FM radio: companies chart expansion drive

Close to 100 new FM stations will come up in the next one year, taking the total number to almost 345. India’s radio broadcasting landscape is set to change as a bunch of FM companies get ready to launch their stations this year. Close to 100 new FM stations will come up in the next one year on the frequencies that were auctioned by the government in phase III of radio privatization, taking the total number of stations to almost 345. On 9 March, HT Media Ltd announced the launch of its second radio station, Radio Nasha 107.2 FM, in New Delhi. The company already operates FM station Fever 104 in the city. The launch of Radio Nasha is the first of the phase III radio launches by HT Media. The company acquired 10 new frequencies in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and several towns of Uttar Pradesh during the phase III FM radio auctions held by the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry beginning in July last year. Entertainment Network (India) Ltd (ENIL), the radio company of the Times Group, which won 17 frequencies, plans to roll out its stations shortly. Of these, seven are in new cities and 10 are the second and third frequencies in towns where it already has a presence. Prashant Panday, chief executive of Radio Mirchi, the FM radio brand of ENIL, expects to launch the Bengaluru, Kochi, Guwahati and Chandigarh stations first.

HT Media, publisher of Hindustan Times and Mint, and Times Group, which brings out The Times of India and The Economic Times, also compete in some print media markets. Tarun Katial, CEO of Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd, is also looking to expand his radio business under the Big FM brand across key cities such as Pune, Nagpur, Lucknow, Varanasi and Patna as well as other geographies such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and the North-East. “We acquired 14 new stations across these markets as part of the bidding process and continue to be the largest radio network in India with 59 stations. The network now covers all four ‘A+’ category towns, seven out of nine ‘A’ category towns and 12 out of 17 ‘B’ category towns,” said Katial.