The avatars of the Indian radio, transistor podcast

Radio India remains a dynamic medium, which continues to attract listeners and begins hardly transformation. The area of the Indian subcontinent, geographical, linguistic, socio-cultural and infrastructural difficulties, it is always difficult to obtain reliable figures. Some authoritative as those from the decennial census. The latest, conducted in 2011, revealed that only 20% of Indian households now had a radio, a figure 15% drop from the previous census and compensated by an offsetting increase in the number of households holding a post television . At a time of digital revolution promised by Prime Minister Narandra Modi, the radio would it becoming obsolete? In trains plying tirelessly the great Bombay rush hour, there, pressed shoulder to shoulder, office employees, vendors, domestic helpers who travel to work, or not fitted with briefcases but having all of the listeners ears. If it is difficult to estimate [+] from those who listen to their play-lists, which are on music streaming platforms (expanding) or listening to the radio, the fact is that all the major operators phone, Vodafone Airtel, offer packages for access to major FM radio, and a study by EY firm already estimated in 2011 that the hearing of Indian radio stations came in 30% of mobile phone users. As for the taxi drivers generally unconditioned despite room temperature, they roll all the windows open, having pushed far enough volume of their radio set to a Bollywood music station or Indian retro, two genres that outweigh the membership of the Indians. Radio certainly represents less than 2% of the media sector in India [+] but we should not reduce its importance to the reduction figure. Its growth prospects are good or very good because radio is the media whose progress is the fastest in terms of revenue. And that is the only media capable of reaching almost all the territory. One area where coexist public radio, private and community radio radio

Despite its age - the first radio station began broadcasting in Bombay in 1923 - Radio in India is an industry that has not finished growing. Monopoly é tat until 1999, opening to private players was very progressive and is strictly regulated. The sector is currently divided between the public service and the private sector on FM and community radios. A ll India Radio remains the preferred vehicle for government to communicate its policies and social programs. All India Radio is one of the largest public radio services in the world. With its 414 radio stations broadcasting in 23 languages ​​and 146 dialects, it covers nearly 92% of Indian territory and 99% of its population. It retains a monopoly on information dissemination. Still today, and this is a contentious issue with the private sector, All India Radio is empowered to carry out the news bulletins to be broadcast without changes on its channels or those relayed on private FM stations. This restriction then surprises on television, continuous news channels multiply, sometimes for better or for worse. The government justifies its prohibition by his fear that the radio broadcast content " unauthorized " - include seditious or specific community or stir up religious hatred. All India Radio also remains the preferred vehicle for government to communicate its policies and social programs. It is on its stations that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a monthly basis to address the nation with his show Mann Ki Baat, regularly attended by more than 150 million listeners and that proves to be a real jackpot for radio advertising public .

With 243 stations, FM private radio now covers 40% of the territory and 264 towns mainly belonging to the 1 st and 2 e -thirds but is expanding rapidly . The government has finally started the 3 th phase of frequency band allocation - previous took place in 1999 and 2006. Promised by the Government since 2010, the auction began in 2015 and should last 4 years . Ninety-eleven new stations have already been allocated and the goal is to achieve a national coverage of 85% by FM 2019. the many constraints in terms of market share and ceiling prices high however partially limit the success of this new phase, particularly in the cities of 3 e -thirds where many licenses remained without buyers . Last cornerstone of the Indian radio landscape, community radio does not know the success we would have hoped. The government, encouraged by UNICEF, in theory supports the development of these radios to the proven social utility. Managed by the community for the community, these radio stations broadcasting locally relevant information, be it weather reports or medical advice, have proven their effectiveness in times of natural disaster and contribute to the empowerment and education of women and "backward castes" [+] . Typically installed in areas where literacy rates can be around 25% and where the possession of a television set is exceptional, they help to change attitudes . Yet the 4000 community radio stations promised by the government in 2007, only 179 are operational today , a figure lower than that of Nepal. While the number of dialects in India would be 1600, community radio stations broadcast in thirty languages ​​only. This lack of success can be partly explained by the constraints on these channels. Their diffusion limit is 12 kilometers while they just relate to people very often scattered and marginalized. Set up costs are high. And above all, they are victims of an extremely litigious administrative system which leads to rejection of most files . Thus, only 11% of applications for opening of new community radio stations have been approved since 2012 . This situation is not expected to improve in 2016, while the government has further reduced the budget allocated to them .