MxMIndia

Category: RADIO

  • The station to feature evergreen songs from retro hit makers like Ilaiyaraaja, Raj-Koti, M.M. Keeravani and A.R. Rahman

    Magic 106.4 FM to focus on retro in Hyderabad

    By A Correspondent

     

    Magic 106.4 FM has been launched in Hyderabad to connect listeners with popular songs from evergreen composers like Ilaiyaraaja and A.R. Rahman being the be the staple on the station.

     

    Said B Surendar, COO, Red FM network: “Magic 106.4 FM is our answer to people’s hectic lives – a window of opportunity to get lost in the yesteryears, which was free from stress and more care-free. The people of that era still reminisce the culture and lifestyle of that time, and the music and movies of those days hold a special place in their hearts. Our network has constantly strived to bring newer content formats to the masses, a fact which is deeply imbibed in the network’s DNA. We believe Magic 106.4 FM fits the bill perfectly of being a platform to relive the nostalgic 80s and 90s era and let listeners enjoy a spark of magic in their daily lives today. We would like to bring forth more mesmerising situations in the hearts and minds of our consumers through Magic 106.4 FM and trigger an unconditional sense of joy allowing listeners to Vintoo Maimarachipodaam!”

     

     

  • The event was organised with the Kozhikode District Sports Council and Universal Soccer Academy

    Club FM 104.8 hosts Futsal National Championship

    By A Correspondent

     

    The residents of Calicut city were spectators to the National Championship of Futsal conducted by FM 104.8. This was Kerala’s first ever National Futsal Championship at Calicut Indoor stadium. Renowned footballer Sandhesh Jhingan was the brand ambassador for the championship which was organised with the Kozhikode District Sports Council and Universal Soccer Academy.

     

    The official prize distribution ceremony was attended by Minister of Labour & Excise T P Ramakrishnan, MLA Calicut, A Pradeep, Kozhikode District Collector U B Jose and Managing Editor of Mathrubhumi Group P V Gangadharan.

     

    Speaking on this occasion, Mayura Shreyams Kumar, Program Head, Club FM Calicut said: “It has been an amazing experience overall, football has a huge, fervent following in Kerala where love for the sports is passed on from one generation to the next. I’m glad that we could provide a platform for our little champions to showcase their skills and of course our premier players as well.”

     

     

  • 10-day special feature stories of legendary authors

    My FM unveils story festival on ‘Zindagi Express Show’

    By A Correspondent

     

    FM station network My FM has introduced a 10-day story festival which will feature stories of some of the legendary authors. The story will be narrated by RJ Aarti and will be broadcast across Gujarat from 9pm onwards every weekday.

     

    The story festival will feature the works of authors such as Rabindranath Tagore, Prem Chand, Amrita Pritam, R K Narayan and many more. Every day one of the legends story will be featured in the show.

     

    Commenting on the initiative, Rahul Namjoshi, Business Head, My FM said:“Our show Zindagi express has been getting outstanding response in Gujarat. This festival is an attempt to offer differentiated content and a unique listening experience to our listeners. Looking forward for an intriguing response.”

     

    Speaking on the initiative, Vinay Manek, National Programming Head, My FM added: “The idea behind doing this was to being alive the art of storytelling which is an integral part of entertainment in India. With the current lifestyle of people who are either continuously busy on their watsapp or who have becoming couch potatoes, the art of storytelling has gone missing. With our small effort we hope to revive the lost love on the art of storytelling.”

     

     

  • Prior to joining Magic 106.4FM, Apeksha served a stint at Amazon Bangalore

    Magic 106.4 FM appoints Apeksha Mehta Station Head

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mumbai’s newest radio station, Magic 106.4 FM has appointed Apeksha Mehta as the station head.

     

    Prior to joining Magic 106.4FM, Mehta served a stint at Amazon Bangalore, where she was working with the Amazon Seller Services team and took care of Marketing, PR and special projects for Amazon Sellers.

     

    Commenting on her new role at Magic, Mehta said: “I am very excited to head the station for Magic 106.4 FM. For me this switch acts as a catalyst for change in my career graph. It is a young brand and given my experience in entertainment with television previously I look forward to working with radio now. Magic is a promising brand and there is a lot of creativity that can be explored to reach our listener base. With the brand proposition of ‘Jee Le Zara’ there is a lot we have in store for the station and I cannot wait to get started on making this brand a successful one.”

     

     

  • The event was attended by film director and actor Farhan Akhtar

    Mirch goes Kool 104 with all-English radio in Hyderabad

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kool 104, Hyderabad’s first international radio station, announced its launch in the city at an event that was attended by film director and actor Farhan Akhtar. The launch event saw Farhan take to the stage to unveil the logo of Kool 104 in front of the audience.

     

    Said Tapas Sen, Chief Programming Officer, ENIL: “We are very happy to be launching an international radio station in Hyderabad. With this new station, we now cover all three languages in the city, Telugu with Mirchi 98.3, Hindi with Mirchi 95 and English with Kool 104. As with all our stations, the product was devised after a lot of research and we hope that people love the content on Kool as much as we loved coming up with it!”

     

     

  • As part of the expansion, Mirchi is entering six new cities including Bharuch, Junagadh, Jamnagar, Palanpur, Mehsana and Bhavnagar

    Radio Mirchi expands across Gujarat with six new stations

    By A Correspondent

     

    Radio Mirchi kicked off its expansion in Gujarat with the first new station in Bharuch, inaugurated by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Vijay Rupani. Mirchi already has six stations in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot (including Mirchi Love). As part of the expansion, Mirchi is entering six new cities including Bharuch, Junagadh, Jamnagar, Palanpur, Mehsana and Bhavnagar.

     

    Said Bithindra Biswas, Cluster Head – Gujarat, Radio Mirchi: “We are extremely happy to be expanding into so many new cities. With the launch of Bharuch and the upcoming five more locations, we will be present in 10 cities across the state! We always strive to provide the best content everywhere we go and this is our plan for these new cities as well. We hope the audience enjoys what we put on-air as much as we enjoyed devising it!”

     

     

  • Abraham Thomas is moving on from the company to pursue other business interests

    Ashit Kukian takes over as CEO of Radio City

    By A Correspondent

     

    Ashit Kukian has taken charge as CEO of Radio City. This follows the exit to Abraham Thomas who has moved on to pursue other business interests.

     

    Kukian was the COO of the company till 2015. And has previously worked with various organisations including Berger Paints, Garnier, Johnson and Johnson etc. He will report to Apurva Purohit, Director and Mentor of the Company.

     

     

  • A look at the MIB-commissioned study on listenership, reach and effectiveness of community radio in India

    So how is Community Radio doing?

     

    Executive summary extracted from: https://mib.gov.in/sites/default/files/AMS%20Report%20on%20CRS.pdf

     

    Community radio stations (CRSs) are an important part of the media landscape in many countries. They make up one part of a three-tier system of radio, the other parts being public and commercial radio.

     

    They were set up to provide a platform for communities to communicate between themselves and with their governments without interference. In many ways the sector entrenches the democratic process in which freedom of communication and speech plays a central role.

     

    Wealthy sectors of the society have many media choices but community radio stations often represent the only space where poorer communities can discuss the issues that affect them. Community radio has been defined in multiple ways by scholars and media institutions. Tabing (2002)1 , defines community radio as “one that is operated in the community, for the community, about the community, and by the community”. According to the author, ‘the community can be territorial, or geographical-a township, village, district or island and can also be a group of people with common interests who are not necessarily living in one defined territory’.

     

    Hence, it has been built around the ideals of access and participation. Run by locals with active participation of community to serve local audience, community radio stations have the distinct advantage of offering their listeners a variety of content that is usually neglected by the largescale commercial radio stations.

     

    Various definitions and legislation with respect to community radio have included phrases such as “social benefit”, “social objectives” and “social gain” as important aspects of radio. Realizing the vast potential of CRS as an instrument for positive social change and as a tool for community empowerment, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) seeks to assess the extent to which these stations have been delivering the desired benefits to the community.

     

    In this context, the Ministry has mandated the conduct of a study to assess the listenership, reach and effectiveness of CRS in India by way of tangible and intangible, direct or indirect benefits to the community. Academy of Management Studies (AMS) has been commissioned by the MoIB to undertake this study. This report documents the key findings of the study which can be used to design future initiatives and strengthen the CRSs of India.

     

    The full report can be accessed at: https://mib.gov.in/sites/default/files/AMS%20Report%20on%20CRS.pdf

     

     

  • The medium will continue to strike the right note with Indian audiences for years to come, writes Big FM CFO Asheesh Chatterjee

    Radio wah-wah

     

    By Asheesh Chatterjee [updated]

     

    With the advent of the digital era, various traditional mediums underwent an overhaul to stay relevant and appeal to the evolving needs and preferences of the audience. Similarly, radio also underwent a transformation of sorts, staying ahead of the curve by not only delivering quality, innovative and engaging content, but also extending itself into the digital universe.  According to IRS 2017, a study on the media usage in India, radio comes out to be a highly penetrated medium.

    Indian audience has a plethora of information consumption options including Print, Radio, TV, Digital etc. With each medium seeking the larger piece of the pie, it makes for great introspection as to what makes this traditional medium a powerful and influential one even today.

    Radio as a medium

    In an evolved and a technology-driven country where a major chunk of content is being consumed on the digital medium today, the proliferation of internet comparatively is still at a nascent stage. In terms of penetration, while the comparison between internet and radio is similar in the urban markets, radio outshines internet in the semi urban and rural markets. Only 35% of our population has access to the internet as compared to broadcast radio which has access to  99% of the Indian population. Major parts of rural India, where internet broadband penetration still hasn’t made inroads, continue to rely overwhelmingly on radio for information. The medium being cheaper than a mobile phone or a television and also being portable, adds to its massive utility in these areas.

    Delivering Platform agnostic content

    By adopting newer technologies, radio has emerged stronger over time and has broken its limitation of being just a medium restricted to delivering content on-air. Today radio networks are curating platform-agnostic content which amplifies the reach over and above the existing large radio universe. This content is seamlessly showcased across multiple platforms including radio, digital, print, etc. to reinforce the message surrounding the campaign. Big radio players have set up in-house content studios and dedicated content platforms along with celebs associations for delivering clutter-breaking content.

    Communication mode like no other

    Low production costs have proven to be an added advantage to radio advertising. The cost of developing content on radio is far more economical and flexible as compared to other mediums. While we believe the young generation consumes content digitally, radio has proven to be the most valuable medium of advertising in reaching out to wider age group effectively. After print, radio has the second-highest ad-attention rate and is followed by Television and streaming services. Having the potential to place a company’s communication message in front of a consumer for 30- 60 seconds is a gold mine compared to the few seconds that the average web browser has to offer.

    Hyper Localisation is the key

    The message conveyed through customisation and localisation of content provides radio with an additional advantage as compared to its peers. Radio helps capture all the local tastes, preferences, festivals, languages, local events etc. Providing an unparallel connect till the last mile. RJs become the local influencers and represent the voice of the communities and brings alive the spirit of the city

    Promising signs for the future of radio

    The radio sector will make rapid strides through increasing investments, which will propel the number of coverage areas, increase communication to the masses and give them an easier ace

    ss to credible information and quality entertainment. Primarily being an audio medium, the quality of the offerings on radio will continue to rise. With breakthrough content coming out each day that is resonating with its listeners, radio shall continue to strike the right note with the Indian audience for years to come.

     

    Asheesh Chatterjee is Chief Financial Officer, Big FM

  • Automated self-service portal ‘BuyAdsOnBigFM.com’ for customers to requests for jingles, plan media, place order and pay online

    Now, book ads the easy way with ‘BuyAdsOnBigFM.com’

    By A Correspondent

     

    Big FM has launched ‘BuyAdsOnBigFM.com’, enabling the long tail, retail SMEs and entrepreneurs to conveniently advertise with the radio station network. Apart from booking ads, the platform also offers a dashboard for ad rates, invoices and broadcast certificates and online payment options. ‘BuyAdsOnBigFM.com’ app will soon be available on IOS and Android platforms.

     

    Additionally, BIG FM shall be providing access to a 24/7 call centre and chat bots to address any incoming queries on ‘BuyAdsOnBigFM.com’. BIG FM will also appoint direct selling agents, to on board advertisers for a frictionless experience.

     

    Asheesh Chatterjee

    Speaking about the development, Asheesh Chatterjee, CFO, Big FM said: “Big FM is proud to launch ‘BuyAdsOnBigFM.com’, which will allow our advertisers and agencies to request for jingles, buy ad inventory and pay online. ‘BuyAdsOnBigFM.com’ is a part of our digital transformation journey which will significantly enhance customer service and showcase transparency. The advertisers will also be able to avail exclusive special loyalty and festive offers.”

     

     

  • The account will operate out of the agency’s Mumbai office

    Dentsu Webchutney bags digital mandate for Big FM

    By A Correspondent

     

    Dentsu Webchutney has bagged the digital duties for Big FM. The account will operate out of the agency’s Mumbai office.

     

    On the new alliance, Manoj Lalwani, Marketing Head, Big FM said: “Radio by its very nature is quite similar to digital. Both allow for interaction and a dialogue with people so going whole hog with digital is a natural extension of our brand strategy. Dentsu Webchutney is known for its out of the box thinking and we believe that their digital expertise and their understanding of platforms and culture will really do wonders for Big FM.”

     

    Added Harsh Shah, Vice President, Dentsu Webchutney: “Big FM, with its wide network, is a content gold mine. When it comes to digital, nothing works better than content that is compelling, memorable and social. We’re very excited to see how such diverse content from Big FM can be put into play. We have some very interesting ideas lined up and can’t wait to put them into motion.”

     

  • The listener connect campaign,seeks inputs on the content and choices of the people of Maharashtra

    My FM connects with Maharashtra listeners to check on their ‘Marzi’

    By A Correspondent

     

    My FM has launched the ‘Marzi’ campaign that will reach out to people in the cities of Aurangabad, Nashik, Jalgaon, Solapur, Ahmednagar, Sangli, Nanded, Dhule and Akola.

     

    Commenting on the campaign, Rahul Namjoshi, Business Head, My FM, said: “When we launched, we had committed to our listeners with a promise that radio in Maharashtra will be as per the “Marzi” of people in Maharashtra. Continuing on with the promise, we want to once again take another step in identifying the needs and the expectations from radio and keep up with the promise and the tradition. Maharashtra is our largest network and a key focus for us, basis the inputs from the connect campaign we will further align our content to give a truly world class Marathi Radio.”

     

    The campaign will reach out to people through radio, print, digital and mobile marketing. People can share their preferences by filling up the survey on the microsite or drop in duly filled survey form printed in Divya Marathi at My FM offices across various markets.