MxMIndia

Tag: FM stations

  • According to Radio Establishment Survey 2011 findings, although the mother tongue of 51 per cent of FM device owners is Marathi, an overwhelming 80 per cent of them prefer Hindi music

    Will Marathi content be a shot in the arm for FM in Mumbai?

    By Robin Thomas

     

    What’s common between radio stations in Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolhapur, and Kochi? They give almost equal prominence to local music along with the Hindi or Bollywood songs. This is in direct contrast to the Mumbai market where FM stations mainly play Bollywood songs which are quite popular with the Mumbai listeners.

     

    According to RAM’s (Radio Audience Measurement), Radio Establishment Survey 2011 findings, although the mother tongue of 51 per cent of FM device owners in the city is Marathi, an overwhelming 80 per cent of them prefer Hindi music and RJ talks on radio. Nevertheless, the survey also revealed that as compared to 2007, the preference for music and RJ Talk in Marathi has witnessed an increase in 2011.

     

    It’s not that the all the FM stations in Mumbai have ignored the Marathi speaking audience. Big FM, Radio Mirchi and Radio City play Marathi songs, but only on Sundays and they are the only radio stations to do so.

     

    Big FM, for instance, has been airing Masala Chaha every Sundays between 7am to 9am since 2009, much before Raj Thackeray’s diktat to the radio stations to play Marathi music. But even then, a Big FM spokesperson was of the view that although there is a market for Marathi music, Mumbai being a cosmopolitan city, most Mumbaikars prefer listening to Bollywood music. “There is surely a market for Marathi music, given the high population of Marathi speaking public. However, Mumbai is a cosmopolitan city with a wide audience base, and a mass channel has to play the music that appeals the most… which is Hindi, a lot of it being Bollywood. Phase III will unleash the true potential of radio and will allow for more differentiation in content, along with newer genres and radio stations that will cater to a more specific audience base.”

     

    Radio Mirchi airs ‘Mumbai Dhol’ every Sunday, between 12 noon to 3pm, hosted by RJ Rohit. ‘Mumbai Dhol’ covers the culture of the city, the happenings and plays back to back Marathi music, contemporary and the classics.

     

    Indira Rangarajan, VP, Programming, West & Central, Radio Mirchi stated: “The response to our Marathi show – ‘Mumbai Dhol’ has been very good. Following the resurgence of Marathi films and music, we had decided to experiment with a slot specifically for Marathi songs and it has worked well. I believe there is plenty of scope for Marathi music in Mumbai and over the years this popularity will increase further.”

     

    RadioCitytoo plays Marathi retro songs every Sunday evening between 5pm to 6pm during ‘Sandhikali Aasha’, a radio programme hosted by RJ Vishaka.

     

    After looking at the Marathi content being offered by these three stations, one wonders if there scope for more Marathi content on Mumbai radio stations? Or will the Marathi music lovers have to wait a little longer for a radio station that caters to their tastes?

     

    Unlike the private radio stations, the government-owned FM stations, AIR FM2 Gold and AIR FM1 Rainbow, play a mix of Hindi and Marathi songs every day. The private radio stations would do well to take a lesson from these government-owned radio stations.

     

    Naval Toshniwal, CEO, Tomato FM, a Kolhapur-based FM radio station, was also of the view that although the potential for Marathi music is huge, Mumbai being a cosmopolitan city will play more Hindi or Bollywood songs. “Yes, there is a huge scope for Marathi music in Mumbai. However, no private FM station would want to play only Marathi music, it will have to play Bollywood or Hindi songs too because of the cosmopolitan listenership. Looking at the current FM scenario where every station sounds the same, I believe that a radio station which plays a little more Marathi music will create some amount of differentiation in the market.”

     

    FM stations in the city play Marathi hit songs during prime-time, especially on occasions like Maharashtra Day or Gudi Padwa. For instance, Big FM Mumbai will be playing Marathi songs during the breakfast show from March 19 to March 23, celebrating the occasion of Gudi Padwa.

     

    According to Janardhan Pandey, Associate VP, Mudra Max: “Although the market may not be big, the potential for Marathi listenership is huge in Mumbai. The issue, however, is that there has not been any serious attempt by FM stations to woo the Marathi listeners. Awareness about Marathi programmes aired on radio stations seem to be non-existent, the Marathi programmes or music are played during mostly non-prime time. However unless a FM station does not aggressively promote its Marathi programmes, and plays Marathi songs more frequently, it will neither add new listeners nor will it attract new advertisers. There are a lot of retail advertisers in the city catering to the Marathi audience.” Ajay Rao, Vice President, Dentsu stated: “There is a huge scope for Marathi listenership in Mumbai as Marathi generates high level of passion.”

     

    The good news is that increase in the frequency of Marathi music on radio stations could mean attracting new listeners to radio, and perhaps even new advertisers. Moreover, multiple frequencies may bring some good news to the Marathi music lovers as it will bring new genres of radio stations.

     

  • Most big advertisers are shifting their focus beyond metros, particularly towards the rural markets, where radio is seen as delivering better ROIs.

    FM players expect boom in small-town India

     

    By Robin Thomas

     

    Radio has come a long way since the transistor era. Today, listeners have multiple access to FM radio through mobile phones, in-car listenership, particularly during drive time, restaurants, coffee shops and public transport to name a few, an FM radio phenomenon that’s peculiar to urban India.

     

    In addition to this, FM stations are said to earn huge chunk of their advertising revenues from the metros. But all this could change with the soon-to-be-launched Phase 3 that will witness the addition of 839 FM stations in nearly 300 new cities having a population of one lakh and above. This is expected to further increase the reach of private FM stations across the country, which, in turn, will lead to a spike in the advertising share of the medium.

     

    While the metros are saturated with radio players and with advertisers looking for options to widen their nets, industry observers are of the view that the next phase of growth in FM radio will come from the tier 2 and tier 3 cities. This phenomenon, they say, will explode in a big way once Phase 3 becomes a reality.

     

    But before one proceeds to identify how lucrative these markets could turn out to be, it would be ideal to verify the effectiveness that radio stations at these small cities and towns display and whether they carry a certain edge over the other sought-after mediums, television and print, in these markets?

     

    MxMIndia spoke to various industry players, including media agencies, to find out their views on the effectiveness of FM radio in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

     

    Most industry players are of the view that time spent on radio in small towns and cities is much more than in metros like Mumbai and Delhi. Besides, most of the non-metros are said to face a lot of power cuts, hence more time is spent on listening to radio, which becomes an alternative source of entertainment and information.

     

    “Radio is extremely effective in Tier 2 and 3 cities. In the smaller towns, the share of radio is higher than what it is in the bigger towns. In some markets, the share of radio is as high as 20 per cent of the print market. This is a reflection of the effectiveness of radio” said Prashant Panday, CEO, Radio Mirchi.

     

    With such effectiveness in the smaller towns and cities, most big advertisers these days are shifting their focus beyond metros, particularly towards the rural markets. Radio is believed to play an effective and constructive role in delivering better ROIs (Return on Investment) for brands in these markets, particularly as other mediums are either too expensive or do not provide good reach.

     

    “Since the level of activity in these markets is lower than in metros, people have more time to spend with themselves. This is where radio fills the gap. An increase in number of FM-enabled handsets has further increased the consumption of radio,” pointed out Harrish M Bhatia, CEO, MY FM.

     

    “Radio measurement surveys conducted by RAM have proved that the average time spent listening to radio per day is 244 minutes in Nagpur and 206 minutes in Jaipur as compared to 127 minutes in Mumbai and 124 minutes in Delhi (Source: RAM Sweeps 1.0),” he added.

     

    According to Narendra Kumar Alambara, Vice President, Starcom Mediavest Group, Chennai, both retail and national brands will gain by using radio in the smaller markets. While retail will be able to gauge the efficacy of the medium in the market, national brands will be able to tap into these markets with more focus. “Radio is as good as any medium in smaller towns. Given the smaller geographies and the relative newness of FM in these markets, it has that edge, but ultimately the medium has to transcend from being just an entertainment/information media into being a medium that can deliver results for the brand.”

     

    While national advertisers are increasingly flocking to the tier 2 and tier 3 markets, local advertisers such as retail outlets, education institutes, real estate, auto outlets and others are also said to be increasingly advertising on radio. While metros may bring a significant chunk of revenues for larger FM stations, it is learnt that the advertising revenues from tier 2 and tier 3 markets are growing significantly year on year.

     

    The challenges, too, are many for FM radio in these growth markets. The challenges relate to filling up the entire available inventory. Local businesses are not strong enough to fill it up. So radio stations have to rely heavily on business from national clients. Apart from this, for some stations there is the constant battle to keep profitability intact.

     

    R Venkata Subramanian, Senior Director-Investments, MPG India noted: “The is no strong local media in many of these tier 2 and 3 cities, and this is where radio has the potential to be a highly effective and reach building medium. The challenges, however, include the emotional connect with the RJs and how effective the FM station actually is. There is a need for better radio commercials. One other challenge for the radio industry in these markets is the lack of a good credible measurement system, which will measure the effectiveness of radio commercials and listenership.”

     

    But a Big FM spokesperson countered: “The radio, as a medium, enjoys much higher visibility and it is the only medium that people can relate to as it is customized to those markets and hence it will have a much better appeal.”

     

    Nowadays, a lot of advertisers use television and print as a lead reach medium whereas radio is used as an amplifying medium. Industry observers are of the view that after Phase III expansion, radio is likely to be seen by advertisers and marketers as a reach medium, especially for the national advertisers. As a result more advertisers are likely to use radio-led advertisements instead of using it just a complementary advertisement medium.

     

    But Mr Alambara is of the opinion that most FM station in the markets have not been able to create and sustain a distinct local identity while maintaining their overall brand persona. “Media brands work best when they can relate to, and bond with, the local populace seamlessly,” he said.

     

    But the real magic of FM radio, its reach, effectiveness in metros, mini metros and rural markets is likely to be seen only after the launch of FM Phase III. As of now, the cities which do not have private FM radio are eagerly waiting to experience the medium.

     

    Big story image from Clipart, Microsoft Word

     

  • Phase III will open up a lot of job opportunities. Multiple licensing, news and networking will open up jobs, feels Rana Barua

    5 reasons why Phase III is vital for FM radio growth

    By Rana Barua

     

    1. More reach:

    The reach of radio will further increase with an additional 839 new FM stations in more than 200 new cities. Thus the medium will become even more effective and the opportunity will also be huge for the advertisers, especially because of radio’s reach in even the tier 2 and 3 cities.

     

    2. News in FM radio as a revenue stream:

    News on FM radio, in whatever form, will open up newer revenue streams if packaged well. The industry, for long, has been waiting for news to be allowed on radio. It will therefore be interesting, especially from the listeners as well as the advertisers’ point of view.

     

    3. Multiple Frequencies to create new genres:

    Multiple licensing, especially in larger cities, will bring new genres to radio. Larger stations, for instance, may want to create another genre of station, perhaps in a different language or a completely different programming category altogether. This will be another interesting facet for the advertisers and listeners.

     

    4. Networking will be allowed:

    Networking will bring down cost and thus play a critical role in radio’s growth. It will streamline a lot of cost of being in radio. Allowing networking means one will be allowed to run the FM station sitting out of a main hub; as a result the cost may come down.

     

    5. Create job opportunities:

    Phase III will open up a lot of job opportunities. Multiple licensing, news and networking will open up jobs. Therefore FM phase III will bring a lot more excitement as well as opportunities, thereby bringing in more talents, and genres.

     

    Rana Barua is veteran media professional, a former COO, Red FM and an advocate of radio