The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : FM radio on a roll in the twin cities

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 17, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

FM radio on a roll in the twin cities

Staff Reporter

With a hunger for infotainment among the young, medium is going places

Advertisers see a golden opportunity in FM radio
Constant innovation attracts the listeners

HYDERABAD: Every night as M.Suresh drives back home to Secunderabad from Hitech City, he is invariably stuck in a traffic jam, adding to his stress. But for a year and half, he has a new companion, his car radio. With a variety of FM stations to choose from, Suresh is happy. “I forget about the traffic as I tune in,” he says.

With its popularity going up and its ability to reach out to a larger audience, advertisers see a golden opportunity in FM radio. “Earlier, the ads were limited to just fans or schools, but now even big businesses like car manufacturers, cell phone companies and food joints have cashed in on the popularity. And the best part is that the ads are any day cheaper,” says R.Kiran Kumar, who works for an ad agency.

“Not all of us can afford an iPod or an Mp3 player, but most of us can afford a radio,” says Vijaykarthik, a B.Com student. Late night shows such as ‘Big Back to Back’ and ‘Love Guru’ are quite popular too. ‘Love Guru’, a popular show aired by Radio City 91.1 FM, is graphic designer D.Ravi Kumar’s staple diet. “I like the show as the Radio Jockey (RJ) offers good advice apart from playing good songs,” he says.

Constant innovation is the mantra to attract listeners says Swapna Ashok, Regional Programming Head, Big 92.7 FM. “A blend of information and entertainment, that’s what the listener is looking for,” she says.

Interactive shows rule

Most youngsters are attracted to interactive shows. M.Lalitha says she is a big fan of ‘Time-pass with Raj’ in Big FM. Others like G.Swetha, a software engineer, doesn’t find the one hour travel from home to office long, thanks to ‘City lo Vamsi’, a show aired by Radio Mirchi.

However some others like V.Nagarajan, a retired officer, prefers good old All India Radio to the neo-FM Stations. “The presenters just talk and hardly play songs,” he complains. Not just Nagarajan, many listeners find the constant banter an irritation. “We have laid down strict rules for the amount of talk that can be allowed in a show,” says Ashwin Padmanabhan, Cluster Director, Big FM.

Career option

Radio is now looked upon as a popular career choice by many youngsters. RJ Rahul of Rainbow FM feels that movies like ‘Lage Raho Munnabhai’ and ‘Salaam Namaste’ have glamorised the job. “These movies have added the cool factor to being a radio jockey,” he says.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh