Chennai Live 104.8 FM is the first English radio station in Tamil Nadu

The station claims to follow talk-format-programming, which has less music and more talk

The Muthoot Group-owned radio station, Chennai Live 104.8 FM debuted in August 2008. Unlike the other seven players in Chennai, the radio station is in English, rather than the language of the land, Tamil.

The station also boasts of programming led by the talk-format, where the focus is on conversation with listeners, rather than music.

Besides Chennai Live, the other players in the Chennai market are Radio City, Big FM, Radio One, Radio Mirchi, Aahaa FM, Suryan FM and Hello FM.

Chennai Live 104.8 FM is the first English radio station in Tamil Nadu

Talking to afaqs!, Prem Kumar, station head, Chennai Live 104.8 FM, says, “We positioned ourselves as the only and ultimate radio station targeting the well-to-do, well-read and aspirational crowd. Our target group (TG) comprises listeners in the age group of 20-45 years, inclusive of a college-going student, housewife or a chief executive officer (CEO) of a multinational company. The station is positioned to hook cosmopolitan Chennaiites, who are looking for intelligent conversations coupled with good music.”

Kumar shrugs off any comparison with another format and genre-based radio station, Meow FM. He stresses that Meow FM is women-centric; and the only commonality is that the two stations have similar programming formats. Even the content for the two radio stations is different. Chennai Live hosts informational, interactive and conversational shows, touching on issues close to listeners' heart.

Hosts engage this group in fun-filled conversation in English with a sprinkling of Tamil. Giving the rationale of using English as the language of communication, Kumar adds, “Since we are catering to the SEC A, A+ audience, it is but natural to use a language that this group is comfortable in. It helps us in differentiating and shielding ourselves from duplication, which happens due to the rest of the players competing with the same language and content.”

When it comes to music, the radio station plays a mix of Kollywood, Bollywood and Hollywood music on demand. Through its weekdays and weekend programming line-up, Chennai Live hopes to encourage appointment-listening.

The shows on the station cater to the tastes and preferences of listeners by identifying their interests. For instance, the city has a large number of quiz aficionados. Therefore, the channel has a quiz show, for which interested participants can dial-up and register; the host then plays live quizzes with the callers.

Kumar talks about advertising on the station, given its TG. “Brands such as Britannia, which need to reach out to one and all, are with competing players as well as with us. But at the same time, Shell, the brand with interests in petrochemicals, came onboard simply because its communication and message about the new product was in English. Thus, we proved to be the perfect platform for them to reach out to their TG.”

Among local advertisers, big retail players advertise heavily on the radio station.

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