Radio City now in the 'pink city'

Music Broadcast Pvt. Ltd (MBPL) , which owns Radio City, has launched its seventh radio station in Jaipur. This is Radio City’s third station to be launched in the second phase of the FM radio licensing, at a fee of Rs 3 crore.

The frequency from which it will beamed in Jaipur is 91.1FM, which is close to the 91FM used in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. While in Lucknow it is available on 104.8FM, it is heard on 106.4FM in Hyderabad and 105.8FM in Chennai.

In-depth research by industry experts has helped fine-tune the programming according to listeners’ tastes and preferences. As a result, an array of customised programmes has been worked out to bring out the local flavour in radio as a medium. It will cater to students, housewives, working people and more, ultimately delivering audiences that matter to advertisers while also getting a good bargain for advertisers’ money.

In the first week of its launch, Radio City will air exclusive interviews with various celebrities, thus hoping to drive in the initial set of listeners. The Jaipur station will repeat the success formula that has worked for it in other locations. Programmes aired across Radio City networks will be aired while it is confirmed that, as of now, there will be no programming content based on local and folk music. The tagline is same again – ‘Life ki Dhun Gungunao, City Mein Kho Jao’.

Some of the shows on air are ‘Rang De Gulabi’, ‘Humdum Suniyo Re’, ‘Taak Dhinak Dhin’ and ‘'Mangta Hai Kya’. The programming mix covers genres like romance, comedy, josh, fantasy, novelty and masti – something to please everyone, in every mood. Besides, the other attractions are popular RJ Roshan Abbas with ‘Filmcity Express’, ‘Meri Kahani’ – a celebrity audio-biographical programme about legends – ‘Love Guru’ and ‘Maya’.

According to NRS 2006, Radio City has a consolidated listenership of 13.4 million in the cities of Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. In the pink city, competition is red hot in the radio scene with players like ENIL’s Radio Mirchi (April 17), Bhaskar Group’s My FM (May 28) and the ‘Rajasthan Patrika’ 95 FM Tadka (August 15). The Sun Group is also expected to soon come up with its radio venture.

It will be worth the wait to see these players compete in a predominantly Hindi-speaking belt. Also, it will take a while to break the clout enjoyed by the radio channels backed by dailies like ‘Dainik Bhaskar’ and ‘Rajasthan Patrika’ in the region.

Currently, Radio City is present in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Lucknow and, of late, Hyderabad and Chennai. In the second phase of FM radio expansion, Radio City bagged licences to operate in 16 cities. Soon, it will gain entry into Ahmedabad, Ahmednagar, Akola, Coimbatore, Jalgaon, Nagpur, Nanded, Pune, Sangli, Solapur, Surat, Vadodara and Visakhapatnam.

Radio City boasts of a mass-appeal and innovative programming line-up, enthusiastic RJs and technical expertise. The radio channel is also known for its strong advertising messages, like Radio Rocks (in association with agencyfaqs! and ‘The Brand Reporter’) and Radioactive.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!