The radio industry is expecting to draw better ad volume and ad revenue in 2023. Backing up this positive prediction is TAM’s report for the sector, according to which there was a 25 per cent growth in ad volume in 2022. The TRAI September quarter report also says radio ad revenue was up 11 per cent.

As of 30 September, 2022, there were 388 operational private FM radio channels in 113 cities run by 36 private FM radio operators, the TRAI report states.  

This data further supports the significant curiosity amongst brands, advertisers, and radio companies about the sector’s scope of growth this year. We took insights from radio industry experts on the latest trends, about the investment interest among brands and advertisers, and the challenges that lie ahead.  

The feeling is postive 

DB Corp Chief Executive Officer Rahul Namjoshi believes the outlook is positive and the signs are clear that the sector is set to expand. “The radio industry should benchmark FY20 as the base year, and look forward to growing double digits over that in FY24.” 

As for Ashit Kukian, CEO, Radio City, “The year 2022 focused on economic recovery after the two years of lull caused by the pandemic. The radio industry witnessed a positive sentiment among consumers as well as advertisers to spend, especially during the festive season. This led to the growth of radio advertising in 2022 and we expect this phenomenon to continue gaining momentum in 2023 as well.” 

Sharing Radio City’s strategies for this year, Kukian said, “At the heart of our operations, Radio City is an advertising solutions company that caters to two sets of audiences - listeners, and advertisers. Earlier the core focus was providing radio-specific solutions, but with the advent of our ‘radigitalization’ strategy, we have started providing holistic solutions that include radio plus digital offerings. We are confident that with this approach, radio is pegged to grow further in 2023 and beyond.”  

Abraham Thomas, CEO, of Reliance Broadcast Network, says the revenues are expected to cross the pre-pandemic levels with growth being driven through tier 2 and tier 3 markets. “While the metro markets will continue to grow, those in Gujarat, Maharashtra, UP, Rajasthan and MP will grow faster driven by Nagpur, Jaipur, Indore, and Surat.” 

Who is going to lead the way? 

According to the TAM reports, in 2022 the properties/real estate category witnessed the highest increase in ad secondages with a growth of 80%, followed by hospitals/clinics at 73% growth. Sharing his prediction for the category expected to lead growth, Namjoshi said his bet is on the dotcom and app business that has got some traction apart from regular radioactive categories like real estate, lifestyle and education. 

About categories that are likely to participate in radio advertisement this year, Kukian, said, “The radio industry was majorly supported by advertising from sectors such as Real Estate and Healthcare. This year, along with these categories, we are seeing a growing interest from sectors such as finance and auto to make the leap in terms of ad volumes followed by retail, services and education.”  

Appreciating the real estate sector, Thomas, said, “Thanks to the sustained faith of the real estate industry in radio as a medium, it has maintained its foothold as a consistent spender during and post the pandemic. Health, fitness and pharma have been the other emerging categories. This includes gym equipment and supplements. This sector has grown by 80% over FY20.” 

Tracking the challenges 

Before the Union Budget, experts in the radio sector highlighted how rationalisation of the GST structure is essential for the overall growth of the industry, and how manufacturing of radio equipment within the country could make the sector self-sufficient. According to Kukian, “The advent of multiple formats of content consumption poses a challenge for the radio industry. But, consider these challenges as opportunities to keep thriving by introducing innovative and unique concepts to stay relevant and add value to the lives of our audiences.” 

Sharing the advertisers’ perspective, he further said, “Radio has always been a popular medium for entertainment and advertising. However, emerging technologies are playing a role in altering radio's appearance where future technologies may modify the structure of radio waves, resulting in a diverse environment. The ultimate objective of the radio industry is to enhance the theatre of mind experience of listeners, allowing them to enjoy their favourite broadcasts and expanding radio's reach to all regions, especially across smaller markets. Another important aspect is adapting to the latest developments in the industry such implementation of influencer marketing and artificial intelligence in the radio broadcasting industry.”  

As for Thomas, “While the radio industry, too, has been affected by the overall economic downturn, many new trends are emerging. Only those organizations that can adapt and innovate will be best positioned for success. Multiple revenue streams like Solutions, Digital products, Influencer marketing, and activation/amplifications and events are growing rapidly and will contribute up to 30% of revenues for this sector. Regional IPs and spikes are gaining a lot of traction and emerging markets are growing at a faster pace and crossing pre-pandemic levels.” 

Talking about the measurability issue, he said, “The major challenge for the radio industry continues to be measurability with increasing competition from New Media, but the shift to outcomes over outputs is helping radio + digital to become a potent option.” 

Further, Namjoshi shared how the music royalty issue is not yet sorted and how broadcasters are dealing with multiple litigations. 

“Talent retention is another challenge that the Radio Industry is having, and most importantly we should get back our FY 20 rates back,” Namjoshi said. 

Trend Watch 

According to the TAM reports, 30 to 40-second commercials were the most preferred on radio in 2021 and 2022. 

Elaborating on the radigitalisation strategy, Kukian said, “There have been major digital transformations across industries and radio has also adapted to this transformation led by digitisation.” 

“Radio City is at the cusp of its ‘radigitalisation’ strategy, where the focus lies on the unification of offering radio plus digital solutions to the audience. Through our cutting-edge approach, we strive to effortlessly connect with the audience by developing content that accurately reflects their preferences. The current trends in the radio industry include offering regional podcasts for hyper-local reach, harping on the indie culture, offering value-added solutions to the advertisers, collaborating with on-ground events, and much more to position radio for its next phase of growth.”  

Elaborating on the concept of how radio works beyond radio, Namjoshi said, “Brands no more see radio as just radio. We now work as 360-degree solution providers in the retail market. Our solutions are a mix of radio, digital, on the ground, depending on what is the client's objective from the campaign.” 

Focusing on technological transformations, Abraham said, “Radio’s technological transformation has made it possible for its content to now be enjoyed across audio streaming platforms and also through different mediums such as podcasts, audiobooks, smart speaker’s solutions, chatbots and gamification amongst others. AI will continue to become more perceptive with the influx of new technologies. It will become a powerful tool to analyze data and provide solutions. Radio campaigns have started focusing on Automation via Bots, Gamification, etc. Metaverse too is gaining traction and will lead to some disruptive changes which will be more immersive and interactive. This belief system is visible as more and more digital brands such as Online Games, Fintech, and Edtech amongst others are counting on Radio for better reach and engagement.”  

Revenue Growth  

On the TRAI report’s findings about the increase in revenue in the September quarter, Namjoshi said, “The growth is majorly from retail market advertisers. We are hopeful that Q4 will also register growth.”

According to Kukian, “The radio industry with its new age multimedia strategy is expecting 25 per cent growth.”

Sharing the sentiment was Abraham, “We expect the radio industry’s growth to continue, with categories like Services, Real Estate, Retail, Pharma and Automobile leading this recovery.” 

The advertising volume on radio grew by 25% in 2022 compared to 2021, shows data from TAM AdEx - Rewinding Y 2022 for Advertising on Radio. 

The report stated advertising on radio witnessed 29% growth in 2021 over the COVID-hit 2020. Average ad volumes increased by 18% in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the second quarter of the same year. In 2022, March and October recorded the highest ad volume share.

The service sector registered 33% of ad volume, followed by retail at 12%. Also, services, retail, banking/finance/investment together contributed to 50% share of ad volumes. In terms of overall percentage share, the report shows properties and real estate led with 14% ad volume share in 2022, followed by hospitals/clinics, retail outlets-jewellers, and cars. More than 410 categories advertised on radio in the last year.

The report further states LIC India topped both advertisers’ and brands’ lists in 2022. Also, Vicco Laboratories, Reliance Retail, SBS Biotech, and Sobek Auto India observed a positive rank shift as compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, more than 10,000 advertisers and 13,000 brands tuned in to radio in 2022. 

In the growing categories, the report stated that properties/real estates were among categories that saw the highest increase in ad secondages with a growth of 80% followed by hospital/clinics that grew 73% in 2022 as compared to 2021. In terms of growth, the face wash category witnessed the highest growth among the top 10.  

Focusing on the most exclusive advertisers in the year 2022, Rochaldas Sons stood as the top exclusive advertiser in 2022 as compared to 2021. More than 6,000 advertisers were aired during 2022 as compared to 2021.

The report also focused on the cities and states, which contributed majorly to the radio sector in 2022. Gujarat and Jaipur had the highest share in terms of radio advertising in 2022. 

Out of all the creative trends, ad commercials with 20-40 seconds were the most preferred for advertising on radio during 2021 and 2022.

Also, evening was the most preferred time band on Radio followed by morning and afternoon time bands. As per the report, evening and morning time bands together added more than 65% share of ad volumes.

According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Performance Indicators Report for the Quarter ending September 2022, radio advertisement revenue grew 11% to Rs 385.86 crore as against Rs 345.12 crore of 388 private FM radio channels for the previous quarter ended on the 30th June 2022.

The advertising revenue for the 31st March 2022 quarter was Rs 362.63 crore and for 31st December 2021 was Rs 421.74 crore. 

Apart from the radio channels operated by All India Radio, there are 388 operational private FM Radio channels in 113 cities run by 36 private FM Radio operators. 

According to the report, as of 30th September 2022, 374 Community Radio stations are operational as compared to 366 for the quarter ended 31st June 2022. 

Entertainment Network (ENIL IN) has reported rebased consolidated revenue growth of 19.7% YoY, up 14.6% QoQ, but down 15.9% against Q3FY20 (pre-COVID level).

The growth has been led by strong growth in non-FCT revenues (up 55% YoY) along with radio business’s growth by 8% YoY.

Traditional media continued to face headwinds leading to radio volume growth deceleration but despite that, volumes grew 15.8% YoY.

ENIL has reported a rebased consolidated profit of Rs 7.3 crore, down 29.2% YoY (up 9x QoQ; down 26% versus pre-pandemic).

According to RAM Ratings for Week 49 '22 - 52 '22 (between 4^th December and 31^st December 2022), Fever FM maintained its top spot in Mumbai and Delhi charts. BIG FM and Radio Mirchi also held on to their leading positions in Bangalore and Kolkata.

In Mumbai with over 12.2 million listeners above the age of 12, Fever FM continued to stay on top with an 18.3% listenership share. Radio Mirchi was in the second spot with 16.3%. Red FM took the third spot at 15.7%. Listenership peaked between 10 am and 11 am.

In Delhi, in a universe of 16.5 million listeners above the age of 12, Fever FM peaked with a 21.8% share. Radio Mirchi FM stayed steady with a 14.7% share. Punjabi Fever ranked third with a 13.3% share. Most listeners tuned in between 9 am and 10 am.

In Bangalore, with 5.5 million listeners, BIG FM took the led with a 32.5% share

Big FM took the lead in Bangalore with a 32.4% listenership share. The second spot was bagged by Radio City with 28.2% share. At the third spot was taken by Radio Mirchi 13.2% share. Most listeners tuned in between 7 am and 8 am.

Kolkata yet again saw Radio Mirchi topping the charts with a 28% share in a universe of 9.1 million listeners. Big FM came second with 23.9%. Fever FM had a 14.4%. In Kolkata, the listenership peaked between 9 am and 10 am.

The year 2022 was the year of recovery for all industries after facing multiple waves of Covid. As we enter 2023, all sectors, including the media, are expecting some relief measures in the upcoming Union Budget to boost their revenue. We spoke to senior leaders in the radio industry to understand what they are looking forward to. Take a look at what they shared.

Rationalisation of GST structure 

Industries across sectors are skeptical about the complex GST structure that came into force a few years back.  Radio industry too expects rationalisation of the tax.

According to Ashit Kukian, CEO of Radio City, “The radio sector has been experiencing a steady economic recovery post Covid. With the Budget for 2023 to be announced soon and the Finance Minister laying the foundation of India’s economic growth revenue, the radio sector has certain expectations for the same. One of the most important expectations is re-examination and rationalization of GST. This rationalisation can help the radio industry generate higher revenue and focus on a stronger growth trajectory.”

Advertising support from government 

Industries across sectors have been witnessing stagnancy in business for the last couple of years. They all are looking at the government for some support in the form of advertising.

Nisha Narayanan, Director & COO, of RED FM, and Magic FM, said, “Radio has always been loved by the advertising industry for a multitude of reasons. The R in the radio stands for the recall value. It has been and will be the first preference for advertisers even in the upcoming years. This is because radio presents content wrapped in creativity that stays with the listeners for a longer period as compared to other mediums. However, all the benefits fall flat on the face if not supported by the required policies by the government.”

“The radio industry is in dire need of opportunities that are equivalent to other industries, especially in terms of advertising support from the government. Radio has the last-mile reach. It possesses the potential of assisting through natural calamities and much more. Despite the many strengths of radio, the government expenditure on the medium has remained stagnant in recent years and advertising rates have been the same as well,” she shared.

Integration of technology to bolster audience base

Talking about technology integration and media advancement across undeveloped areas, Kukian said, “Additionally, we hope that the government draws attention to the integration of technology and digitization across hinterlands as it will help strengthen the radio & media industry in bolstering the audience base. Leveraging this reach, the radio industry can continue to be one of the most preferred media of communication and offer relevant information across the length and breadth of the nation.” 

Talking further about technological development and licence issues in the radio industry, Narayanan said, “We seek allowance in terms of networking, resolving music royalty concerns, and creating an IT policy for streaming digital content. Moreover, relief in terms of investing in the licencing or OTEF at lower infrastructural costs to create original content is expected to be a game changer for the radio industry. With the amended policies and support, the radio industry will continue to be a medium for the masses that uplifts other industries along with it.”

She further asked the government to boost radio infrastructure and create policies that assist in the expansion of the industry into newer markets.

“The radio industry has the potential to thrive if abetted with a level-playing field, especially when it comes to operating in the digital ecosystem. This can be achieved by allowing news and current affairs on radio. This can further encourage more players to join the ecosystem and make it less monopolistic,” she explained.

Promotion of Atmanirbhar Bharat

Talking about the import of equipment used in the radio industry, Rahul J Namjoshi, Chief Executive Officer, My FM Radio, Dainik Bhaskar Group, said, “Import duty on transmitters and broadcasting equipment should be exempted as these equipment are not manufactured in India and we are dependent on imports only.”

He added that in indigenous manufacturers should be encouraged. 

Licensing Private FM Radio

Furthermore, bringing up the topic of focusing more the license private FM Radio, Abhay Ojha, CBO Zee Media Corporation Limited, said, “Private FM Radio should be given news Broadcasting license for the overall growth of the media.”

Echoing the idea, Kukain, said, “While the recently announced new radio phase III guidelines will boost the radio industry, we believe that the government should also provide an extension on the licence period and streamline the annual licence fees.” 

According to RAM Ratings for Week 48 '22 - 51 '22 (between 27th Nov and 24th Dec'22), Fever FM topped in Mumbai and Delhi charts. BIG FM and Radio Mirchi took lead in Bangalore and Kolkata.

In Mumbai with over 12.2 million listeners above the age of 12, Fever FM continued to stay on top with an 18.3% listenership share. Radio Mirchi was in the second spot with 16.4%. Red FM took the third spot at 15.7%. Listenership peaked between 10 am and 11 am.

In Delhi, in a universe of 16.5 million listeners above the age of 12, Fever FM peaked with a 22% share. Radio Mirchi FM stayed steady with a 14.5% share. Punjabi Fever ranked third with a 13.3% share. Most listeners tuned in between 9 am and 10 am.

Big FM took the lead in Bangalore with a 32.4% listenership share. The second spot was bagged by Radio City with 28.2% share. At the third spot was taken by Radio Mirchi 13.4% share. Most listeners tuned in between 7 am and 8 am.

Kolkata yet again saw Radio Mirchi topping the charts with a 28.1% share in a universe of 9.1 million listeners. Big FM came second with 23.8%. Fever FM had a 14.7%. In Kolkata, the listenership peaked between 9 am and 10 am.