"Non-music content is the only differentiator for radio": Nisha Narayanan

Rediscovering radio with Red FM and Magic FM's COO & director

What does radio give you that no other medium, app or platform can? That’s what afaqs! Reporter tried to find out this fortnight, through a freewheeling interview with Nisha Narayanan, COO and director, Red FM and Magic FM, a former radio jokey with All India Radio (AIR), who now heads a radio business and is also actively trying to bring about positive change in this space.

In fact, Narayanan started her career as an AIR RJ close to 25 years ago. After joining Red FM 14 years back, she was tasked with setting up the brand’s stations across the country. Today, the brand is present across 68 cities, with the latest addition being Agartala. Narayanan also heads the committee within the AROI (Association of Radio Operators for India) that’s working towards the creation of a unified measurement system to quantify the reach of radio.

But first, a quick look at the landscape: India’s radio industry is valued at ₹3,130 crore (EY-FICCI report, March 2019) of which private FM accounts for ₹2,400 crore. However, the overall share of this medium (that covers 52 per cent of the population) in the advertising pie (4.2 per cent) has stagnated over the last several years, due to a host of issues like lack of measurement, policies and a steady onslaught of digital platforms. All of this is compelling radio brands like Radio Mirchi – 98.3 FM, Red FM – 93.5, Radio City – 91.1 FM, and My FM – 94.3 FM to reinvent and scout newer geographies.

From the early 1900s till 1999, the only radio channel in India was AIR. Then, in 1999, the government began auctioning frequencies and radio was privatised. The growth of FM radio in India can be broadly divided into ‘phases’ I (1999), II (2005) and III (ongoing). Phase I added 21 private FM radio channels and 221 channels were added in Phase II. Driven by privatisation, zero reserve price and new markets radio grew well till the second phase. Reserve prices were introduced in Phase III and post two batches of auctions (2015 and 2016), the number stands at 381. High licence fees coupled with ‘unviable’ operational cost marred growth. Participants also complain that reserve prices for batch 2 of Phase III (mostly tier 2/3 cities) were decided basis the highest bid for a city in a similar tier, instead of potential (cities in same tier had different advertising potential).

Devoid of news and ‘public-service-like’ programming, FM stood for fun, music, colloquial, and bilingual sort of content that quickly connected with the nation’s youth. Competition grew as new players entered the space, but despite many years of FM’s existence, problems – like huge license fees, the lid on news/current affairs-related content, lack of measurement, copyright issues, high operating costs, etc. – persisted. Even today, radio is governed by the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885. Amidst all this reality, where does radio as a medium stand today?

Edited excerpts:

(This story was first published in our magazine afaqs! Reporter on December 1, 2019.)

Editor's note:

Sometime in the early 2000s, I wrote a fan letter of the ink-on-paper variety to Fali R Singara, a radio jockey with a lovely voice, who hosted a late night show on… I don’t even recall the name of the channel! Till today, I don’t know what Fali looks like, how old he is, where he’s from… nothing. Cut to the present – this monsoon when rain lashed Mumbai, I, like many of my fellow frustrated Mumbaikars, laughed along as an exuberant RJ Malishka parodied, sang and danced about the city’s potholes in a video that was shared across WhatsApp and other social media platforms.

This change in the way RJs engage with listeners, and the scope of their influence, is noteworthy, both in itself and because it is symptomatic of the transformation radio as a medium has undergone over the years. I’ll admit, we at afaqs!Reporter have not been particularly prolific with this beat, but this fortnight, we decided to look at the past, present and future of radio, through an interview with Nisha Narayanan, COO and director, Red FM and Magic FM.

Our line of enquiry went thus: What is the relevance of radio in the era of music apps? If I go to YouTube for songs, Google for local traffic updates and elsewhere for podcasts, what is the preserve of radio? What content can radio offer that no other app can? When a radio brand tries to engage people online, is it a means to an end – (to re-direct them to the radio channel) – or an end in itself – (brand awareness and such)? How does the role of radio change across cities and smaller towns? Has the equity of the radio jockey increased or decreased over the years? These were some queries we went to Nisha with… and came away with renewed interest in this unique acoustic medium which brings old world charm to a mad new world.

Ashwini Gangal, Executive Editor