“BIG FM expects to rake in 20-25% revenue from beyond radio”: CEO Abraham Thomas

The growth explosion of the audio medium during the pandemic is well-established now. With work, education, entertainment all leading to a screen, those plagued by screen fatigue looked for alternatives. With audio formats like podcasts, music streaming and audiobooks gaining ground, brands have also turned to them to capture the audience's attention. Tapping the scope of this fast-growing medium, BIG FM introduced ‘BIG World’ in June with a slew of offerings for its clients to engage better with consumers.

For a network that garnered almost 95-100% of its revenues from pure radio, it is now targeting to rake in at least 20-25% of its business in the initial years from beyond radio.

“Earlier that 5% also would have been on radio, but beyond spots. We now no longer call ourselves a radio network, but an audio entertainment network,” says Abraham Thomas, CEO, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited.

The new proposition is a bouquet of client solutions that provide immersive and engaging experiences for consumers through multiple platforms. It includes four pillars- BIG Radio, BIG LIVE, BIG Social and BIG Voice.

BIG Radio is an audio conglomerate offering, that includes FM and online radio. BIG LIVE is a vertical dedicated to live events, both on-ground and online. BIG Social leverages the rapid growth of digital to the fullest and includes myriad avenues like gamification, social commerce and advocacy. With its RJs already being influencers on radio, the network has now opened them to digital advocacy for branded content. It also launched a social commerce platform BIG Living, a one-stop destination for sustainable and mindful products curated by BIG FM RJs. BIG Voice focuses on digital platforms for audio like podcasts and smart speakers.

“Clients are seeking lots of audio opportunities. We are able to create engaging content for them across multiple platforms due to our understanding of the market and local insights. We also have the local talent and influencers with us,”

A majority of the 20-25% business is expected to come in through podcasts, as brands are showing phenomenal interest.

“It helps a client to seamlessly integrate in the content without being an external ad. And it also stays there for perpetuity and is always available,” he explains.

As for most media networks, the pandemic has been tough for BIG FM. FY21 witnessed a 50% degrowth. However, after the devastating second wave of the pandemic, the network recovered in FY22. And now it expects to return to its pre-pandemic levels this year.

Speaking about the key learnings from the pandemic, Thomas listed down a few. One, focus on new, interactive and engaging formats. Two, building its own IPs. Three, the need to be across mediums. And four, the need for meaningful partnerships.

“At FM radio stations, most of the content IPs belong to the music label. So we're just focusing on non-music content for our IPs. We also realised that because of the consumption habits, we need to be everywhere, so that listeners can consume content whenever they like. This leads to the need for meaningful partnerships. It doesn't make sense to get into every space. So we have a partnership with more than 35 podcast platforms making it possible to publish our podcast content across platforms,” he says.

As BIG FM expands into the digital space with BIG World, it jostles with several digital platforms for the share of ear. However, Thomas believes its local insights and talents accompanied by a strong sales team gives it an edge over the others.

Yet, digital scores on measurements as it is backed by analytics. Thomas says one of the greatest challenges for FM radio is its limited measurement.

“We are now transitioning to get clients to look at outcomes. We're devising new matrixes on which they can gather a campaign’s value,” he says.

While the audio medium is exploding and more people are now consuming audiobooks, streaming services and podcasts, Thomas says the brands are lagging behind in terms of spending money on them. “It will suddenly catch up once it reaches critical mass. Currently the challenge is to get more brands to partner with digitally,” he adds.

Though 60-70% of radio listening happens at home, Thomas admits that the lack of devices does worry the industry. “Mobile is a declining space because the top-end smartphones are disabling FM. Feature phones and mid segments still have the radio, but as more people graduate to top-end phones it is a potential threat,” he concludes.