Sound Check

AROI looks to continue making waves with radio Apurva Purohit, President, AROI, and CEO, Radio City 91.1 FM Radio – A force to reckon with Harrish M Bhatia, VP Northern Region, AROI and COO, My FM

Radio - active, action-packed and aggressive
Robin Thomas


If 2007 was a year of growth for the Indian radio industry, then 2008 was a year of consolidation. The year the completion of the Phase II rollout, in fact, the Government has decided to merge the leftover Phase II along with Phase III. While the industry awaits Government announcement on the FM Phase III policy, exchange4media takes a look at the major developments during the year.

A lot was expected from Budget 2008 by every section and sector of the society, one reason being it was the last Budget of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government, which has completed its five-year term. While then Finance Minister P Chidambaram was fairly successful in presenting a balanced act, the radio industry by and large felt neglected as it had expected some reduction in customs duties and easing of service tax. However, nothing specific was announced for the industry.

Completion of Phase II

The year 2008 was a time when the industry/ FM stations began to expand across the country depending on the licenses they had got. The Phase II expansion of FM radio in the country has been an exciting one, but at the same time a challenging period for radio players. Nevertheless, the industry is now all geared up for Phase III. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) also announced the cancellation of the leftover Phase II bidding, and instead it was decided that the leftover channels be merged with the soon to be rolled out FM Phase III.

A phenomenon called IPL

When India won the T20 World Cup in 2007, little did we know it would revolutionise cricket in a big way. The new format of the religiously followed game was accepted by the masses, which resulted in the birth of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which changed the way cricket functioned and even the way India played the game. While print and television covered the entire episode, radio was not far behind.

While Big FM Hyderabad, which was the official radio partner for Deccan Chargers, roped in Adam Gilchrist and VVS Laxman as RJs, Red FM took out a procession atop an open air double-decker bus to Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, similar to the victory run of the Indian team after the T20 World Cup win, to cheer the Mumbai Indians. Radio Mirchi, partnered with the Delhi Dare Devils, Radio City partnered with Bangalore Royal Challengers, Radio One became the 'chief cheerleader' for Chennai Super Kings, and featured IPL capsules from BBC, cricket quizzes, besides giving out free match tickets and merchandise through various contests.

This year also saw radio go into brand integration mode, which has become one of the essential components for the radio industry, with advertisers customising various shows to align them with their brands. Embedded advertising has changed the way ads are brought to their target audience, hence radio, which has the highest penetration in India, cannot be singled out in the era of brand integration. This mode has taken off for radio, too, and is currently one of the key revenue generation streams for the medium. The Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) on its completion of one year announced its rollout in Kolkata, which was welcomed by FM players in that city. This measurement system would soon be launched in Chennai and Hyderabad as well.

A mixed bag

Growing competition with the entry of new FM players in the market has forced FM players to hike their ad rates by at least 15 per cent.

In another major turn of events, the Union Cabinet on September 2008 fulfilled the wishlist of the FM industry by giving its nod to FM broadcasters to set up subsidiaries, amalgamate or demerge through transfer of shares of companies less than five years in operation. However, it disappointed the industry by leaving the FDI limit unchanged at its current 20 per cent.

In what could possibly be the biggest achievement for the industry is the Government's nod to political advertising, which is likely to bring an influx of revenue stream. It came at a time when five crucial states were going to the polls. The media widely termed it as the semi-finals to the general elections.

Ironically, the year ended with TRAI accepting Government views on limiting the sources of news and current affairs for FM radio and recommended that a review for expansion of sources may be considered after three years.