Hello FM introduces English fare with ‘Sundown on Sunday’

At a time when all FM channels in Chennai are heavily relying on Tamil programming content to capture the market, Hello FM’s ‘Sundown on Sunday’, a three-hour programme in English aimed at the non-Tamil listeners, is already a hit.

Hello FM, which was launched a fortnight ago, is the first private FM station to do an English show. Popular RJ Niladri Bose is hosting the show, which is aired every Sunday between 6 pm and 9 pm. The FM channel also has another show, ‘Central Station’, which is on air every Sunday from 4 pm to 6 pm. One can tune to this particular programme for Hindi and other south Indian language music.

Elaborating about strategic importance of the show, Rajeev Nambiar, COO, Hello FM, said, “Chennai being a cosmopolitan city, we wanted to give the listeners the cosmo feel. All the FM channels in Chennai, barring few, are national brands and they relay only local language programming content. We are from the local market and know the pulse of the listeners and decided to include this three-hour English programme in our content.”

“Any FM station should reflect the milieu of the local people in order to thrive,” Nambiar said. The channel is planning to interview some Bollywood stars and top Indian icons in the programme. “A 360-degree promotion is also underway to take this programme to every non-Tamil listener residing in Chennai,” he added.

Speaking about ‘Sundown on Sunday’, Charles, Associate Vice-president, Brand, Hello FM, said, “Nobody should feel left out. We wanted to cover the audience of all spheres and, therefore, decided to include this three-hour English programme in our content. The programme is a vehicle for advertisers who want to advertise high-end products.”

The channel aired an interview with actor Vivek Oberoi in ‘Sundown on Sunday’ on October 15.