The exchange4media group hosted the much-awaited e4m Golden Mikes Radio and Audio Awards 2023 on Wednesday, May 17 in Mumbai. The 11^th edition of the awards witnessed the coming together of some of the most well-known voices in the country - radio jockeys, channel leaders and other industry luminaries.

At the dazzling awards night, Radio Mirchi took home the title of ‘Radio Station of the Year’. In its highest-ever haul, the radio station bagged 39 metals of which 12 were gold, 13 silver and 14 bronze.

The ‘RJ of the Year’ title was won by three RJs in Hindi and English language. While RJ Abhilash of Big FM won gold, RJ Ginnie of Radio City 91.1 and RJ Jeeturaaj from Mirchi won bronze. Mirchi Bhushan and Mirchi Mushak Man of Radio Mirchi Nashik / 98.3 MIRCHI respectively won silver. Mirchi RJ Susmita of Radio Mirchi won bronze in the ‘New Aspiring RJ of the Year’ category while RJ Raunac and Annu Kapoor of Red FM and Big FM won Bronze and Silver respectively. Under the ‘Influencer RJ of the Year’ category, RJ Shourya of 104.8 Ishq FM, RJ Ashish of 104.8 Ishq FM and RJ Kartik of MY FM took home Bronze, Silver and Gold respectively.

With the advancement of digitisation in the industry, radio and audio have been expanding wings and strategically exploring broader avenues. To honour the outstanding work of radio jockeys and other channel leaders, e4m recognises the excellence in radios and honours the people who bring out their finest creativity through radio marketing.

Here’s the full list of winners:

There should be no gaps between what the radio industry wants and what the government decides, says Rahul Namjoshi, CEO of MYFM. He spoke to e4m on investing heavily in manpower training and hiring.

According to Namjoshi, there are a lot of opportunities in the markets. He also spoke extensively on the company’s outlook for the financial year and expectations from the FM broadcast auctions.

Excerpts:

MY FM has stations in more than six states of north and west India. Do you have any plans to expand the market in the south? 

We want to stay focused on our core strength which is North & West. We are not well versed with the markets across South India in terms of demography and languages, so we are reluctant to invest in the South. However, we will keep expanding our markets across north and west India depending upon what kind of base price the government decides. 

How is the financial year looking for you, any early trends?

The beauty of our business is that we don’t wait for business to come and we rather work on creating a business and that creation is almost 25% to 30% of our revenue. Our primary markets are tier II & III markets, which is where the growth lies for India. Today almost all categories are focusing on these markets. Moreover, we are not in the race of getting the highest volume but look for the value. We are quite confident that this will be the best year for us.

The central government is planning for FM broadcast auctions. What are your expectations? 

We are yet to receive any notification on this from the government. However, there must be no gaps between what the radio industry wants and what the government decides. We recently had a good meeting with the government and shared our expectations with them to boost the growth of private FM in the country. The radio industry will be in Tango Congo for phase three, the batch three auctions are subject to the right benchmark pricing. Last year phase three batches did not catch much traction just because the base pricing was very high. Moreover, the radio business is a shoestring business so we monitor our expenses to remain a profitable business. 

We have seen a few stations rationalising cost, how are you looking at it? 

We are an eternal optimist brand and very bullish about this financial year, we have major plans for the upcoming year. We can divulge details right now but soon you’ll witness a series of launches and announcements of new shows. In terms of investments besides investing in human resources, we will invest in technology to perform efficiently and effectively. 

As per TAM reports, radio ad volume went up during covid and post covid. How’s the advertising business going and which brands are investing in MYFM in the following year?

Besides FMCG, education, Real Estate, and Healthcare category, jewellery brands are performing extremely well in the regional markets. Moreover, national brands are gradually shifting towards the regional market as the expected ROI is higher and to give higher competition to local brands the national brands are investing heavily in hyper local mediums like radio.

What challenges is radio as a medium facing currently?

Radio broadcasters should be allowed to broadcast news, most of the private FM channels are owned by reputed news media groups and we should be allowed to pick up news and deliver it in our style rather than picking it up from Prasar Bharati. News on the radio will be a game changer. 

There is a recent advisory by the GOI on inbuilt FM Radio receiver features in mobile phones. How do you look at it?

This is a great development and will give a huge boost to radio listenership. We are thankful to the government to give this advisory and we are hopeful all mobile manufacturers will build FM tuners in all mobile handsets in benefit to end customers.

PM Narendra Modi’s radio address programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’ recently completed 100 episodes, adding another milestone to the radio industry. Apart from adding 23 crore listeners, ‘Mann Ki Baat’ has been drawing private broadcasters, brands and advertisers who want to expand their reach in tier cities.

We asked radio industry experts how FM broadcasters expand their market to tier cities through ‘Mann Ki Baat.’

“RJs from our radio stations promoted the radio programme on social media covering all the important issues broadcasted on ‘Mann Ki Baat.’ Also, what makes radio more unique and powerful in expanding its tier market is the way the Prime Minister and President are coming up and doing a joint show,” said Rahul Namjoshi, CEO, of MYFM.

“Besides providing a platform to address important issues and giving a voice to the voiceless, radio as a medium is doing much better. In the coming years, we are also going to see a lot of things happening on Mann Ki Baat which definitely will help the private broadcasters in promoting more brands and business in tier cities,” Namjoshi added.

Radio remains a primary source of information and entertainment in Tier markets and plays a key role in keeping people connected across the nation. “Mann Ki Baat is a pioneering initiative and our Prime Minister’s choice of radio as a medium to reach the masses is a testament to its credibility and unwavering ability to build trust. It has effectively utilized the reach and power of radio to connect with citizens across the length and breadth of the country,” said Abraham Thomas, CEO, of Reliance Broadcast Network.

“Since the radio program addresses various issues pertaining to the common man, it witnesses a high relevance across age groups driving mass local reach,” Thomas added.

As for Monalisa Mandal, AVP, Marketing & Digital, Fever FM, the advertising revenues from tier cities are going up. “More people are tuning in to radio channels to listen to other programmes, leading to advertisers' interests who want to reach out to the audience in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. This has resulted in increased advertising revenue for radio channels, which has helped them to expand their operations and improve the quality of their services.”

“In terms of its impact on the radio industry, ‘Mann Ki Baat’ has been a game-changer. It has increased the popularity of radio in India and has brought it back into India and has brought it back into the mainstream. The program is broadcast on multiple radio channels, including All India Radio, private FM channels, and digital platforms. This has led to an increase in listenership and has created new opportunities for advertisers.” Monalisa added.

Zee Media Corporation Limited (ZMCL) has got approval from its board to participate in the bidding process to buy Reliance Broadcast Network Limited (RBNL).

In a regulatory filing, Zee Media said, "The Board of Directors of the Company, vide Resolution passed by circulation on May 5, 2023, have granted the approval to the Company to submit Expression of Interest (‘EOI') with Corporate Insolvency Resolution Professional (‘CIRP’) of Reliance Broadcast Network Limited (‘RBNL’) in relation to the "Invitation for Expression of Interest for Submission of Resolution Plan for Reliance Broadcast Network Limited" issued by CIRP appointed in terms of the extant provisions for Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process of RBNL," 

RBNL operates radio stations under the Big FM brand. It has reportedly been put under the corporate insolvency process by the National Company Law Tribunal. An advertisement has been issued seeking expressions of interest from interested entities. 

The government has issued an advisory asking smartphone makers to ensure easy FM radio access, media networks have reported. 

According to the advisory, there is a need to ensure radio access is provided to the underprivileged. The measure will also help in easy radio access during natural calamities and disasters.

The IT ministry has said that it has come to its notice that there has been a sharp fall in the number of phone makers providing free FM radio services.

The advisory has been sent to the Indian Cellular and the Electronics Association and Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology.

The Entertainment Network India, Radio Mirchi, has reported an increase of 37.3% in total revenues, driven by healthy growth in radio of 35.7 % and non-radio grew by 33.5% during the year. According to the Q4 financial results of Entertainment Network India Limited, 2023, the total revenues grew by 5.6 % to Rs 104.9 crore with radio witnessing a growth of 13.2 % in revenue.

Detailing more about the growth coming from the digital, the company shared that investments towards digital platform have started bearing fruit as the segment began contributing to the top line from quarter four onwards. The company saw an upsurge in the revenue after investing Rs 7.2 crore in the digital platform and without which the EBITDA for the quarter stood at Rs 23.2 crores and profit before tax was Rs 6.1 crore.

Barring digital, the company shared the figures for the entire year which tells that EBITDA stands at Rs 93.3 crore and its margins have improved to 22.6% in FY23 from 16.2% in FY22. The company’s profit before tax and exceptional items is Rs 19.6 crore as compared to the loss of Rs 28.9 crore in FY22.

Commenting on the results, Yatish Mehrishi, CEO, ENIL, said: “I am pleased to share that we have registered good growth this financial year both in terms of top line and improved margins. We have witnessed an increase in radio revenues post pandemic and a good traction in the Non radio business as well. We have consolidated our industry leadership by gaining volume market share by 300 bps. Our digital platform Mirchi Plus continues to grow rapidly on key metrics of Monthly Active Users and engagement. Our social media assets have seen massive growth both in terms of engagement and virality.”

Looking into the company’s balance sheet, we found that ENIL’s Balance Sheet remains strong with cash reserves standing at ₹ 265.0 crores as on March 31, 2023, as compared to ₹ 227.0 crores as on December 31, 2022.

Prasar Bharati has decided to refer to its radio services as 'Akashvani' instead of 'All India Radio'.

As per media reports, in an internal order Prasar Bharati CEO Gaurav Dwivedi has said that the decision was taken earlier but is being operationalised now.

The name Akashvani was reportedly proposed by Rabindranath Tagore in 1939.

Dwivedi's order for replacing AIR to Akashvani seeks immediate compliance.