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Return of the radio
SYEDA FARIDA
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The F.M. radio is luring youngsters back to listening habits. As the charm of the radio resurfaces, Hyderabadis are waiting for their own F.M. magic to unfold.
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SPICY SPACE: Worldspace radios have a booming market.
THE INITIATIVE of private broadcasting clubs ushered in radio in the sub-continent in 1927. One such `Nizam's Radio Station' put Hyderabad on the broadcasting map of India. Today, All India Radio stands as one of the major stations in the country broadcasting programmes in over seven languages, including Sanskrit.
"Apart from the news relays and current affairs, we have been promoting music, producing programmes for the youth, women, industrial workers and farmers, broadcasting to over 1.5 crore radio sets in the entire State," says Durga Bhaskar, station director, All India Radio, Hyderabad.
It was not surprising then that the recent call for auditions on the popular channel `Yuva Vani English' - the voice of the youth which airs western music, talks and features - got a whopping response from young wannabe RJs.
Today's youngsters follow new trends or music updates carefully. Hence, the developments on the radio, especially the FM with an attractive music-and-chat format, holds significance to them. With the neighbouring States flaunting their happening FM broadcasts, there has been restlessness in people looking forward to `apna FM' to go on air.
"It is high time we have FM in the city, ideally an MTV on the radio, having talk shows laced with music. New chartbusters and rockumentaries would be a major draw attracting the youth to FM since CDs are expensive," says Akshay Sardeshpande.
While the radio was written off by the earlier generation, the medium has taken a dramatic U turn in the country as it had done in the West, though with a more lively and interactive format.
"The way it works in the U.S., with local radio stations broadcasting music, sports/ market news and weather forecast, radio is a popular medium today. We can do wonders with a multi-lingual programming," says G.K. Marar, ex-station director, Doordarshan, and All India Radio, Hyderabad.
State-of-the-art technology, apart from the racy, listener-friendly `adjust-madi' English-Kannada mix has been one of the strong points in the success story of the RadioCity 91 FM of Music Broadcast Private Limited at Bangalore. "Chow chow bhat', `vibe', and `hot air' have been a rage, apart from `drive time', `page-in' and `phone-in shows'," says Arun Katiyar, station director, RadioCity 91 FM, Bangalore.
RADIO GA GA: RadioCity 91 F.M. at Bangalore is a major success.
RadioCity 91 FM, in fact the first private one to go on air, has been a runaway success. Advertisers like AirTel, Sunsilk and FMCG lined up to air their jingles. It is a case of history repeated when the tyres, sunglasses shops and restaurant round the block advertised on the private FM slot in 1993.
"Radio is a good advertisement proposition. The cost of making a jingle and running a campaign is much cheaper and more powerful on the radio," says R. Vishwa Mohan, vice-president, RK Swamy/BBDO, Hyderabad. Incidentally, the radio commands seven to 13 per cent of the advertisement pie globally. The recent FICCI study in neighbouring Sri Lanka reported almost doubling of the ad-revenue when radio went the FM way.
Today, the Radio Group - an informal association of some of the radio licensees - is grappling with the MIB on issues of co-location of the transmission towers to cut the infrastructure costs.
One of the players, BPL innovision's Radio Indigo, eventually took to satellite radio and Internet FM service. Indigo Radio is a popular channel broadcast on Worldspace, a brainchild of chairman and CEO, Noah Samara, the Media Moghul of the developing countries.
With its technological backend strong in satellite broadcasting with Arriane Space, Hitachi and JVC, Worldspace Corporation is a rage today.
Crystal clear fade-free news including BBC, music ranging from jazz to ritmo - soulful African music, plays in various languages like English, Tamil, Telugu and Swahili made people tune into the satellite radio.
"We started the Indian operations in September 2000. In spite of minimal promos, we have had a great response - especially from Hyderabad - leading to a shortage of receivers. We would be introducing second-generation receivers with a price advantage shortly," says M. Sebastian, director-business development, Worldspace.
"Worldspace receiver sets have seen whopping sales at our special counter," says Amarnath executive director, Tirumala Music Centre. "I listen to Worldspace for about three hours daily. I love `Khanak' - the golden oldies and jazz," says Abhay Ekbote, from a market research firm in the city.
"There is great potential for the medium," adds Vishnu, a young director for a telecommunication and entertainment company. "We are talking to the Wireless Planning Commission and working on a blueprint for an FM for the city with thrust on value-added services and state-of-the-art technology as seen in the FM stations in the U.S. which contributes a lot to this type of competitive medium," he says.
People in the city still have their Sunday brunch with Rhythm Time. However, popular RJs are migrating due to sheer lack of opportunity. The entire country is going radio ga ga, but will the hi-tech Hyderabad tune in soon?
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