[cr-india] ‘Radio needs evangelists and believers if it has to grow’

[sakthi vel]

‘Radio needs evangelists and believers if it has to
grow’ 

The India Radio Forum 2008 held on May 30 saw the
entire radio fraternity share the same platform. While
many supported the multiple frequencies, they felt
that unless the internal issues of radio were
resolved, the multiple frequencies would only harm the
industry. 

This is the seventh year of privatisation of the radio
industry in India and second year of Phase II of FM
expansion. The revenue is already growing at 40 per
cent, which is by far higher than any other medium,
say radio experts. They also reiterated that radio had
the highest penetration in the country with FM
stations penetrating 70 per cent of the market
covering 68 per cent of the urban population. 

However, despite these impressive figures, there was
concern that advertising in radio was a mere 3 per
cent. 

The opening session at the India Radio Forum 2008 was
moderated by Atul Phadnis, CEO, Media E2E, while the
panellists included Abraham Thomas, COO Red FM; Apurva
Purohit, CEO, Radio City; M Sebastian, MD, WorldSpace
Satellite Radio; Prashant Panday, CEO, Radio Mirchi;
Tarun Katial, COO, Big FM; Vineet Singh Hukmani, CEO,
Radio One; and Anil Srivatsa, COO, Radio Today. 

Apurva Purohit observed, “Radio reach is second only
to television in India, and has the least ad avoidance
compared to any medium, including new media. Even IPL,
which had disrupted the GEC ratings, had no impact on
radio.” 

However, advertising on radio remained low, she said,
citing factors like restrictive Government policies,
no networking, no news, limited FDI and no multiple
licensing as reasons for this low advertising. 

Blaming the radio industry for all the flaws, Purohit
said, “Radio needs evangelists and believers if it has
to grow.” 

Tarun Katial flayed the industry for not investing in
people and entering the advertising business with
dollars in their eyes, therefore, lacking leadership. 

What lies ahead?

According to Prashant Panday, “TRAI recommendations
are good as they address the core issues that will
help the industry grow further.” He added that TRAI
had taken the right step by supporting multi
licensing. 

Katial felt that radio stations needed to look at
their current frequencies and consider some serious
consolidations. He said, “Radio needs and should get
new frequencies.” 

Vineet Singh Hukmani said, “We need to invest in the
genre. We are afraid to take risks and that’s the
problem. Look at KBC or IPL, they are such innovative
shows and were big risks, which eventually saw
success. Radio as a medium is growing faster than
anyone else, so we should ask the Government why
television is given all the benefits. It needs a level
playing field.” 

Abraham Thomas, too, felt that radio as a medium
should be allowed to grow. He added, “In a lot of
markets, the small players in the industry don’t have
the revenues. This must change.” 

Refuting assumptions that satellite radio didn’t see
eye to eye with FM stations M Sebastian said, “We love
you, and look forward to business proposals with the
FM channels”. 

Does RAM really help? 

Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) came under the
scanner in the second session of the morning. The
session was moderated by Praveen Tripathy, CEO, Hansa
Consulting, while the panellists included Anuj Singh,
National Marketing Head, Red FM; LV Krishnan, CEO, TAM
Media Research (India); Mallikarjun Das, Director,
Madison Media Research Centre; and Tina Singh, Head -
Corporate Brand, ICICI. 

Praveen Tripathy kicked off the session with the
crucial question – how much does RAM help in selling
the medium? 

To this, Anuj Singh replied, “We are in the business
of selling to the audience as a broadcaster. RAM has
been widely accepted by broadcasters and clients
alike. RAM has become a win-win situation for the
radio industry.” Speaking on the measurement service,
he said, “Treatment of the content makes the show
attractive, and this is what each station is doing.
Sadly, you can’t measure a small quantity. Comparing
radio with television, Singh said, “Television, too,
has several channels, which have viewer loyality. How
each station treats its loyal listeners makes the
difference.” 

According to LV Krishnan, “Migration of audience must
be made resourceful. The audience just wants
entertainment, and it could be either in the form of
RJs or through music alone.” Regarding news and
current affairs in FM stations, he said, “85 per cent
of the listeners are at home, so, if you’re giving
news to the listeners they’d better switch on their
television sets.” 

Commenting on whether radio helped brands grow, Tina
Singh said, “Radio does help brands grow as compared
to other mediums.” Citing the example of ICICI’s
Raksha Bandhan campaign, Singh said that the company
had run advertisements on various FM stations and
spent huge amount on the ads, thus witnessing growth
in the sales. 

Summing up the discussion, Tripathy said, “At present,
RAM is evolving and radio works well for some brands,
while not as effective as others, Radio stations are
using these data to create better programming.”

http://www.exchange4media.com/e4m/Radio/RadioNews.asp?section_id=7&news_id=31165&tag=26075&pict=8

///////////////////////
For Contact: Jaisakthivel,59,Annai Sathya Nagar,
             Arumbakkam,Chennai-600106,India 
Visit: www.dxersguide.blogspot.com
       www.sarvadesavaanoli.blogspot.com
Join: www.groups.yahoo.com/group/sarvadesavanoli
Mobile: +91 98413 66086
///////////////////////


      Connect with friends all over the world. Get Yahoo! India Messenger at http://in.messenger.yahoo.com/?wm=n/