MxMIndia

Category: RADIO

  • Tune in to #StayStarted mornings, with RJ Rishi

    Nescafe joins hands with Red FM for new Nescafe TVC

    By A Correspondent

     

    93.5 RED FM would be seen as an integral part of Nescafe’s new ad campaign #StayStarted which urges listeners to never give up. As part of the campaign, Red FM is initiating a morning show from 5:30–7 am in 10 cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune, Jaipur, Guwahati, Indore, Lucknow and Kanpur) wherein RJ Rishi will invite listeners to speak their heart out on the show. The show will go live from September 1, 2016 onwards.

     

    The TVC portrays story of RED FM RJ Rishi who is hosting an early morning show from 5:30– 7 am wherein the struggle is to find listeners who’ll hear him as no one wakes up so early. Still he steps in the studio with a bright smile on his face every day in a hope that someday listeners will call and talk to him. Despite luring his audience with free passes, vouchers, ajmera birthday hai, all his attempts are futile eliciting no response from the audience. But, undaunted, RJ Rishi goes on, “But no tring-trong… I’ll play the next song.” One day, while sipping Nescafe, a thought strikes his mind and tables turn hereon. He transforms shows weakness into its strength by realising that everyone would want to talk when no one is listening and starts focusing on this proposition and invite listeners to share their stories as no one is listening. To his surprise, it works and his phone starts ringing with listeners calling from everywhere pouring their hearts out… venting out their frustrations against the boss, seek apology from someone, profess love, and so forth. RJ Rishi has succeeded in his endeavour to garner a response from his listeners!

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Nisha Narayanan, COO, 93.5 Red FM said, “Red FM has always taken initiatives to inspire the youth and encourage them to stay motivated and it feels great to collaborate with brands which echoes a similar sentiment. While the idea has been conceptualised by Nescafe’s creative agency, we are thrilled to be a part of the campaign. This is a great opportunity to get closer to our listeners and encourage them to constantly take initiative to peruse their goal. The TVC campaign has been released on various multi-media platforms to ensure high reach and generate conversations around staying undefeated with #StayStarted campaign. Both Red FM and Nescafe enjoy a special place in the hearts of youngsters and we are confident on the success of this collaboration.”

     

     

  • Red FM Malayalam Music Awards was initiated to honour artistic excellence in the Mollywood Music industry. Awards were given in ten different music categories

    Red FM hosts Malayalam Music Awards in Cochin

    By A Correspondent

     

    Red FM 93.5 organised the first edition of its ‘Red FM Malayalam Music Awards’ at in Kochi on Sep 3. This show was inaugurated by superstar Mammootty. Stars from the Malayalam entertainment industry like Dulquer Salmaan, Dileep, Kunchacko Boban, etc took active part in the show. Actor and MPSuresh Gopi presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to music legend M.K.Arjunan fondly called as ‘Arjunan Master’

     

    Speaking at the ceremony, B. Surendar, Chief Operating Officer, Red FM, said, “We take immense pride in organising this grand gala music awards show in Kerala. Being the largest radio player in the South, it’s our responsibility to award and honour the best talent in the Malayalam music industry and showcase it to the rest of the world. Music is an art form that speaks directly to the heart, it has the special power to transcend the barriers of time and boundary and we take great pride in amplifying its reach to every heart that loves music in Kerala.”

  • Acquires UAE's first and leading Radio Station, Hum 106.2 FM

    Zee’s foray into radio with UAE’s Hum 106.2 FM

    By A Correspondent

     

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) has announced its foray into radio with the acquisition of UAE’s leading radio station, Hum 106.2 FM. Zee now becomes the only entertainment network in the region to provide an extensive media solution to its partners through television, radio and digital.

     

    After being a pioneer with the launch of India’s first Hindi satellite channel, Zee TV in 1992, Zee Entertainment was the first to launch a Bollywood TV channel, Zee Aflam in 2008 for the Arab audience as well introduce the Arab world to Hindi programs dubbed in Arabic with Zee Alwan in 2012.

     

    Speaking on this acquisition, Amit Goenka, CEO – International Broadcast Business, ZEEL said, “Radio has been an area of interest for Zee for quite some time and after extensive planning and studying of the brand values, ratings and revenue generated by various stations, we felt that an investment in Hum FM was the best option. Hum FM has a legacy of almost two decades and with a current market share of 26%, it is the top Hindi radio station in the UAE. Zee is confident that it can leverage its very strong South-Asian brand connect onto Radio, and offer a synergy of television, radio and digital that could revolutionize the entertainment industry in the UAE.”

     

    “We are excited about our new business ventures. Radio comes immediately after our foray into film production and distribution where movies like ‘Rustom’ and ‘The Flying Jatt’ have done extremely well globally and specifically in the UAE and Middle East markets. The acquisition of Hum FM in UAE is a step in that direction and we are upbeat about its prospect in the coming years;” Amit further added.

     

  • With this award, she became the only Indian RJ and MY FM the first Indian radio station to be recognised at AIB

    MY FM’s RJ Viny bags AIB Award in London

    By A Correspondent

     

    RJ Viny, host of the breakfast show – Salaam Indore, emerged as the Radio Personality of the Year at the Association of International Broadcasters in London. With this award she became the only Indian RJ and MY FM the first Indian radio station to be recognised at AIB.

     

    AIB with members from Radio FreeEurope, Radio Liberty, Radio New Zealand International, Radio Romania International, Radio Taiwan International, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, Capital FM, Bloomberg, and such reputed media organisations selected RJ Viny, giving the country its first AIB award – Radio Personality of the year.

     

    Said Harrish Bhatia CEO, MY FM: “It’s a great achievement and I am very proud of RJ Viny for bagging the 1st New York Festival award for Indore this year and bagging the 1st AIB London award for India, she is on a roll. Being a strong customer-centric organisation our focus is not only to entertain but also to add value to the listeners life by taking up issues of their concern. We invest a lot in understanding the taste and needs of our customers, this approach has helped in building in a strong differentiated product and showcase the real power of the medium. We are overwhelmed with the love being extended to us by our listeners not only making us the No.1 radio station in the cities that we are present in but also help us win the awards both nationally and internationally”

     

    Speaking on the win, Viplove Gupte, Chief Programming Officer said, “We have been working on differentiated and meaningful content for last couple of years. Our listeners had recognised this sea of change in our content and delivery very early and hence apart from making us the leader radio station in our cities, they have also helped us win this award.

     

  • Marking its 10-year anniversary, 92.7 BIG FM is refreshing its stationality across 45 markets, whilst retaining its ethos of being a symbol of inspiration and love

    92.7 BIG FM refreshes identity across 45 markets

    By A Correspondent

     

    Radio station network 92.7 BIG FM is refreshing its stationality across 45 markets, whilst retaining its ethos of being a symbol of inspiration and love.

     

    A spokesperson from Reliance Broadcast Networks Limited said: “Being a network that has never shied away from taking bold steps, whether it is in the form of our music, our shows, or even through our campaigns, we look at the refreshing of our identity as a forward thinking move that will set a precedent for another glorious decade ahead. The new jingle is not a mere manifestation of this step, but a reinforcement of our intent to keep inspiring every generation of listeners. On the business side, we provide our advertisers a highly potent platform that has the power to penetrate not just far and wide, but also deep into the minds of their respective audiences. With a renewed sense of optimism, we are confident that the refreshed stationality will be embraced by our listeners, as well as our other key stakeholders.”

     

    The radio network marked its 10-year anniversary by launching the BIG Anniversary game last month, which witnessed the overwhelming participation of its listeners.

     

  • Aurangabad, Sangli, Nanded and Ahmednagar are the new destinations for the Dainik Bhaskar group FM radio network

    My FM launches four stations in Maharashtra

     

     

    Dainik Bhaskar Group’s radio division, My FM launched four new stations in Maharashtra – Aurangabad, Sangli, Nanded and Ahmednagar, taking the count of live stations to five. MY FM already had Nagpur as a live radio station. In another month, five more stations are lined up for launch – at Nashik, Jalgaon, Solapur, Akola and Dhule.

     

    Speaking at the launch, Harrish Bhatia, CEO, My FM said, “In Maharashtra, we picked up the maximum no of station during the Phase III bidding as we wanted to consolidate our presence here. We are already the largest network in Rajasthan, Punjab & Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and now with launches in Maharashtra, we are excited to become a strong radio network in Real Maharashtra as well. Committed to our brands ideology, we will provide the best localised content in these regions.”

     

    Being a strong customer-centric organisation and committed to providing with unique and engaging content as per choice of the people, My FM designed a high decibel pre-launch campaign as build up to the launch. The two-month campaign “Aapki Marzi” seeked public opinion of the city on how their own radio station should be in terms of Music, Humour, RJ Talk etc. More than 20,000 people from Aurangabad city participated and shared their opinion.

     

    A high-decibel launch campaign titled ‘Abhar kaan khush’ (now every ear is happy) has been rolled out in the cities through print ads, outdoor and human banners.

     

  • The show aims to recreate the magic of evergreen songs by syncing with the vibe of all age groups

    92.7 BIG FM launches new show – Studio927

    By A Correspondent

     

    92.7 Big FM brings a new offering for its listeners with the launch of Studio927, a show where contemporary artists perform a rendition of their favorite retro songs by creating finished premium mash-ups. The show aims to recreate the magic of evergreen songs by syncing with the vibe of all age groups.

     

    The one-hour show airs across 36 HSMs from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm and 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm, Monday to Saturday. On Sunday, the show, which is an entire week’s roundup, airs from 6 pm to 7 pm.

     

    Commenting on the same, a spokesperson from 92.7 BIG FM said, “At a time when we are refreshing our stationality across markets, we strategically decided to come up with an offering that everyone can connect with irrespective of their age. Studio927 presents ‘Hit Thhe Hit Rahenge’ songs with a contemporary twist in the voice of talented artists. We are excited, confident and look forward to our listeners’ reactions to the new show and the renewed approach.”

     

  • The change in format happened in Bangalore on 9th January 2017

    Radio One unveils new brand logo, goes international in Blr

    By A Correspondent

     

    94.3 Radio One, which changed to an international format in Delhi and Mumbai five years ago, has changed its Bengaluru station also to the international format. The change in format happened in Bangalore on January 9, 2017. Meanwhile, Radio One has also decided to relaunch its international network brand with a new logo and new on air elements to strengthen its all India product offering.

     

    “We have launched the Bengaluru international format and relaunched Delhi and Mumbai with some very special content. Not only are the music playlists hugely rejuvenated but the content has been acknowledged exclusively by international stalwarts like Bryan Adams, David Guetta, Padmalaxmi, Chris Daughtry, Eric Martin of Mr Big and others.  We have special segments like Celebrity wrist watch with international celebrities that tell the time of day, new innovative ways of announcing traffic and weather, a host of new shows both on weekdays and weekend. We continue to super engage our upscale audience with new content on sports, current affairs, Hollywood, travel, food and other audience interest areas in an intelligent and entertaining manner,”said Anil Machado, Chief talent and content acquisition officer, Radio One.

     

    “With the new product and congruence in format of the three largest radio markets, we have upwardly revised our international network pricing and are happy to see that clients and advertising agencies are supporting us in this change as they see value in this unique format and its 25 million audience target. We thank them for the same. As regards our new network logo, it combines the creativity of orange with the solidity of blue coupled with white representing the unity of purpose in all three markets,” said Saurabh Sehgal, COO-Operations, Radio One.

     

  • In another month’s time three more station will go live i.e. Sholapur, Dhule and Akola

    My FM expands base in Maharashtra

     

     

    FM radio station network My FM has launched two more stations – Nashik and Jalgaon in Maharashtra. While the Nashik station has 104.2 FM as its frequency, Jalgaon has 94.3 FM. In Jalgaon, My FM becomes the only live station and with these launches My FM now has seven live stations in Maharashtra, notes a communique. In another month’s time three more station will go live: Sholapur, Dhule and Akola.

     

    Speaking at the launch, Harrish Bhatia, CEO, My FM said, “With the launch of these two new stations we are getting closer to consolidating our presence in Maharshtra and being seen as the largest network of real Maharashtra. Committed to our brand’s ideology, we will provide the best localised content in these regions and keep our listeners entertained.”

     

    My FM designed a high decibel pre-launch campaign as build up to the launch. The two-month campaign “AapkiMarzi” seeked public opinion of the city on how their own radio station should be in terms of Music, Humour, RJ Talk etc.

  • Appoints Atul Razdan, Nidhi Gulia and Sanil Suneja as National Programming Head, National Marketing Head and Regional Business Head (Delhi) respectively

    RBNL strengthens leadership team for Big FM

     

     

    Reliance Broadcast Network Limited has strengthened its core leadership team as it expands into the next phase of stations for Big FM.

     

    Atul Razdan, with over 14 years of experience in consumer insights, product development and communications joins RBNL as the National Programming Head. Nidhi Gulia, with over 13 years leading marketing communication for consumer facing online as well as lifestyle brands joins as National Marketing Head, and with over 12 years of business experience, Sanil Suneja takes charge as the Regional Business Head (Delhi). The three new appointees will drive new strategic initiatives as part of their respective roles, aligned to the key business goals of the organisation.

     

    Razdan, who has worked with scaled FMCG brands in the past, has worked with Hershey’s India and Cadbury India. Gulia, on the other hand, has previously worked with brands like Sodexo, Adidas, MakeMyTrip and Yahoo. Suneja meanwhile has had over a decade-long career at Asian Paints.

  • Strengthening the network's retro positioning, the content provides an energetic start to the day with music from the 70's to 90's

    Radio One acquires rights to air Big FM show in Ahmedabad

    By A Correspondent

     

    Radio One has acquired rights to air 92.7 Big FM’s  new show ‘Morning Cha with Manav Gohil’ for its Ahmedabad listeners. It will be aired from 7 to 9 am Monday to Friday.

     

    Said Rajeev Nair, FM 95 Radio One Station HeadL “We are glad to acquire the rights of 92.7 Big FM’s fresh new content ‘Morning Cha with Manav Gohil’. We aim to strengthen our retro positioning in the Ahmedabad market. This will take listeners back to the retro (1970s to 90s) era with heartwarming retro tracks. Through this acquisition, we hope to connect with a larger group of listeners, owing to warm tonality and entertainment quotient. We are positive that audiences will not only like ‘Morning Cha Manav Gohil’, but will also develop a special connect with it.”

     

    Speaking on his association with the radio show,  Gohil said “I have always been a huge fan of retro music, and it feels amazing to host my own show on FM 95 Radio One, the top retro channel of the wonderful city of Ahmedabad. My fans have always supported me throughout my journey, and with this new show, I look forward to continue getting the same support.”

     

  • It's World Radio Day, and despite the reach and vibrancy of the medium, it's considered unsafe for independent news + Comment by Sunil Kumar

    Does anyone care about radio?

     

    “Radio is a wonderful way to interact, learn & communicate. My own #MannKiBaat experience has connected me with people across India.” Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a huge thumbs up to the medium that is being celebrated across the world today. “Greetings on World Radio Day. I congratulate all radio lovers and those who work in the radio industry & keep the medium active & vibrant,” the PM tweeted earlier.

    Indeed it was the monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat’ airing soon after he assumed office that confirmed the reach, power and vibrancy of the medium. While television and the internet have assumed prominence, radio has been flourishing.

    In fact broadcasters are the biggest advertisers on radio, underscoring the fact that to be successful on telly, you can’t not be on radio.

    More Power to Radio on World Radio DayBy Sunil Kumar

    Today, the world has more radio than ever before. Almost every Feature Phone and an Android Smartphone offers local, analogue radio. (People the world over hate Apple not offering that on iPhones). So the number of people with personal access to radio in the world is pretty much uncountable. That aslo makes radio more intimate a medium than any other.

    There are more ‘radios’ than ever before, thanks to advances in engineering and technology. Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) has increased the number of local radio stations in many a country to a phenomenal number. As a matter of fact, Norway has shut down FM to optimise the use of available spectrum. Apps such as Tunein and Streema can get you a ‘local’ radio station from any part of the world to any other. And how can one miss the ‘radio’ button on any music streaming app – iTunes, Gaana, Wynk, Saavan.

    Live radio has far longer shelf life now by way of archives and Podcasts.

    Podcasting has meant emergence of thousands of listening communities, and they are largely about technology, news and current affairs, business, sports, literature, comedy, history, wellness, trivia, spirituality and so much else, not just music. That has made radio so much more democratic. Anyone can broadcast to anyone on this new form of radio. No regulation, no censorship, no major investment.

    Not to forget, India has more radio stations than ever before. We have 800 or so terrestrial stations in the country. We are going to have these many more in the next couple of years.

    All this means, people are consuming more radio than ever and advertisers are spending more money on it.

    Sunil Kumar is Managing Director of Big River Radio, a radio consulting firm; and Managing Partner of Blue Broadcast Systems, a company engaged in FM transmission infrastructure in the private sector. He moved from advertising to radio in 1993 and has since been actively evangelising the medium.

     

    On January 14, 2013, the United Nations General Assembly formally endorsed UNESCO’s proclamation of  World Radio Day. During its 67th Session, the UN General Assembly endorsed the resolution adopted during the 36th session of the UNESCO General Conference, proclaiming 13 February, the day United Nations Radio was established in 1946, as World Radio Day.World Radio Day is now in its 6th year and the 2017 edition being celebrated has seen UNESCO inviting radio stations and supporting organisations to join in to celebrate radio and how it helps shape our lives.

    In India, where some parts are media dark and literacy and income levels are low, radio plays a key role for information and entertainment.

    However, as Prime Minister greets us on World Radio Day, his government has done all that it could do to ensure the medium doesn’t stay active and vibrant.

    As per newspaper reports, the government has informed the Supreme Court that it is against permitting community and private FM radio stations to air news because of a “possible security ris.”

    Legal news portal quotes a Home Ministry Affidavit saying: “All these stations, channels are run mainly by NGO/other small organizations and private operators, several anti national radical elements within the country can misuse it for propagating their own agenda”.

    The apex court is is hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by NGO Common Cause in 2013, seeking a direction to the Centre to allow private radio stations and community radios to broadcast news, arguing that radio is a more accessible medium for the masses, particularly the poor, notes the LiveLaw.in report (http://www.livelaw.in/cant-allow-pvt-fm-stations-air-news-centre-sc/_). The NGO is being represented by noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan.

    “It is believed that news and current affairs, with their inherent capability to manipulate the minds of the people have been advisedly kept beyond the limits of private radio stations. Any shift in this policy would necessitate to an adherence adherence to a rigorous code of conduct; a proper monitoring mechanism and penal provisions of violation of such a broadcast code”, said the home ministry affidavit the report adds.

    India is perhaps the lone democracy where the dissemination of news and current affairs programmes on radio remains a monopoly of the Government-owned broadcaster, the PIL added as per the LiveLaw.in report.