Arun Mehta
Chief Technical Officer,
Net Radiophony India Private Limited
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| Internet and radio go very well together, like if you have a large number of small stations, the Internet can be an excellent way to combine these small stations into effectively larger stations. You could be simultaneously streaming content from any one location to other. You could also exchange content offline with stations around the world. You could interview people via the Internet. Audio chat can be used as a means to make the Internet a virtual recording studio for a radio station. The opportunities are tremendous. |
 Dr. Arun Mehta has been very active in the areas of telecommunications, computing and human rights since his graduation days at IIT Delhi. Continuing his zest for higher studies, Mehta became a doctorate in Applied Control Theory under Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany, and did his MS in Computer Science from the State University of New York.
Mehta is also currently serving as a Director in Kaleidoscope Private Limited, the film and TV company that produced films like Bandit Queen, Fire and Rajdhani. He is working as the Chief Technical Officer in Net Radiophony India Private Limited, a company launched to pursue innovative projects in convergence. He is also President of the Society for Telecommunications Empowerment (STEM), which seeks to bring the benefits of modern telecommunications to the poor.
In conversation with Rummana Ahmed of exchange4media, Arun Mehta talks about the scope of Radio in India. Excerpts:
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Give us a little background on Radiophony. |
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Radiophony is a company that has two partners – Vickram Crishna who is the CEO and based in Mumbai and, me, based in Delhi. We have basically sought to bring the benefits of modern information systems to the 50 per cent. There is a very large segment of India that cannot afford a computer, a phone line or any of these things. Therefore, audio has been our focus and in this we have further identified two areas, where we have done work.
First is setting up low cost radio stations in villages, which cost a few thousands only. This is the only communication device that a poor man can afford – a simple AM/FM radio. No matter what information system you talk about, the last few 100 metres access is only possible through an AM/FM radio for a very significant part of the population.
The other area we are working is in the area of access for people who are disabled.
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What are the latest technological innovations that Radiophony has come up with? |
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One of the latest was bringing out a completely low cost radio station in a village for a few thousands. When people talk about radio stations, they talk at least in the lakhs if not in the crores. But we are saying, if you want to cover a small area of population, you can do it a lot cheaper. If you want to connect larger areas of population, you can have larger number of small stations where the people live and interconnect them through the Internet or whatever other medium possible.
We can implement or use this technology in low cast simultaneous translation systems. People can get a radio and there is one transmitter for every language and you just tune in to the station, where someone is speaking in the language you understand and you get the entire proceedings.
Then again, in the area of disability, we wrote software for Professor Stephen Hawking, who can only press a single button. So there is this software that allows you to operate the computer, to do editing fairly efficiently using just one button. After you have done the text editing you can give a command to the computer to speak it out for you.
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Tell us about the community audio system you set up in Oravakal in Andhra Pradesh? |
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The women’s self-help group in Andhra Pradesh needed a means to communicate among themselves, so that if any of their members couldn’t attend the meeting, they could at least listen to what was being said while at home. So, we suggested this technology – a radio station with a range of about 500 metres – just covering Oravakal village. |
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What would you say is the scope for community radio in India? |
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There is this category of people who are called ‘text-challenged’, either they are blind or illiterate. For them radio is absolutely a critical means of communication. So far these segments are well above 50 per cent and that’s a huge part of our population. This is very important technology for us.
In India, commercial radio is a total disappointment. For example, in Delhi, we have three commercial radio stations that are completely indistinguishable from one another. In the music and the Hindi songs that they play, there is not even much of a variety. So even culturally they are very poor.
Then again, when we are looking at this whole system of disaster management, no matter whatever warning system that might be there, ultimately if information has to reach poor people, like the fishermen at sea, the farmers in the field or the tribal in the jungle, information has to reach them quickly. How are we going to ever do that without AM/FM radio? There is no other means of communication that these people can afford and the government is not about to give half a billion people in India mobile phones. So, the importance of this is huge.
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What are the policy hindrances that are there for setting up community radio? |
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There are several hindrances. For example, during the Oravakal station, as soon as news about it came on STAR News, the central authorities sent an officer there to stop the people. They were not interfering with anybody; we had been very careful and were using only 50 milli-watts of power. This is the cheapest way for any village, without any risk, to check out for itself whether it finds community radio interesting. This is a low-risk entry point into community radio but this is not allowed. The policy is unclear, when we asked what the policy was, the Government says that any device that transmits more than 1 milli-watt of power needs clearance from SACFA (Standing Advisory Committee on Frequency Allocations), which means clearance from 33 government departments. |
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Are you looking at a convergence of radio and Internet? |
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Very much so. Internet and radio go very well together, like if you have a large number of small stations, the Internet can be an excellent way to combine these small stations into effectively larger stations. You could be simultaneously streaming content from any one location to other. You could also exchange content offline with stations around the world. You could interview people via the Internet. Audio chat can be used as a means to make the Internet a virtual recording studio for a radio station.
The opportunities are tremendous.
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What are the innovations that radio stations in India need? |
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First and foremost, they need a good Internet connection. Secondly, there is a need to open their eyes to the possibilities; I feel the possibilities far exceed what the management knows about. And finally, we have a situation where policy is seriously hampering us and for no reason at all. The stakeholders are the radio stations and they need to ask the questions. |
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How do you see radio vis-à-vis other medium? |
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There is a lot of space in our lives for radio. Television is in competition with other visual media, whereas, radio is not. Radio is a huge unexplored space in the Indian psyche. We had almost forgotten radio but it is coming back and still there is room for a lot more. In fact, 50 per cent of the community can’t read, they need the radio, the blind need the radio. There is a lot of space for radio in our lives. |
Send
your comments to Arun Mehta
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FM radio has become more interactive now. Earlier, there were a lot of recorded programmes with a certain concepts like the ‘Cibaca Geetmala’… However, now radio has become more of a companion, and with the launch of mobile phones with FM feature, people are beginning to use it as a personal medium. Radio has become a platform for listeners to become involved through increased interactivity; today programming is all about capturing the city vibe.
Neerja Dhillon,
Station Director Mumbai, Big FM
Jul 03, 09
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Radio has become infotainment now. With competition and so many different contests happening, the winner may just get complete dowry at one go. You can vent your feelings on radio, laugh, listen to music, talk and drive .Radio is cheap and you can carry it anywhere. It is one on one and means different things for different people. Nowadays, jocks want to get into production and TV and work out of prime cities.
Malishka,
RJ, RED FM
Mar 16, 09
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In the early days of radio, it was seen as a medium for dissemination of information, and there was always a community which wanted to propagate radio as part of the media plan. Today, things have changed. Radio is part of majority of the clients. The way they look at radio is also different. However, I feel it is still a challenge for many to understand how to use radio effectively.
Jayyant Bhokare,
COO, Radio Indigo 91.9 FM
Feb 04, 09
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When there are too many players in the market, consolidation is bound to happen in order to sustain. The same was true for the not so long ago airlines boom in our country. You can expect consolidation in the Chennai FM market, too, and that will happen very soon.
PB Ramaswamy,
Cluster Director, Big FM Chennai
Sep 02, 08
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Today, it is not possible for a radio station to survive if it is producing niche content. We did start it in Bangalore, but it did not work. Within six months of operations, we migrated to ‘only Kannada’ format. Everybody followed us after that. In Chennai, from the very beginning the brand positioning of Mirchi has been as a complete Tamil channel and that has worked wonders for us.
Sandeep Sud,
VP & Cluster Head, Radio Mirchi Chennai
Jul 16, 08
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Listeners are not annoying, but they are persistent. ‘Patience’ is the mantra. As a radio jockey one has to keep in mind the fact that a listener is not aware of the fact that we receive dozens of calls every single minute. He or she calls because they feel so close to the jock and want to speak their hearts out. Can’t break the listener’s heart just because we are running out of patience.
Pallavi,
Radio Jockey, Radio Mirchi
Mar 05, 08
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“Everybody seems to be talking from the advertisers’ point of view. But it should be looked at from the consumers’ point of view. People need to be comfortable with a particular station… We are still not seeing big retailers coming to advertise on radio. I don’t think this category has grown. I think this industry needs to be made more relevant to people.”
S Keerthivasan,
Business Head, HT Music & Entertainment Co. Ltd
Dec 06, 07
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Till recently, people never took radio as a medium of communication seriously. Print and electronic mediums have always dominated the scene. But the scenario is changing and people are now waking up to the importance of radio. The medium has unparalleled reach and its complete potential is still to be tapped. The radio industry is on the rise, and things are looking bright for the industry.
Harrish M Bhatia,
Business Head, 94.3 My FM,Synergy Media Entertainment Ltd
Oct 25, 07
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“I don’t want a balance. I want more talk, less music. It’s as simple as that. And why should I have fewer ads that anyone else? This is business. It’s got nothing to do with being different. The more the ads, the merrier!”
Anil Srivatsa,
Chief Operating Officer, Radio Today Broadcasting Ltd.
Aug 20, 07
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"We have a proper in-depth research that we keep doing on this to keep music fresh. Other channels call themselves 'Adult hit contemporary channels', while we call ourselves an 'AC' channel, which is an Adult Contemporary channel. What we mean by that is that we keep playing music that can connect with the first generation and it necessarily need not be the latest hits. You will realise over time that we don't play so many hit songs. We do not chase hits like a new breaking song or something like that, which again is a big differentiator, and you will see our songs cutting across generations."
Rana Barua,
National Head - Marketing, Radio City
Jul 10, 07
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“A subscription-based revenue model is clearly a sustainable and phenomenal revenue model. Firstly, it does not have seasonality. Secondly, it’s a cash-and-carry model, where the consumer pays upfront in advance. And finally, you are able to deliver a proposition which is very sharp… We don’t have an advertising model at all. That’s clearly our USP.”
Harshad Jain,
Chief Marketing Officer, WorldSpace India
May 05, 07
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Every medium of entertainment relies on its content to get attract its target audience. Our differentiators such as music, RJs, utilities, etc. will help us achieve a substantial stand in the market. It is important to give listeners fresh and innovative content that they can relate to. Our content is very local and has been designed keeping consumer tastes and preferences in mind.
Manav Dhanda,
National Head, Programming, Big 92.7 FM
Jan 16, 07
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“Radio stations can cater to different audiences at different parts of the day by changing the programming. Also, what I can see that’s going to happen now is a lot of pushing and pulling. The passionate broadcasters would always be popular, they will always choose the radio jockeys that people like listening to. So, it’s always going to be the same band, the same music, the same words, but all those gimmicks will have to be supported by content. So, content will always be the big game.”
Shamshir Rai Luthra,
President, Talk Rich Friendships
May 01, 06
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Radio is the only medium that has a one-on-one relationship with listeners. Unlike watching movies or TV where we generally sit with friends and family, radio is something that we listen to and connect with music individually. Radio City is about music and songs that put you in a positive state of mind and we have mapped out songs in a particular way that will be played at different and suitable times during the day. This is the key thought behind our new campaign and brand identity.
Vikas Varma,
National Head of Programming, Radio City
Apr 03, 06
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“FM is a local medium and it has to have a local flavor. It’s really not a good thing for the largest networks to go in for similar content across the country. It may sound like a cheaper option in the short run, but if you don’t address local issues in the local idiom, you can’t engage your listeners and you’ll lose their loyalty. You will end up with bland, mass-market cookie cutter programming, which turns people off FM altogether.”
Nisha Narayanan,
Media Consultant, Radio & TV
Jan 25, 06
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Private FM radio is a three-year old medium, and with more than 330 licences being issued in 90 cities, FM as a medium will gain more acceptability and popularity. Consumers will get more entertainment choice, while advertisers will get an additional vehicle to reach their consumers. For existing players, the need to differentiate and stay ahead of the competition will be of utmost importance when the market opens up.
Shariq Patel,
Station Head, GO 92.5 FM
Dec 15, 05
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Our vision is to create a world of entertainment and information in crystal clear sound. When you tune in to WorldSpace, there would never be an instance when you are listening to soothing melodies from Kishore Kumar and suddenly Britney Spears follows. Globally, satellite radio has worked very well. We have two companies from the US – XM Radio and Sirius – with whom we have tie-ups. Between these two players today, there are over six million subscribers. The international digital satellite multimedia has been globalised and is available to you now.
Deepak Varma,
Managing Director, WorldSpace
Nov 11, 05
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“Radio can get in your car, in your bathroom… Radio can deliver messages in such close proximity to purchase that a consumer could just go out and buy a product. Television can’t get that close, television has a different relationship with the consumers. Radio is seen as much more personal, intimate and there are enormous greater possibilities in the fact that radio is ambiguous.”
Joanna McCrostie,
Group Head, Commercial Production, GCap Media Plc
Aug 26, 05
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“Radio City today has managed to not only revive, but also revolutionise radio-listening habits. Radio City is India’s first private FM Channel to go on air. The genre of game shows has been pioneered by Radio City with the famous Radio City 91FM Suno Aurr Lakhpati Bano, which generated overwhelming response with over 1.23 crore calls in just five weeks.”
Ambar Basu,
VP Finance, Radio City
Jul 21, 05
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“The way the radio industry has grown in India is phenomenal. The amount of listeners that the radio industry has got is tremendous. We never expected that private radio FM in India would be so popular. The technique that we use is far superior than what is used in foreign radio stations.”
Jaideep Banerjee,
Programming Head, Radio City 91 FM, Delhi
Jun 27, 05
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“I don’t think you need to be an actor on air. You need to be real. You need to be yourself. That’s why radio is called an intimate medium.”
Chaitanya Hegde,
Programme Director, Radio Sparsha and Radio Jhankaar,WorldSpace Satellite Radio
May 24, 05
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With three or four stations and 10 million plus listeners, of course we all sound the same. But with 20 stations, we would be forced to selectively target and that means an English station, a classical station, a talk station, a dance music remix station, a retro station and so on… But the licence fee issue is a brick wall that robs the sector of any chance to show the prolific growth it is capable of.
Vehrnon Ibrahim,
National Programming Head, Red FM
Apr 13, 05
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I think if the music is good, you could surely get a ghazal enthusiast to fancy a mainstream Bollywood hit, or vice versa. Coming to WorldSpace, it gives audience the luxury of choice. Among the Indian channels, Farishta is dedicated to Hindi classics and Jhankaar to current hit music (both film as well as Indipop) – which make easier for a listener to choose the kind of music at any given time.
Seetal Iyer,
Programme Director, WorldSpace Satellite Radio
Feb 09, 05
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“How is a radio station supposed to pay the overwhelming license fee if its collections don’t add up to the dues? The political leaders are too busy making money for themselves, even if it means killing a medium as effective as this one. As a result, you don’t have any new stations coming up, and those that exist are on the verge of closing shop. Stations are also averse to experimenting with new formats because they feel completely bogged down by the financial constraints.”
Roshan Abbas,
Radio Jockey & MD,, Encompass Productions
Dec 27, 04
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“It is the ‘connect’ with the people that carries you. You may have the best voice in town but wouldn’t know how to reach out to people. If you really tell people that listen, you are not a super being and there are times when even you can have a bad cold or something stuck on your throat. On some days when you cough, you tell people ‘galle me kuchch attak gaya’ or fumble five times and say, ‘Anu, tujhe kya ho gaya?’ and people understand. What really matters is to be true and real to your listeners.”
Anurita Gupta,
RJ, Radio Mirchi
Dec 08, 04
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“Unfortunately, programming is something that you can’t quantify. We undoubtedly have the best minds of the country working for us and we have put in a huge amount of time and resources in training them. Training them involves getting some of the best people across the world and sending them abroad so that they can spend large amount of time with other large networks and benchmark themselves against the best.”
Tapas Sen,
Senior VP (Programming), Radio Mirchi
Nov 20, 04
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“The success of a radio jockey depends on the kind of popularity he can generate by inspiring people to pick up the phone and say hello. And, people would talk to you only when you actually reach out to them. That way, I believe, the must-do for a radio jockey is to maintain a down-to-earth attitude so that listeners can comfortably make calls and speak their hearts out. I think this is the most important asset for a good radio jockey.”
Sanjeeb Mukherjea,
Radio Jockey, Red FM
Nov 01, 04
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“People have adopted FM in a fairly large way, and to that extent radio is quite clearly in people’s mind. So what we are saying is: You have in a way gone through radio, it’s time for you to evolve and upgrade yourself to satellite radio.”
Sanjay Ramakrishnan,
Head, Consumer Audio Business – India, WorldSpace
Jul 17, 04
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"The radio industry needs to completely open up, more players should join in and radio stations in the new cities should become operational."
Sumantra Dutta,
COO, Radio City
May 20, 04
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“We pride ourselves on being a people oriented station, not a star oriented one."
Malishka,
RJ, Win 94.6
Apr 17, 04
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“I’ve always believed in healthy competition and a monopoly always kills… So, it’s good to have competition! There is always room for more and, more the merrier… And, better is the quality.”
Usha Uthup,
RJ, RED FM
Apr 10, 04
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“Aamar 106.2 FM is positioned as Kolkata's best music station. It serves the best music mix for its targeted demography. The USP is definitely the best music mix where the listener gets consistent good music of his/her taste.”
Sanjay Ahmed,
Programme Director, Aamar Radio 106.2 FM
Mar 25, 04
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“Radio commercials are the result of a lot of thought and effort. That’s why creative work on radio deserves recognition.”
Gautam Gulati,
National Marketing Head, Radio Mirchi
Mar 03, 04
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“We are expecting a listenership of more than 100 minutes in Kolkata.”
Romen Sood,
Station Director, Radio Mirchi ,Kolkata
Jan 31, 04
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"If you are a public monkey, you are bound to be spanked. No two ways about it."
Jaggu & Tarana,
RJ’s, Go 92.5
Jan 14, 04
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"Tapping into people’s emotions, that’s the mantra behind Mirchi’s programming."
Sameer Soni,
Station Director, Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM
Dec 31, 03
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"RED is a mass-based station, and each station has its own feel and differentiation based on local content, presentation and play list, drawn from regular research in these regions.”
Jimmy Tangree,
Station Head (Kolkata), RED FM
Dec 16, 03
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“A Radio Jockey is a mouthpiece of the station; he has to take the burden of representing the right as well as the dark side of the station.”
Ameen Sayani,
Anchor, RED FM
Dec 08, 03
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“We encourage innovation but not on the lines of the Morepen deal. That is not our station call; in such a case, the clients may dictate the programming content, which is not acceptable.”
Neelu Sawhny,
General Manager, Ad Sales Radio Today (RED FM)
Nov 26, 03
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Our major product differentiation is that the flavor of the station remains constant; we maintain a consistency in music mood and tone with our set target group. This is an important factor for establishing and retaining a loyal listenership base as well as attracting new listeners
Partho Majumdar,
Station & Programming Director, Power 107.8 FM
Nov 12, 03
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Advertising on the radio has definitely increased. Research shows a figure of 50 lakh listeners. It’s not something planners can ignore. Moreover, due to stations operational in different cities, an advertiser reaches cross cities. So an increase in the budget looks justified.
Shariq Patel,
Station Head, Go 92.5.
Nov 03, 03
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Radio builds brands just as well as TV or posters. Like all other media, on radio also you just need the right commercials for them to have the right impact
Steve England,
, S2Blue
Oct 06, 03
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"The private FM stations stick to the tried and tested, and end up sounding alike."
YURI,
Popular R J,
Sep 03, 03
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"Broadcasting will mature only if we all think about empathizing with the audience."
Shamshir Luthra,
Popular Radio Jockey,
Aug 20, 03
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"All radio commercials sound the same. They have to be more creative. They can be done in something that sounds like a mother’s voice, a kid’s voice or a romantic tone; various things can be done. We should include the aspect of drama in radio. Only then will commercials be effective."
Sunil Kumar,
Managing Director and CEO, Big River Radio India Private Limited
Aug 07, 03
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"I find a huge gap between what the radio research report says and the ground realities experienced by us. So I would take these research reports with much more than a pinch of salt. Frankly, I haven’t yet started believing in radio research studies."
CVL Srinivas,
Chief Operating Officer, North & South,Madison Communications
Jul 17, 03
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“I guess that all the private radio FM stations in Delhi have had a decent run so far on the revenue side. The retail sector has been relatively slower in their adoption of the medium, but we expected that.”
Nandan Srinath,
Station Head, Radio Mirchi,Delhi
Jul 03, 03
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“We need new formats for the listeners in terms of news, sports, talk, genres of music etc. Right now we’re just focusing on general entertainment.”
Nishchint Chawla,
COO, Red FM
May 22, 03
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“There is no other country in the world where radio license costs anything what it costs here. Be it on an absolute basis or on a per person basis or on a percentage of revenue.”
John N Catlett,
CEO, Radio City
Apr 30, 03
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“We are expecting a listenership of more than 100 minutes in Kolkata.”
Romen Sood,
Station Manager, Radio Mirchi, Kolkata
Apr 16, 03
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"There is some sort of VJ style, type casting of radio presenters that is already happening which is not good as it could lead to monotony."
Rajesh Tahil,
Station Director, Go 92.5
Mar 22, 03
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“All I say is that you need to play Radio for the long term. This isn't Radio. As you know in the current regime, Radio stations here have to pay huge license fees. From an outsider’s point of view, they don’t have much relationship with potential income. Certainly not in the short term with the kind of Radio market size we have got here. So something has to give. Either these radio stations go out business or just continue to loose huge amount of money or the regulations that surround them change.”
SAM MILLER,
Managing Editor, South Asia, BBC World Service
Mar 07, 03
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"The battle for listenership shares is increasing by the day. It’s becoming more of a struggle for existence for a struggle for existence. However, Mirchi has been fortunate to some extent – as it had a lead in terms of Mumbai launch – the most important market for FM players."
Prashant Panday,
COO, Radio Mirchi
Feb 05, 03
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"Radio, being a free mass media, should be allowed to carry News. Without it, a station is denied its true role as an active community participant."
Sumantra Dutta,
COO, Radio City
Dec 11, 02
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"TV does not provide you city specific reach- so it has far higher wastage than radio."
Farid Kureshi,
National Sales Director, Radio Mirchi
Nov 23, 02
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"The sad truth is agencies today have lost the edge to use gut feel and stick to numbers which in a creative business can be a contradiction in terms."
Vehrnon Ibrahim,
Executive Producer & National Programming Head, 93.5 RED FM, Radio Today
Nov 13, 02
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"We cannot hold on to such high listenership figures for long. We'll be happy with a 35% share of listenership."
AP Parigi,
CEO, Radio Mirchi
Sep 24, 02
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"Radio Stations can't have different day-parts for different audiences"
Anish Trivedi,
Popular RJ and CMD, Banyan Tree
Jul 20, 02
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"Radio is a sleeping giant"
Praveen Tripathi,
Chairperson, Technical Committee - Radio Audience Measurement service by AC Nielsen ORG Marg
Jul 13, 02
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"Our current programming strategy is 'more dhak dhak and less bak bak'!"
Gautam Radia,
CEO, WIN 94.6
Jun 26, 02
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