The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : BIG to hit airwaves soon

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Thursday, Sep 21, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

BIG to hit airwaves soon

Susan Muthalaly

Content will include a balance of music and entertainment

CHENNAI: Personality is big at BIG.

The new radio channel by Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group's Adlabs Radio, BIG 92.7 FM, hits the airwaves next week. Programme manager Harish Kumar says that each of their eight radio jockeys (RJs) has a "unique personality", so each should hit home with the audience somewhere.

The RJs were chosen from an original screening of 3,000 people, of which 300 were chosen to audition. They include established names in the radio industry such as Balaji and Dheena, and television personality Uma Riyaz. The others are Gopi, Krithika, Nelson, Ophelia and Kanmani.

The brand, BIG, will be launched in 45 cities and towns in a phased manner over the next six months, with the stress on `keeping it local.' The Chennai station will be exclusively in Tamil. Although it is new to the radio-listening population, Mr. Kumar is convinced that they will have the listeners cooing to their tunes because of their superior equipment and infrastructure. But mostly, it's about the RJs.

"We have hired people from different backgrounds who will be familiar with different facets of the city — normal, simple, relatable people. City mapping was part of their training," said Mr. Kumar. City mapping is an exercise where the RJs were pushed to discover their city. They had to experience parts that they were not familiar with, take a bus, an autorickshaw, a train. RJ Krithika says that she found out how beautiful Old Mahabalipuram Road was only recently, as previously, it was out of her realm.

`Focus on credibility'

The idea is that if a caller says he is from Perambur, the jockey should be familiar enough with the place to carry out an informed conversation with the caller. "We are focussing on credibility," says Mr. Kumar.

The marketing team has been keeping a low profile, but soon, teasers will be put up across the city. The content will include a balance of music and entertainment such as interviews and talk shows. "But, we don't want to be known as a station that talks too much," says Mr. Kumar.

With the airwaves wide open, and at least four more channels expected in the next year, it will be interesting to note how each station creates a niche. BIG, as the first of the new entrants, intends to lead the way.

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