturday. Khoja said that one more FM radio license would be awarded within the next two weeks. The first-ever FM radio license worth SR75 million went to the media alliance of Alf Alf, which would allow it to broadcast from 30 locations in the Kingdom. The second license worth SR66 million went to Ghayat Al-Ibdah company and the third one worth SR76,350 million was awarded to Rotana, the Arabic Music Gateway. Over 73 percent of people in Saudi Arabia listen to radio programs, with over half of them tuning into radio on a daily basis, mostly while driving, according to a new study by the Arab Advisers Group. On the sidelines of the ceremony, Khoja said that the Riyadh Book Fair was a great success as a cultural festival and a literary event, and expressed hope that the next fair would be even better. He said that more than two million people had visited the fair in 10 days, which underlined its popularity among the public. ? Okaz/SG __
