Radio network BIG FM welcomed the new year with the launch of #IAmNotSorry, a campaign to celebrate individuals who walked off the beaten path of life and broke social stereotypes. The campaign saw everyone from listeners to celebrities sharing their own life instances of #sochbadlo moments and are not sorry for it.

The campaign saw participation from celebrities such as Prasoon Joshi, Shankar Mahadevan, Sonu Nigam, Ayushmann Khurrana, Nargis Fakri, Richa Chadha, Ali Fasal, Sunny Leone and Sonu Sood. This key messaging will now form a part of the larger brand positioning of the radio network to encourage listeners to ‘think differently’.

BIG FM intends to be a ‘Thought Inspirer and an agent for positive change. This is the essence of the new positioning of Big FM – ‘Dhun badal ke toh dekho’, the network said in a statement.

Talking about the brand repositioning, Sunil Kumaran, Country Head, THWINK, BIG FM, said, “BIG FM is evolving with the changing times. With the new positioning, BIG FM will play a meaningful, relevant and compelling role in lives of consumers. It will not just be about entertainment but a brand that has a purpose. With its extensive reach, localised content and credible RJs, the brand will play the role of a ‘thought inspirer’ and an agent of positive change in society.”

“Our new tag line of ‘Dhun badal ke toh dekho’ reflects the philosophy that ‘changing the world for the better starts with changing your thoughts’. If we want real change, it is important that we are not rigid in our approach and thinking but are open to looking at things from multiple perspectives,” Kumaran added.

Sonu Nigam has lent his voice for the ‘Dhun Badal Ke Toh Dekho” song that brings alive the new brand positioning. The audio and video format of the song went live from 14th January on-air and across social media and other assets of the radio network.  

Realigning the programming to reflect the new positioning, BIG FM has refreshed the music promise, playing the favourite music tested with the audience besides bringing on board some big names from the radio and entertainment space across all key markets.

Vrajesh Hirjee will host 'Mumbai Maska Maar Ke' a fresh perspective on life in Mumbai.  Some of the iconic shows are evolving with new formats and innovations. ‘Suhaana Safar with Annu Kapoor Take 2’ will witness thought-provoking ‘dhun badlo’ stories from yesteryears. ‘Yaadon ka Idiot Box with Neelesh Misra’ in its new avatar will feature topical themes and new styles of story-telling. Movie reviews takes a twist with Padma Shri Bhawana Somaaya in a brutally honest movie review show called ‘Godmother of Reviews’ and fitness expert Simmi Sakhuja launches ‘Jo Fit Hai, Woh Hit Hai’ a practical and target based fitness regimen. The station will reflect the new positioning in all aspects of its brand and communication, the statement from the network read.

The year started off on a positive note with private FM radio stations allowed to broadcast All India Radio News free of cost on trial basis till May 31. Also, on the advertising front with the upcoming elections, IPL and World Cup, industry experts are expecting a double digit growth over last year. We speak to business heads of radio stations to learn more on how the year will turn out for the sector. Here's what they have to say:

Nisha Narayanan, CEO, Red FM

Radio will continue the growth path. Even in the challenging times, it was able to register a double-digit growth and we are sure that with elections and sports the momentum will continue. We are hopeful of healthy two-digit growth in the medium and smaller markets and a reasonably high single-digit growth in metro markets which are already on the peak of inventory utilisation.

What 2019 brings in for radio is to emerge as a much stronger-enabler medium where all others (medium) will look at it to spread information/offers about them. This is due to its hyperlocal nature and vast geographical presence that has happened due to phase 3 batch 1 and 2.

New advertisers, riding on success of their competitors and compatriots want to adapt radio in their media plan. Added with that is its reach from the smallest to the largest market giving them a reason to seriously look at radio as it helps them rationalise their ROI.

Prashant Panday, CEO, Radio Mirchi

Everyone expects 2019 to be a better year, with the much delayed lift-off in the economy finally happening. Elections will certainly help. IPL is an annual affair, and if it is held outside India this year, we need to figure out the match timings. The World Cup is also very exciting because the timing is perfect! Overall however, it is not these events that determine how any business does. It is how regular advertisers spend. I expect that to improve in 2019.

Advertisers will look for ‘solutions’, not just ‘radio’. And also not just TV or print. Media owners who can provide solutions will do well. This is a long lasting trend.

Asheesh Chatterjee, CFO, Big FM

The year looks promising. The national advertisers who flirted with digital and FTA channels have now realised the content integration, high frequency, long tenure, theatre of mind or surround that radio and digital offer is anything unlike its television and print counterpart (degree of customisation). They are back to radio in a big way. People who are able to give them the rightly curated solutions will see money coming their way. The growth will be in mid-teens in both volume and pricing. 

With very few frequencies coming in radio stations will experiment within the same place. There will be innovations in the story format. People will start defining themselves more as an audio entertainment company than FM station. That content will flow across media and will be platform-agnostic.

Vineet Singh Hukmani, MD and CEO, Radio One

2019 has excellent prospects and radio will gain tremendously from elections and cricket. While we cannot project a figure for specific activities, the annualised growth should be in the vicinity of 14-16 per cent, almost double the growth of 2018.

Radio and digital will outgrow the other media. Pure content-play, be it digital or OTT, will have to prove themselves on profits or they will bleed further, both in India and globally.

Radio companies will need to ‘improve value’ of their on-air product and stop doing activations and events to allow a positive return on capital invested on the huge license fees.

Rahul Namjoshi, Business Head, MY FM

There will be no major trend change. The top five-six advertising categories will remain the same. On the product side new formats will be seen on the back of strong competition.

The medium should witness strong double-digit growth in advertising revenue.

Satya Narayana Murthy, CEO, Indigo FM

2019 should see the radio industry bounce back and register a revenue growth above 12 per cent.  We expect the advertisers of the core sectors of real estate, BFSI, auto and e-commerce to drive this growth. The industry will also be helped by a spike due to election spends and increasing spends during sporting events such as the World Cup and IPL.

Radio listenership base is likely to improve with more number of cities under radio coverage. Most stations with their multiple frequencies provide differentiated and more personalised content to cater to the demand. We can expect some M&A activity to happen with industry consolidation already having begun.

Prasar Bharati has permitted private FM radio broadcasters to carry All India Radio news free of cost on a trial basis till May 31, 2019.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, who made the announcement on Monday, launched ‘Sharing of All India Radio News with Private FM Broadcasters’ in New Delhi on Tuesday. Private FM radio stations will be permitted to broadcast AIR news bulletins in English and Hindi. More than 100  private stations have already registered for it.

Any private FM broadcaster that intends to broadcast the news bulletins will first have to register with News Services Division: All India Radio on its website http://newsonair.com, according to information available on Prasar Bharati website.

The AIR news bulletins shall have to be carried in toto, in an unaltered form. The commercials which are broadcast during news bulletins shall also have to be carried along with the news in toto. Private FM broadcasters will have to give due credit to AIR for sourcing their news.

The private FM broadcasters will have to carry AIR news bulletins either simultaneously or deferred live by not more than 30 minutes. In case of deferred live, an announcement should precede that it is a deferred live broadcast. Broadcast of AIR news by any FM radio channel can be done only after accepting the terms & conditions, which can be found at http://newsonair.com/Broadcaster-Reg-TnC.aspx.

Speaking on the occasion, Rathore congratulated all officials of the I&B Ministry for the initiative. He said the priority of the government is to ensure awareness of people and therefore this service has been made available free of cost. Stating that an aware citizen is an empowered citizen, he added that this step is a collaborative effort towards bringing together all the radio stations of India to inform, educate and empower people.

A Surya Prakash, Chairman of Prasar Bharati; Anuradha Prasad, President, Association of Radio Operators of India, and Ira Joshi, Director General, Doordarshan News were among those present at the launch in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Private FM channels will broadcast All India Radio News from today after the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Rajyavardhan Rathore, shared the news at a function in New Delhi. 

Rathore told All India Radio News, “It is a positive and welcome step as radio is the biggest mass medium for citizens. AIR FM is covering 50 per cent of the population in the country and private FM channels are being given opportunities in different cities and towns.”

I&B Minister @Ra_THORe says, private #FMchannels will broadcast All India Radio News from tomorrow.

For More? https://t.co/DS71bLx7yv pic.twitter.com/HOFmXDgOGY

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) January 7, 2019

The minister said, the radio has been popularised again due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme. 

Rathore took on the opposition saying that from 2009 to 2014, the then UPA Government took 56 crore square centimetres of space in newspapers for advertisements and spent a huge amount on publicity. He added, “They even displayed the photographs of UPA chairperson, who was not even a constitutional authority.”

Meanwhile, public broadcaster Prasar Bharati had last week announced that it will be shutting down the All India Radio's national channel and regional training academies in five cities-- Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Shillong, and Thiruvananthapuram-- in an effort to cut costs and streamline operations. 

In Week 51 of RAM ratings, Fever FM retained its hold over Mumbai and Delhi. Radio City and Radio Mirchi maintained leadership in Bangalore and Kolkata markets, respectively.                      

In Mumbai, in a universe of 12.2 million listeners, Fever FM ruled with much improved 18.2 per cent share. Radio City and Big FM climbed to second and third spot with 13.7 per cent and 12.1 per cent share, respectively. Early morning followed by mid-morning and morning time band observed the highest listenership on total radio.

Fever FM continued to lead in Delhi as well, with 18.9 per cent share in a universe of 16.5 million listeners. Radio City maintained its second spot with 13.7 while Radio Nasha climbed to the third spot with 13.1 per cent share. Night followed by evening and mid-morning time observed the highest listenership on total radio.

In Bangalore, in a universe of 5.3 million listeners, Radio City maintained its leadership with 25.6 per cent share, followed by Big FM and Radio Mirchi. They took 19.2 per cent and 17.4 per cent share, respectively. Afternoon followed by evening and mid-morning observed the highest listenership on total radio.  

Radio Mirchi retained its hold over Kolkata in a universe of 9.5 million listeners with a share of 20.1 per cent. Big FM and Fever FM took second and third position with 18.7 per cent and 16.6 per cent, respectively. Afternoon followed by morning and evening time band observes the highest listenership on total radio. 

Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has announced that it will be shutting down the All India Radio's national channel and regional training academies in five cities in an effort to cut costs and streamline operations, according to media reports.

Regional academies across Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Shillong, and Thiruvananthapuram, along with AIB's national channel will be shut down immediately. Programmes considered to be of archival value will be digitised for preservation at the central archives in Delhi.

According to reports, an order sent to the All India Radio Director-General on the 24th December, 2018 stated, “The programme, technical, ministerial and other staff posted at National Channel in Todapur and Nagpur etc, apart from those working at Regional Academies of Broadcasting and Multimedia in five cities, may be posted as per the requirement of the organisation".

The All India Radio channel was established in 1987.

In Week 50 of RAM rating, Fever FM retained its hold over Mumbai and Delhi. Radio City and Radio Mirchi maintained leadership in Bangalore and Kolkata markets, respectively.

In Mumbai, in a universe of 12.2 million listeners, Fever FM ruled with a 16.8 per cent share, followed by Radio Mirchi with 13.7 per cent share. Radio City maintained its third spot with 12.6 per cent share. Early morning followed by mid-morning and afternoon time band observed the highest listenership on total radio.

Fever FM continued to lead in Delhi as well, with 18.3 per cent share in a universe of 16.5 million listeners. Radio City and Radio Mirchi maintained their second and third spots with 13.7 per cent and 12.8 per cent, respectively. Early morning followed by night and evening time observed the highest listenership on total radio

In Bangalore, in a universe of 5.3 million listeners, Radio City maintained its leadership with 24.8 per cent share, followed by Big FM and Radio Mirchi. They took 19.1 per cent and 17.1 per cent share, respectively. Afternoon followed by evening and mid-morning observed the highest listenership on total radio.  

Radio Mirchi retained its hold over Kolkata in a universe of 9.5 million listeners with a share of 19.9 per cent. Big FM and Fever FM took second and third position with 17.8 per cent and 17.6 per cent, respectively. Evening followed by morning and afternoon time band observes the highest listenership on total radio. 

It is the season of giving, sharing and spreading joy. When it comes to helping, Mumbai never stays back, and the city stands up united. This Christmas, Red FM made a #KambalRequest asking the citizens to donate blankets for the underprivileged across the country and in turn get a smile on their face.

While Mumbai experiences a nip in the air, maximum northern states across India experience harsh winters when the poor are in dire need of warmer clothes and blankets. As many as 10,933 Indians (an average of 781 per year) have died over the past 14 years – between 2001 to 2014 – due to cold and exposure. RED FM’s RJ Malishka, RJ Rishi Kapoor, RJ Abhimanyu and RJ Akriti not only encouraged the citizens to contribute blankets but ensured it gets distributed too.

In keeping with the Christmas spirit, RED FM has come up with its ‘Cigarette Santa’ campaign to help the citizens of Bengaluru to quit smoking and live a healthy life. 

Karnataka has a high rate of passive smoking with 44.3 % of adults at home and 37.2% in public places exposed to it and 1 in every 3 adults in the state is a tobacco user. 

As part of the campaign, Santa goes to catch hold of smokers around the city. He carries a bin along with him and encourages smokers to stub their cigarettes. He then collects the cigarette butts from them in exchange of a gift of life and urges them to quit smoking. 

Commenting on the campaign, B. Surendar, Chief Operating Officer, RED FM said, “Red FM as a brand is always known for providing high quality entertainment with purpose.  Over the past few years, we have successfully executed several hi-impact CSR activities under the banner ‘Bajao for a cause’.  In our latest initiative titled ‘Cigarette Santa’, we are using the festive ambience to create awareness amongst Bengalureans on the ill effects of smoking and passive smoking. Other than engaging listeners on radio and digital platforms, we are also doing an innovative and interesting on- ground campaign focused on public smoking in particular. Going by the strong and enthusiastic response till now, I am convinced we have taken up the right issue which is of huge concern not just in Bengaluru but all over Karnataka.” 

The ‘Cigarette Santa’ campaign has been inspired from the popular belief of Santa Claus arriving with presents to an individual’s home on Christmas Eve. 

Talking about the effectiveness of the campaign, Manjunath Prasad, Commissioner BBMP said, “Smoking has always been one of the biggest concerns. In India, a million deaths happen every year due to smoking and consuming tobacco products. This is an alarming issue and it is important to revisit the law in existence against smoking in public places. RED FM sensitizes this through their campaign and is commendable to see how they have amalgamated a fun element to discourage people from smoking. We would urge more corporates to come up with such innovative and fun campaigns for the public interest.”

The year 2018 saw the radio industry managing to stay firm despite the economic disruptions caused by demonetisation and GST. 

With the Phase III auction of radio licences significantly increasing the reach of the medium, several players of this industry are upbeat about its growth. Legacy stations like Radio Mirchi and Red FM amongst others rolled out stations in tier II and III cities this year. Radio Mirchi had 38 stations in Phase 3, in places like Akola, Bharuch, Durg, Jhansi, Mysuru, Puducherry, Siliguri, Ujjain and Warangal. 

A look at the factors that defined the year for radio:

Moderate growth
Radio witnessed a moderate growth on the back of new station launches despite demonetisation and GST, said Nisha Narayanan, COO and Director, Red FM. While Red FM launched new stations in Jammu, Dehradun, Nanded, Dhule and Muzaffarpur this year, Radio Mirchi rolled out stations in 14 cities like Guwahati, Akola, Bharuch, Mysore, Jhansi and Puducherry. 

“Growth has not been aggressive but with new stations, markets and frequencies they have had very good growth. So, stagnation has come in some legacy markets but growth has been good outside the metros where people are more receptive towards engaging with the medium,” she said. 

Vineet Singh Hukmani, MD and CEO, Radio One, pegged the growth around 9 per cent. “Overall, the industry growth has been between 8 to 9% and this has largely come towards the end of Q2 and  Q3, where Q1 and Q2 were only marginally up,” he pointed out. 

According to Asheesh Chatterjee, CFO, Big FM, the radio broadcasting space witnessed around 6 to 9 per cent growth in 2018. Post demonetisation and GST, growth has returned to medium from August and October-November-December has seen a growth of around 15 per cent (similar to 2016), he said. “Ad ex was largely getting fragmented because of the increase in the number of frequencies.”

He also attributed the growth rate to advertisers testing waters with new mediums like Free-To-Air (FTA) channels, digital and cinema in the last two years. But they have realised the value radio offers, in terms of innovation, programme ideation, content integration, localisation and clean environment, he informed.  “They understood that radio is the best medium to increase incremental reach. It offers an extremely unique as it’s far more clutter-free and trusted,” the COO said.

Aggressive stance in digital, retail and sports

The year also saw digital players across categories like e-commerce advertising more aggressively on the medium. For instance, international OTT platform Amazon Prime Video India used radio to promote their latest original Mirzapur. “Earlier the digital wouldn’t spend so much on radio. But they have started experimenting with it which is encouraging,” said Narayanan. She added that the retail industry has also picked up tremendously. “In the smaller markets (where we have launched) like Patna, Surat and Chandigarh, business largely comes from retail. They are more buoyant about customising and campaigns. When I say ‘organised retail’, from the regional point of view they have picked up as well.”    
Sports is a sunrise category for radio, Narayanan pointed out. She hopes to see this continue in 2019 as the year is lined up with multiple properties like World Cup and IPL, among others. For instance, for Hockey World Cup, Pro Kabaddi League and IPL, radio promotions were in full swing. “Sporting events (in India) are looking at spending heavily on radio.” Like Chatterjee, she also felt more faith has been placed on the medium and it is being utilised in a ‘much better way’.   

Integration with digital

Like every other medium, radio players have been innovating and integrating their content with digital for their on-ground properties. Radio One simulcasts their international stations online on 1cast.in through which they have been getting relatively ‘more engagement with high-end phone users’, as shared by Hukmani. 

Narayanan couldn’t stress enough as radios are being sold from a 360-degree approach. “We have to put out our content on digital as it’s an extended arm. Putting it on digital has seen a higher growth. Simultaneously, it has given us monetisation opportunities. So it’s another revenue stream,” she emphasised.

2018 saw radio stations experimenting with platform-agnostic content. For instance, Big FM’s BIG Golden Voice was a digital-led search activity to discover talent from the start. Chatterjee explained, “When client finally buys it (content solution) he can amplify on ground, air and digital. As we go ahead more content will start becoming platform-agnostic as more of these audio advertising options increase.” 

Hukmani added, “We have also built tribal communities on social media for our unique audience based on their interests in international travel, Hollywood, international music, global sports and global business. We use the data from these to help our advertisers target better.” 

Hukmani pointed out that digital is a means to enhance the engagement of their audiences. On the revenue he mentioned, “Revenues from the same get integrated into the advertising package.  A large section of audiences still tune into FM radio versus digital streams.”

Meanwhile, radio also saw key people movements with few coming back for a second stint.

Reliance Broadcast Network Limited (RBNL), which operates private FM brand Big FM, appointed Abraham Thomas as its Chief Executive Officer in October. He comes with more than two decades of experience across print, radio, TV and digital in India, China and South Asia. He has worked with Radio City, RED FM, Indian Express, Sony, Astro Broadcast and MTV. 

Ashit Kukian returned to Radio City as CEO. He replaced Thomas who had stepped down in August. Kukian was President and Chief Operating Officer at Radio City from 2005-15. His leadership, industry insights and operational expertise had strengthened the radio station’s performance in the industry through traditional and non-traditional revenue. 

In June, Radio City promoted Kartik Kalla as Chief Creative Officer. With a media career spanning over 20 years, Kalla has been associated with the station for over nine years having previously held the position of EVP and National Head, Programming, Marketing and AudaCity. 

One of the latest stations Magic 106.4 FM appointed Apeksha Mehta as the Station Head in July. Mehta had earlier worked with popular brands in the entertainment industry like MTV, Zee TV and Zee Cinema. She had also worked with Amazon Bangalore, with the Amazon Seller Services team and took care of Marketing, PR and special projects for Amazon Sellers. 

In June, Big FM appointed Tarun Katyal as Business Head – Metros for increasing volume in building strategic partnerships. After his successful stint of two years at the organization, Katyal rejoined the BIG network to lead business associations for key markets and scale up the inventory. Earlier in April, the station had senior leadership appointments of Shipra Srivastava as National Marketing Head and Soela Joshi as Associate Vice-President, IP.