Now, radio stations in Mumbai face Marathi diktat

The Shiv Sena has reportedly 'asked' radio stations in Mumbai to include Marathi fare in their programming

On Saturday, several FM radio stations in Mumbai were issued a ‘warning’ from the Shiv Sena, asking them to include Marathi music fare in their programming.

In a statement, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray is believed to have said that radio stations should broadcast Marathi music within seven days. The political party has threatened to launch an agitation if the broadcasters fail to comply with its diktat.

Among the private FM radio stations in Mumbai, only Big FM and Radio One play Marathi music. The others, such as Radio Mirchi, Radio City and Red FM, do not have Marathi music in their current offering.

When asked about the ‘warning’ issued, Apurva Purohit, chief executive officer, Radio City, says, “We have come to know of this from media reports. We haven’t received any letter.” Radio City plays Marathi music on stations such as Pune, Ahmednagar and other parts of Maharashtra.

When asked if there was a market for Marathi listenership in Mumbai, she says, “There is a market for all types of music. Unfortunately, the government restrictions allow only one station in a city. If multiple stations were allowed, we would have had different types of content.” A Marathi music centric radio station would make a good proposition, according to her.

Spokespersons from Radio Mirchi and Red FM could not be reached despite repeated attempts.

Meanwhile, for other radio stations such as Big FM, local language and local content is what works. Each of Big FM’s 45 stations plays content in local languages. “Given the vast Marathi populace, we have had Marathi content since long,” says Viplove Gupte, programming head, Big FM.

Radio One started airing Marathi content three months ago. Earlier, it was restricted to live shows and events by singers, but now, it has started a countdown show called Top 13 Countdown.

On the decision to include Marathi programming, Vineet Singh Hukmani, managing director, Radio One, says, “Since we play more songs in an hour and have less of talk, we need more music content.”

“We don’t mind playing any language music, as long as it meets the requisite quality requirements. Marathi artists, like any other, have a lot to contribute and we would like to share that with our listeners,” he adds.

It remains to be seen whether the radio stations will make any changes or additions to their existing programming following this move by the political party.