HISTORY OF RADIO

Radio owes its development to two other inventions, the telegraph and the telephone; all three

technologies are closely related. Radio technology began as "wireless telegraphy".

Radio can refer to either the electronic appliance that we listen with or the content listened to.

However, it all started with the discovery of "radio waves" - electromagnetic waves that have the

capacity to transmit music, speech, pictures and other data invisibly through the air. Many

devices work by using electromagnetic waves including: radio, microwaves, cordless phones,

remote controlled toys, television broadcasts, and more.

The Roots of Radio

During the 1860s, Scottish physicist, James Clerk Maxwell2 predicted the existence of radio

waves; and in 1886, German physicist, Heinrich Rudolph Hertz demonstrated that rapid

variations of electric current could be projected into space in the form of radio waves similar to

those of light and heat.

In 1866, Mahlon Loomis, an American dentist, successfully demonstrated "wireless telegraphy."

Loomis was able to make a meter connected to one kite cause another one to move, marking the

first known instance of wireless aerial communication. Twenty years after the telephone was

invented and music was first sent down a telephone line, Guglielmo Marconi sent radio signals.

Marconi (1874-1937) was born in Italy and studied at the University of Bologna. He was

fascinated by Heinrich Hertz’s earlier discovery of radio waves and realized that it can be used

for sending and receiving telegraph messages, referring to it as “wireless telegraphs.”

Marconi’s first radio transmissions, in 1896, were coded signals that were transmitted only about

1.6 km (a mile) far. Marconi realized that it held huge potential. He offered the invention to the

Italian government but they turned it down.

Marconi was not the first to invent the radio, however. Four years before Marconi started

experimenting with wireless telegraph, Nikola Tesla, a Serb who moved to the USA in 1884,

invented the theoretical model for radio. Tesla tried unsuccessful to obtain a court injunction

against Marconi in 1915. In 1943 the US Supreme Court reviewed the

decision. Tesla became acknowledged as the inventor of the radio –

even though he did not build a working radio.

Indian scientist J.C. Bose demonstrated the radio transmission in 1896

in Calcutta in front of the British Governor General. The transmission

was over a distance of three miles from the Presidency College and Science College in Calcutta.

The instruments (‘Mercury Coherer with a telephone detector’) are still there in the science

museum of the Calcutta University. Thus writes contributor Dipak Basu, referencing the

Proceedings of the IEEE, January, 1998.

Bose had solved the problem of the Hertz not being able to penetrate walls, mountains or water.

Marconi was present in the meeting of the Royal Society and it is thought that he stole the

notebook of Bose that included the drawing of the ‘Mercury Coherer with a telephone detector’.

Marconi’s Coherer, which he used in 1901, was the exact copy of that of Bose. Bose did not

apply for a patent on his design because he believed in the free flow of inventions in science. But

under pressure from American friends, he applied for the patent in September 1901. He was

awarded the US patent for the invention of the radio in 1904. By that time Marconi had received

his patent and international recognition.

It is reputed that Nathan B. Stubblefield, a farmer from Murray, Kentucky, made a voice

transmission four years before Marconi transmitted radio signals.

Stubblefield demonstrated his invention to the press in 1902 but, being afraid that his invention

will be stolen, never marketed his wireless radio. When he was found dead in 1929, his radio

equipment was gone. Nikoli Tesla remains to be acknowledged as the inventor of the radio.

The story of FM radio is one of success and tragedy.

Edwin Howard Armstrong was one of great engineers of the 20th century; he was born in 1890,

in New York City, and died in 1954, also in New York City. Edwin Armstrong was only eleven

when Marconi made the first trans-Atlantic radio transmission. Enthralled, the young Armstrong

began studying radio and building homemade wireless equipment, including a 125 foot antenna

in his parent's backyard.

However, Edwin Armstrong should be known for inventing three key innovations: regeneration,

super heterodyning, and frequency modulation.

Radio Broadcasting-

This period marked the start of "regular" broadcasting; after the government removed restrictions

late in 1919. The Radio Corporation of America4 was formed in 1919 as a patent pool to control

the use of the new equipment which had been invented during WWI, but which was not able to

be used unless all the conflicting patent owners would permit. The make-up of RCA consisted of

those companies that had the key patents or would shortly buy them for wireless telegraphy.

1923 – 1926: This was a transitional period; it saw the beginnings of broadcasting on a

commercial basis; it marked the development of new types of equipment; it saw development of

basic types of programs. Chiefly, it was a period in which some persons at least saw in

broadcasting possible source of revenues-from sale of time, rather than the sale of receiving sets.

1926 – 1930: Commercial radio became solidly established- particularly development of

networks and the presentation of network programs by national advertisers.

1930s: This was the beginning of the great depression in the United States – a depression which

had its effect on programming and on the various forms of advertising, but relatively little effect

on broadcast revenues. The 1930-35 period was also the time of the greatest "idea" development

in the history of American radio programming-with respect to network programs in particular.

Broadcasting in 1935 to 1941 saw radio revenues soaring to new heights; and while not too many

new program forms introduced, older forms were polished and improved.

1940s: This period included World War II.  The nation had shifted, in December of 1941, from a

threat-of-war situation into actual involvement.  The war imposed as many hardships on

broadcasters as it did upon those engaged in other occupations; electronic concerns were shifted

to war production, with the result that broadcasting equipment, tubes, etc. was in short supply;

costs advanced; employees were drafted into military service.  On the other hand, both network

and station revenues were strikingly greater than in the prewar period; in 1944-45, no less than

70% above the level of revenues in 1940-41. Some of this increase was the result of inflation, but

even so, 1941 to 1945 was the big money-making time for American radio.

1945-1952: A highly important era in the history of American radio and television.  It saw an

enormous increase in the total number of radio stations, the erection of 108 TV stations-and the

beginnings, at least, of a shift in importance from radio to television, especially on the network

level.  The transistor was demonstrated in 1947 by Bell Labs.

Broadcasting from 1952 through the 1960's: Earlier trends continued, but during this decade

television became the dominant mass medium as the freeze on licenses was lifted and a 70-

channel UHF band was added.  The networks reached from coast-to-coast and in 1953 the FCC

approved the industry indorsed compatible NTSC color television system (RCA-NBC), reversing

their 1950 decision which had authorized a non-compatible field-sequential system (CBS). Radio

became less secure, but grew in the number of smaller stations licensed.

1960-1970 - radio reinvents: Probably based on the early work of programmers like

McClendon and Bill Drake, hundreds of AM stations embrace a "top-40 time and temperature"

format. The saying, "be bright, be brief" was, it seemed, posted in every control room. Stations

played three minute songs. The music was still controlled by cynical old white men. There were

lots of jingles and promotions. Programming, music and contests are now targeted to a specific

age group (12-35) based on demographic research showing this group has money to spend on

goods and services by the new affluent middle class.

FM makes a comeback: For a system that was invented nearly 40 years earlier, it took a long

time for FM to overtake AM. Pop music was better and it demanded a delivery service that

sounded as good as a home audio system. AM stations still refused to play the new music from

albums and were suddenly facing new competition from FM stations that would play the music.

1970-1980 - radio bores: AM Top 40 begins the decade with lock on the ratings. Even though

its sound was stale, in some markets more than 50% of the people using radio are still tuned by

habit to that "one big legendary AM station." By the middle of the decade most of these major

stations were struggling. AM stations even tried to meet the challenge by going "stereo" but no

one cared. The Big FM's would rule by the decade’s end.

Radio makes lots of money: The big music stations, once AM and now FM were making lots of

money. There are plenty of listeners and times are good as far as jobs and money. Advertisers

want to buy radio. There was even disco on FM!

Formats fragment: There are no longer just two formats, top-40 on AM and progressive rock"

on FM. Each station has only a small segment of the audience.

Radio networks return: With inexpensive satellite technology available to every station,

hundreds of new radio networks emerge and die, mostly offering music formats delivered by big

city DJ's. Smaller stations automate with them but it makes the station less local-sounding, less-

appealing to listeners and sponsors.

1980-1990 - radio struggles: The Reagan administration de-regulates the industry. Stations now

have to satisfy the demands of the marketplace instead of the demands of Federal regulation.

News and public affairs suffered. If you were a news writer, reporter and reader as every station

had to employ in the 1970's, now your station was no longer required to have news.

Buy-sell: Like the house you bought for a high price in the late 1980's, the radio station you also

bought is worth less than you paid. This means cutbacks, more automation, less news and public

affairs types. In the 1980s almost half of the radio stations changed hands.

New owners, new challenges: For young people seeking a career in radio the good news was if

you are good at sales, promotion or production of promotions, you'll work.

A smaller pie: The number of stations swelled to 12,000 and in major and large markets, there

were perhaps 100 to 200 stations vying for listeners. The era of Niche Programming and formats

begins and now there is a format for every narrow interest. Again, less people have to do more.

To succeed you have to be above average, tenacious, persistent.

AM tries a comeback: Helped with new technical regulations, promise of fewer stations and an

expanded AM band, the FCC station owners tried to save AM one more time.

1990-2000 - radio competes: Less people do more work. New radio station owners want to cut

costs, use automation to run three stations at once. No union problems because the unions in

radio are practically irrelevant.

New group owners & duopolies: One company can now own 25-25-25 plus and in San Jose

and San Francisco some companies own many stations. In this market most of each day is

automated.

Digital takes over radio technology: Now an entire day can be stored, edited and broadcast

using the hard drive of a computer. Production that used to involve splicing tape is now done

with the click of a mouse. Analog devices like cart machines will disappear by 2004, to be

replaced with computer memory.

New delivery services: Digital stuff, DBS, DMX, Internet, etc; all future non-FM delivery

services. Still, AM is around after almost 100 years. And just like the transition to television,

current owners want to be first in line when licenses are issued for these new services.

Talk radio's decade: Rush, Conservative politics, and suddenly many struggling AMs are

revived and saved again by talk radio.

HISTORY OF RADIO IN INDIA:

Broadcasting began in India with the formation of a private radio service in Madras (presently

Chennai) in 1924. In the very same year, British colonial government approved a license to a

private company, the Indian Broadcasting Company5, to inaugurate Radio stations in Bombay

and Kolkata. The company almost went bankrupt in 1930 but the colonial government took away

the two transmitters and the Department of Labor and Industries started operating them as the

Indian State Broadcasting Corporation. In 1936, this very Corporation was renamed All India

Radio (AIR) and was controlled by the Department of Communications. When India became

independent in 1947, AIR was made a separate Department under the Ministry of Information

and Broadcasting.

Government of India controls the radio broadcasting in India that works under the Directorate

General of All India Radio. It was established in 1936 and since 1957 All India Radio was

renamed as Akashvani. Akashvani is a government-owned, semi -commercial operation of the

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. There were only six radio stations in India at the time

of independence. All India Radio`s network had expanded by the mid-1990s to around 146 AM

stations along with a National Channel, the Integrated North-East Service that aimed at reaching

out to the tribal groups in northeast India and handles the External Services. There are five

regional headquarters for All India Radio, namely in the North Zone in New Delhi; the East

Zone in Kolkata; the North-East Zone in Guwahati, Assam; the West Zone in Mumbai; and the

South Zone in Chennai.

Commercial Radio services in India started in 1967 by Vividh Bharati Service with its

headquarters at Mumbai. Vividh Bharati earned its revenues from extensive advertisements and

had been broadcasting from thirty-one AM and FM stations during the mid-1990s. India has a

wide-ranging network of medium wave and short-wave stations. In 1994 there had been almost

eighty-five FM stations and seventy-three short wave stations that connected the entire country.

The broadcasting equipment used in India is mainly indigenous and reaches special audiences,

such as farmers needing agro climatic, plant protection, and other agriculture-related

information. The number of radio receivers increased almost five times between 1970 and 1994.

Initially it was around 14 million that rose to nearly 65 million. Most radios are also produced

within India.

The early history of Indian radio broadcasting in independent India set the parameters for the

succeeding role of television in the nation. In those days radio was considered as an integral

medium of communication, primarily due to the absence of any motion medium. All the national

affairs and social changes were informed through the waves of broadcast media and within no

time, popularity of radio spread nationwide. Indian radio proved to be a prime medium of social

integration.

Indian radio also took up the task of aiding in the development of economic scenario. The role of

broadcasting provided an inlet for the flow of modern ideas.

It was due to the same reason of static thoughts prevailing in the society; that television came

into existence in 1959. Television broadcasts started from Delhi in September 1959, again

associated with the All India Radio`s services. Programs were broadcast twice a week for an

hour a day on welfare topics related to community health, citizens duties and rights, and traffic

and road sense. In 1961 the television medium were expanded to include a school educational

television project, however the importance of radio did not decline.

For more than 4 decades, the Government of India did not permit private radio stations to

broadcast in India. Then history changed its course. In 1993, the Government allowed private

FM operators to 'buy' blocks (chunks) on All India Radio, prepare programming content, book

commercials from advertisers and broadcast the whole lot. Within 4 years, (1997-98), the FM

Radio advertising and sponsorship business grew to Rs. 93 crores with Times of India's Times

FM & Mid-Day Group's Radio Mid-Day becoming the main players.

Then, in June 1998 the Government, through its electronic media regulatory body Prasar Bharti,

decided not to renew contracts of private FM operators. Not surprisingly, the advertising revenue

fell by 50% within a year! This time, the Government gave the green light to privatize radio in

India. July 6, 1999 was the historic day when the Government announced that 150 new FM

channels would be licensed across 40 cities. And in 2000, the Government auctioned licenses for

private FM channels to bolster the revenue. And the focus on metros was evident in the bidding.

Expecting to collect Rs 800 million from auctioning 108 licenses, the government had to actually

face mass withdrawal of bidders because of the huge license fee. A handful of serious bidders

chose to remain.

In response to the Government's offer, many companies bid for the licenses to operate in key

markets. But the going was not so easy. Many gave up, unable to shell out the high license fee.

For instance, the bidding price for the Mumbai license was reportedly to the tune of Rs 9.75

crore. Others dropped out saying the business was not viable. So, in effect, the competition

shrank, players consolidated and the Government extended its deadline. Today, there are roughly

10 players who will operate approximately in 37 cities across the country.

The government collected close to Rs 4.6 billion as license fee for the privately run FM radio

channels in 40 cities. New Media Broadcasting, a Zee Group company, which focused mainly on

the smaller towns, won the largest number of bids.

The first round of bidding - for 76 channels in 26 cities, garnered close to Rs 3.5 billion. The

government got the highest bids - Rs 97.5 million from each of 10 broadcast companies - for

stations in Mumbai. Interestingly, the bids for Hyderabad and Nagpur came next, each for Rs

77.2 million and Rs 74 million, respectively, while the bids for Delhi were Rs 71.2 million each

Radio is expected to follow the growth of the Television industry, which grew rapidly following

the entry of private player. Currently, FM coverage in India is restricted to just 17% of the

country, compared to 89% of All India Radio (AIR). Incidentally, Music Broadcasting became

the first firm in India to commence private FM broadcast from Bangalore in July.

FUTURE OF RADIO INDUSTRY

FM Radio can play its part in building a stronger business future for India. Providing free-to-air

local broadcasts of music and entertainment, helpful information - traffic advisories, community

announcements and public service messages provide a real value-added service. But at current

levels of advertising support, each radio station is reeling under the brutal financial impact of

high costs. With more players in the fray the FM radio industry would grow and also enhance the

government’s yield from licensing radio naturally.

The new India deserves an active private FM radio sector. It can provide a level playing field

with benefits for listeners, for advertisers, employment & career options. Spearhead the

government objective of growing the FM radio business in India.

With the government ready to reduce the license fees it will help in attracting new players like

reliance which had earlier backed out only due to the entry fees. Also government allowing

foreign players to enter the Indian market it will help the industry grow. Virgin group has already

started exploring the Indian market for suitable partners. Various radio stations are coming up

with IPO for example Radio Mirchi thus helping them expand.

The future looks bright as the reach of radio is expected to raise post the increase in the number

and quality of players in the industry. It is on the basis of these key drivers of growth, it is being

predicted that radio's share in the total advertising pie will see an increase in the medium term.

There are an estimated 150 million radio sets across the country. The Rs 1.6 billion industry is

reported to be growing by 31 per cent every year and should touch the Rs 6.2 billion by 2007,

with revenue rising at 23 per cent annually. Also, though radio has only a 2 per cent share in the

Rs 6,000 crore Indian advertising markets, advertising spending is expected to amount to Rs 500

crore this year.

FM RADIO INDUSTRY: RISK FACTORS

Economic downturn10

The FM radio industry derives almost all its revenues from advertisement. The radio stations are

free to air and do not garner any subscription revenues, thus making them totally dependent on

advertisement revenues. Advertising is a discretionary expenditure and is the first one to be

pruned in case of an economic slowdown. Thus, the major marketers advertising on radio may

cut their ad budgets in case of an economic downturn. This would adversely affect the radio

industry.

Little differentiation between different FM radio stations

The content played on different FM radio stations is very similar in nature. Most of them play

popular film and pop music and very few cater to the niche audience such as English rock music

lovers or Indian classical music lovers. This is happening because one player is allowed to own

only one station in every city. Thus the FM radio operators are not willing to take a risk by not

catering to the mass segment. This is hurting the growth of the FM radio industry as people who

prefer niche music genres are not tuning into FM radio. Besides this, people frequently switch

between stations leading to listenership fragmentation.

Competition from satellite radio

Many of the restrictions that apply to FM radio broadcasters do not apply to satellite radio

broadcasters. At present, multiple channel ownership by a FM broadcaster in the same city is not

permitted; however, the current satellite broadcaster in India is offering multiple channels. FM

broadcasters cannot broadcast news and current affairs 24 hrs a day whereas satellite

broadcasters can do so through a dedicated station. FM radio is limited to a small range around

the transmission site while the satellite signals cover the entire country. Satellite radio

broadcasters do not have to pay any license fee whereas FM radio broadcasters have to pay 4%

of their gross revenues as license fees. This favorable treatment meted out to satellite

broadcasters may adversely affect the growth of the FM radio industry. However, the satellite

radio broadcaster WorldSpace operating in India has not been able to meet with much success. In

fact, in India, WorldSpace lost 8,713 net subscribers during 3QFY07, ending the period with

164,902 subscribers. Besides this, satellite radio has high subscription charges whereas FM radio

is free to air.

High music royalties

FM radio broadcasters have to pay high royalties to the music companies for the music content

procured from them. However the broadcasters can enter into a voluntary agreement with

Phonographic Performance Limited and The Indian Performance Right Society Limited at high

rates or under the rates determined by the courts of law to minimize their expenses.

Threat from digital technologies

Digital broadcasting technologies like Satellite/Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) using the FM

band and Digital Radio Mondial (DRM) using the AM band are becoming popular worldwide.

There is efficient utilization of spectrum in case of digital broadcasting, enabling the broadcast of

multiple radio stations. The quality of digital broadcast is better than analog transmission.

However, digital receivers are more expensive than analog receivers. In Western Europe, a few

countries are looking at a total switch off of analog broadcasting (FM/AM) by 2020 or so.

Norway is the only country that has formally announced a cutoff date. But with analog TV likely

to be switched off in India in the next 5-7 years, radio’s turn could come in the next 10-15 years.

Intense competition

There is intense competition between the FM radio operators operating in the same city. All of

them are clamoring for the same advertisers, listeners and need to procure similar content. The

number of FM radio stations has increased dramatically leading to a proportionate increase in the

demand for trained personnel. Due to this attrition and poaching have become wide spread.

Thus, there are many risks that could derail the growth of the FM radio industry. We feel that the

major risks are a potential slowdown in the economy, little differentiation between the FM radio

stations and intense competition.

Radio industry: Growth drivers

Fastest growing segment of the media and entertainment industry

The radio industry recorded a growth of nearly 58% in 2006. The share of radio in the total

advertising industry increased from 2.4% to 3.1% during the same year. This is further expected

to increase to 5.5% by 2011 as per the FICCI-PwC report on the Indian entertainment and media

industry. The size of the radio industry is projected to increase at a CAGR of 28% from Rs 5 bn

in 2006 to Rs 17 bn by 2011.

Robust growth of the Indian economy

The Indian economy has grown at a robust rate of 9% and 9.2% in FY06 and FY07 respectively.

The advertisement industry is a proxy to India’s high economic growth. It grows at a faster rate

in such buoyant times. As per a study conducted by ZenithOptimedia, the media planning and

buying arm of advertising group Publicis, the advertising spend is expected to increase to Rs 367

bn by 2010 from Rs 227 bn in 2007.

Beneficiary of the buoyant growth of major advertisers

The major advertisers on radio are the entertainment channels, real estate firms and retailers. All

these industries are expected to witness robust growth in the years to come. More than 90

channels across various languages and genres are being launched this year. The real estate

industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 25% in the next five years. Organized retail industry

is projected to grow at a CAGR of 40% in the next five years. Radio industry should be a major

beneficiary of the high growth in these sectors.

Demographics

The target listeners for the radio industry are the youth. 55% of the India population is below 25

years leading to an increase in the audience of the radio industry. The content on radio primarily

comprises of film music. The Indian film industry is getting more organized and receiving more

institutional funding. The quality of music produced is improving which augurs well for the

growth of the radio industry.

Reduction in license fees

The Phase I policy for the privatization of FM radio had a very high fixed license fee structure

with an annual escalation of 15%. In the phase II policy, a revenue sharing formula was

introduced whereby radio companies had to pay a fixed annual license fee of 4% of gross

revenues or 10% of the reserve OTEF (One Time Entry Fee) whichever is higher. The reserve

OTEF was 25% of the highest valid bid for that city.

Availability of listenership data

Leading TV viewership research company, TAM, has recently ventured into radio audience

measurement through a study called RAM (Radio Audience Measurement). The study is

currently restricted to the cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Research may cover larger

number of cities in the years to come. Availability of listenership reports is bound to support and

attract larger spends from marketers. Marketers generally wait for adequate research data to

emerge before committing large spends to any medium.

Local advertising

Globally, the local retail segment constitutes a large part of radio's advertising income. As per

the CII-KPMG report, while local advertising contributes 70% of radio revenues in the United

States of America, in India, the share of local advertising is only about 8% of radio revenues.

Ideally, a localized medium like radio can be effectively used for local-level promotions apart

from being bundled as part of cross-media promotion strategies. Thus there is huge potential for

the radio industry to benefit from an expected increase in the share of local advertisements.

Phase III policy

It is expected that after the completion of Phase II Policy, the Government will open up as many

as 700 channels in the Phase III as per some media reports. This phase will witness licenses

being awarded in smaller towns. This could result in radio getting a larger share of the

advertising spends.

Though the radio industry has many growth drivers, there are various risk factors also that could

derail the growth of the radio industry. In the next article, we shall outline the risks to the growth

of the radio industry.

Radio as an Advertising medium:

Radio advertising is one of the earliest and most popular forms of advertising in today's world of

mass media. Although television has shifted much of the audience away from radio it is

undisputable that radio is always there. Radio is broadcasted everywhere twenty-four hours a day

and always has the breaking news. Walter Cronkite11, a famous broadcast journalist, started his

career in radio and concluded, "Radio has its own special strengths and contributions. While TV

pulls the big audience, it's still radio that's there virtually every place, all day, all night. It's radio

that's there when disaster strikes. Radio is that medium of the single sense and frees the

imagination."

Nearly 98 percent of people listen to the radio primarily for news, talk, entertainment, and sports.

Unlike many other mass mediums radio is much more personal and friendly which attracts large

audiences. Radio audiences have concluded that they listen to the radio, much like television,

because they are either bored or lonely. Although radio did take a severe hit when the television

was introduced into average households they still managed to make a comeback. Radio reaches

77 percent of consumers, and 80 percent of the younger audiences daily, which is remarkably

comparing with the competition. Radio is now the third largest mass advertising media trailing

newspapers and of course television.

Radio advertising became increasingly difficult with the dawn of the television era which

prompted the need for new ideas to reach the audience. Instead of working against television

which was virtually impossible radio companies began working with them. In the early to mid

90s Fox was having trouble obtaining the younger audience that they wanted so they looked to

the radio. During this time the younger audience was one of the radio's highest audience

percentages.

Advantage of radio: The most important advantage radio offers is its ability to reach specific

audiences through specialized programming. In addition, radio can be adapted for different parts

of the country and can reach people at different times of the day. For example, radio is the ideal

means of reaching people driving to and from work.

Known as drive time, these radio time slots provides the best audience for many advertisers.

Pizza hut12, for instance, reached out to its target audience of women making dinner choices by

using radio during 4 to 5 pm time slot.

Radio offers advertisers flexibility. Of all media, radio has the shortest closing period. Copy can

be submitted up to airtime. This flexibility allows advertisers to adjust to local market conditions,

current news events, and even weather. For example, a local hardware store can quickly

implement a snow shovel promotion the morning after a snowstorm. Radio's flexibility is also

evident in its willingness to participate in promotional tie-ins such as store openings races, and so

on.

Radio may be the least expensive of all media. And because airtime costs are low, extensive

repetition is possible. In addition, the costs of producing a radio commercial can be low,

particularly if local station announcers read the message. Radio's low cost and high reach of

selected target groups make it an excellent supporting medium. In fact, the most appropriate role

for most radio advertising in a supportive one.

Advantages:

A universal medium. Can be enjoyed at home, at work, and while driving. Most people

listen to the radio at one time or another during the day.

Permits you to target your advertising dollars to the market most likely to respond to your

offer.

Permits you to create a personality for your business using only sounds and voices.

Free creative help is usually available.

Rates can generally be negotiated.

Least inflated medium. During the past ten years, radio rates have gone up less than other

media.

Disadvantages:

Because radio listeners are spread over many stations, to totally saturate your market you

have to advertise simultaneously on many stations.

Listeners cannot refer back to your ads to go over important points.

Ads are an interruption to the entertainment. Because of this, radio ads must be repeated

to break through the listener's "tune out" factor.

Radio is a background medium. Most listeners are doing something else while listening,

which means your ad has to work hard to be listened to and understood.

Advertising costs are based on ratings which are approximations based on diaries kept in

a relatively small fraction of a region's homes.

Not as fast as using a phone; could take a little bit

The line could get fuzzy, or not clear

Basically in any educational communication, for making it more persuasive and effective visual

aids are very important. In the case of radio, if an educational program is broadcast then the

people who do not have good listening skills cannot understand it. There are a lot of people who

want visual aids like whiteboards, multimedia presentations or hard copies to better understand

the discussion. Lack of visual aids is the major disadvantage of radio in educational

communication. Moreover, body language also plays a very significant role in understanding the

point of view of the other person and it is not viewable in radio communication.

Another thing which is very important in educational communication is to get feedback and

analyze the interest of audience which is also not possible in radio. Therefore, radio is having a

lot of disadvantages for any educational communication.

Strategic Roles of Radio

As Commercial Radio developed in the early days, its key strengths were seen as primarily

tactical - fast turnaround, low capital cost and local flexibility. These days however, while the

traditional strengths still apply, radio is increasingly being used for strategic roles.

Dominant share of mind

Share of mind can be described as the extent to which a brand makes itself salient within the

consumer's mind - this is often the most challenging task in sectors where there are several top-

parity brands, and/or high levels of competitive activity.

The ability of radio to create dominant share of mind is a product of its intrusiveness and the

high frequency with which ads are broadcast.

Brands like the Carphone Warehouse13 have used this unique characteristic of radio to develop

an unassailable lead within their category.

Support to other media

Young people are of course consumers of several media, and campaigns which use only one

medium can miss out on the "media multiplier effect". Because of its inherent characteristics,

radio can work in a complementary way to other media.

With TV it is traditionally used to add to the length of a campaign or to fill weeks where there is

no TV activity - it can also be used to explain products or services in more depth, or to include

additional information. Brands in fast-changing areas like retail or financial services often use

radio for its ability to put over several different messages as an overlay to a core TV campaign

(multiple executions in radio are very inexpensive compared to TV).

Radio also works exceptionally well with TV if there is creative synergy, most conspicuously in

the form of a Sonic Brand Trigger.

To press, radio above all adds intrusiveness, because levels of ad avoidance with print are so

high. Radio can also, like TV, bring things to life - for services or corporate advertising this can

be very valuable in adding personality and tone of voice.

Young people, because of their inexperience, often need the benefits of products or services

explained to them before they can make a decision to purchase - for example, a bank account, or

a promotional offer.

Radio is particularly useful for this as it uses the human voice in real-time. This means that the

young people do not have to wade their way through extensive reading material before they even

know what the proposition is.

Speaking from inside youth culture

As the qualitative research illustrates, young people begin to move away from their parents'

world of choices and preferences, and to set up their own world independently. Inevitably this

means that some media are seen as outside that independent world - newspapers for example.

Radio, as a personal "me-medium", allows the advertiser to speak from inside the so-called

"youth fortress"

As the respondents said in the research, they feel as though the people on the radio treat them

like adults - leaving their parents out of the equation. Tone of voice is a key issue with

advertising strategies in this territory.

Radio Advertising

The evidence from the qualitative research is that young people feel their local FM station is

aimed at people like them, but the advertising is not - they feel, probably quite correctly, that

most advertising is aimed at adults.

However, because radio is a real-time intrusive medium, they have to sit through the full length

of any ads which are for irrelevant products.

There was evidence of three sorts of advertising memories:

Relevant: Ads which mentioned areas or names of specific interest, e.g. films, outlets selling

favored brands, concerts

Vague/ not relevant: Memories of ads for local garages, cars and insurance companies - little or

no specific detail remembered

Sonic Brand Triggers: Much evidence of children's ability to pick up on musical SBTs and sing

them out loud

Consideration

It seems clear from this analysis that children are very selective in their attention, and are

strongly influenced by relevance of the brand or product advertised.

It would follow that, since they expect most ads to be irrelevant to them, care must be taken in

the creative work to overcome this expectation - through linking to the relevant topic,

involvement, surprise, tone of voice etc.

Tone of voice is a key area with radio: young people can tell when they are being addressed as

equals, and when they are not.

Young people pick up very strongly on musical Sonic Brand Triggers, even for seemingly

irrelevant brands.

RADIO STATIONS ACROSS BANGALORE:

Red FM: Red FM is an Indian FM14 radio brand, with

stations broadcasting at 93.5 megahertz in the cities of

Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Pune in addition to Bhopal,

Gwalior, Jabalpur, Indore, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nagpur,

Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Gulbarga, Kochi, Trivandrum, Trissur, Kannur, Kozhikode,

Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Vizag, Warangal, Rajahmundry, Tirupathi, Ahmedabad, Rajkot,

Vadodara, Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Asansol, Siliguri,

Gangtok, Guwahati, Jamshedpur, Shillong and Aizwal. It was launched in 2002, playing a mix of

Hindi and English songs. However, the programming is now 100% exclusively Hindi.

The channel is owned by Kalanidhi Maran, with a 48.9% stake, as well as minority holdings of

Hyderabad-based IT company Value Labs, NDTV, Astro. It was acquired from India Today

promoter Living Media in January 2006. Their punchline is 'Baja ate Raho' (Keep Playing). The

most widely broadcast shows include "Morning No.1", "Dilse", "Mumbai Local", "One Two ka

Four", "Mera Wala Gana", "Superhits Music Show", "RDX", "Indore Beats" and "Nomoshkar

Kolkata". In one of the recent developments at Super Hits Red FM 93.5 Virag Mishra joined the

team as a National Creative Head. Virag the recipient of the esteemed Stardust Award for

standout performance as a lyricist is from advertising background. Starting August 14, 2009, S

FM or Suryan FM was re-branded into RED FM across 38 cities in INDIA. S FM took over Red

FM in August, 2009 and re-branded all its stations to Red FM except for the ones in Tamil Nadu.

Radio Indigo: Radio Indigo 91.9FM15 - The color of music, Soul

of Bangalore is the country's first and only international hit

station. This is a Jupiter Capital venture. Radio Indigo is the only

radio station in the country that plays contemporary international

music. Playing all the hits all the time, Radio Indigo caters to Bangalore and Goa's long-standing

tradition and a vibrant community of music aficionados. The station plays a vibrant array of

genres like pop, classic rock, hip-hop, jazz, world music and much more.

Having headquarters in Bengaluru, Radio Indigo 91.9 has now emerged as the hottest radio

station connecting to the most happening International music from around the world. And they

are so exclusive that they are broadcasting only to Bengaluru and Goa. It’s International with an

Indian soul. The listeners are exposed to a prescribed dose of music or whatever gets their

groove.

The station is talking to all those who reflect the Youth and love music. Of course the audience

hears favorites like Rohit Barker, Saggy, Melodee Austin, Ryan Seacrest, Michelle and Allen

Kepler, but the new cowboys on the bandwagon are Kenny Jones, Christabel, Sriram, Suraj and

Shweta taking their shows to the extreme and rocking the studios literally.

The station has today become a house-hold name and those who have grown to love the station

are sneaking it in their homes, cars and office. But like all good things in this world, Radio

Indigo 91-9 has evolved to brilliance through bigger promotions & prizes.

AIR FM Rainbow: AIR FM Rainbow, run by All India Radio16

is a national radio station, heard all across India. This

government owned enterprise, features Hindi and regional

language songs and occasional English songs along with hourly news bulletins in English,

regional language and also in Hindi. In Bhopal, it operates on 102.1 megahertz in Hindi cum.

English language covering more than 12 districts of Madhya Pradesh and 21 Suburbs in Bhopal

City. In MP, it is also known as "Rainbow FM". In Delhi, it operates on 102.6 megahertz and

AIR FM Rainbow Delhi is the only FM Channel to be aired in as many as ten cities. In Mumbai,

it operates on 107.1 megahertz. In Lucknow, it uses the 100.7 MHz slot. In vizag, it operates on

102 megahertz. In Hyderabad, it operates on 101.9 megahertz and in Vijayawada it operates on

102.2 megahertz. It operates in Bangalore as well with a frequency of 101.3. It was earlier called

FM Metro; the name was changed to FM Rainbow in 2002. The signals of this station are very

strong and it catches till the far villages. The channel plays various genres of music unlike

private channels; it does not stick to music of just one language. It plays ghazals, soundtracks as

well as English songs, a rare occurrence in Indian radio channels. Rainbow is one of very few

Indian radio channels which air Western Music and the western music slots are really popular

with listeners. It has many western music programs like Time Out, Take off, Matchless music

hours, Live wire Plus, Wicked Hour, Footloose, You asked for it, Just for you, Radio pet house,

not only this it also has classical music shows. Almost all the radio jockeys on private FM

channels once started with FM Rainbow. National Radio Station in Trichy, AIR FM Rainbow

operates on 102.1 megahertz in Tamil language covering more than 12 districts of Tamil Nadu.

In Tamil Nadu, this radio channel is also known as "Rainbow FM". In Delhi, AIR FM Rainbow

operates on 102.6 megahertz and AIR FM Rainbow Delhi is the only FM Channel to be aired in

around ten cities. In Mumbai, it operates on 107.1 megahertz, while in Lucknow, it uses the

100.7 MHz slot. In vizag, AIR FM Rainbow is heard on 102 megahertz. The popular slot for

English music called Radio Raptures on AIR FM Rainbow is aired everyday from 7am to10am

and from 10pm to 1am and it has earned a very good audience with the passing years. Some of

the radios Jockeys of AIR FM Rainbow are Altaf, Raunak, Sunny, Wasim, Aditi and Sohail.

FEVER 104 FM: In 2006, FEVER 104 FM17, India's youngest,

hippest and most happening Radio Station that plays more music

than any other was launched. Fever 104 FM, owned by HT

Media Limited, was formed in technical collaboration with the

Virgin group. The company entered the private FM radio market in the four main cities of Delhi,

Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata with the brand Fever 104 FM. Fever 104 FM is a contemporary

hits music station that plays a mix of regional, national and international hits. It plays the latest

hits, all day, all the time across the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata, with its

signature property of 40 minutes non-stop music. Fever 104 FM with its tagline ‘It's all about the

music!’ entered the FM radio market in key Indian cities. It is available in Delhi (since October’

06), Mumbai (since January ’07), Bangalore (since March ‘07) and Kolkata (January ‘08). In a

short span of three years, the channel's rise has been meteoric. It has gained the No. 1 position in

Mumbai and Bangalore leaving behind all the other FM channels in these cities. In terms of TSL,

Fever 104 FM has surged ahead with a total time spent listening of 386 minutes. It is No.2 FM

station in Delhi on the popularity charts.

Radio One: Radio One18 is a radio station in India. It was

launched on June 8, 2006 in Mumbai before going national in 6

more cities. It is a joint venture between Mid-day Multimedia and

BBC Worldwide and operates in 7 metros namely Mumbai, Delhi,

Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune and Ahmadabad. Soon the service of Radio One will also be

started in Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Jaipur. The station broadcasts at 94.3 MHz in all cities

except in Ahmadabad where it broadcasts on 95.0 MHz’s. It was known as Go 92.5 FM and was

broadcast on 92.5 MHz in Mumbai till 2006. In the city of Bangalore, Radio One and the

Bangalore Traffic Police, launched a carpooling drive which is has involved celebrities like

Robin Uthappa, and Rahul Dravid encouraging the public to carpool. The initiative got a good

response, and by the end of May 2009, 10,000 people are said to have carpooled in the city.

Radio Mirchi: Radio Mirchi19 is a nationwide network of

private FM radio stations in India. It is owned by the

Entertainment Network India Ltd (ENIL), which is one of

the subsidiaries of The Times Group. it is promoted by

Bennett, Coleman & Co. Limited (BCCL) which is one of

the largest media and entertainment companies in India, operating in various media segments

such as print media and television broadcasting.

The original avatar of Radio Mirchi was Times FM. Radio Mirchi began operations in 1993 in

Indore. Until 1993, All India Radio or AIR, a government undertaking, was the only radio

broadcaster in India. The government then took the initiative to privatize the radio broadcasting

sector. It sold airtime blocks on its FM channels in Indore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata,

Vizag and Goa to private operators, who developed their own program content. The Times

Group operated its brand, Times FM, till June 1998. After that, the government decided not to

renew contracts given to private operators.

Before we begin, let’s know a little about Radio Mirchi. Times FM was probably the most

famous radio in India which began its operation in 1993. Until 1993, AIR, a government

undertaking, was the only radio broadcaster in India. The government then took the initiative to

privatize the radio broadcasting sector. It sold airtime blocks on its FM channels to private

operators, who developed their own program content. The Times Group operated its brand,

Times FM, till June 1998. After that, the government decided not to renew contracts given to

private operators. It's the largest private FM Radio operator in the country in terms of number of

operational stations and revenue.

As per the Radio Audience Measurement Reports (RAM), Radio Mirchi has been dominating in

Delhi & is the leader in Mumbai and Kolkata. However in Kolkata they are not clear leaders in

SEC ABC segments. The SEC ABC segments were earlier dominated by Big FM & now by

Friends FM. However in the SEC D & E segments Radio Mirchi has total domination.

Playing contemporary hits songs Radio Mirchi has always been the No 1 choice of listeners. IRS

2009 reiterates the same as Mirchi has more than 41 million listeners across 32 stations. Its lead

over its nearest competitor is more than double. Its market share in revenue terms remains in

excess of 40% of the private FM industry. Radio Mirchi is the number 1 radio brand in the

private FM space.

During the year, it won a plethora of awards. It has been recognition of the brand popularity and

the creative talent behind the brand. Mirchi was voted the No. 1 media brand, ahead of iconic

brands like The Times of India and Star Plus. This unique honor was bestowed on Mirchi by the

Pitch-IMRB group's survey of the top service brands of the country. This endorses the vote of

trust that the brand has built amongst its listeners. As per Brand Reporter October 2009 issue

Mirchi was recognized as one of the game changers of the decade in the radio industry. In

December 2008, Mirchi’s website was voted the most popular TV and Radio site in India. The

survey was conducted by Metrix Labs and AC Nielsen. The survey had 1.5 million participants.

The success of the website reflects the overall popularity of Mirchi, the brand. Over the years

Mirchi have established two important landmarks i.e.:

The Mirchi Kaan Awards acknowledges and honors the contribution of individuals and

organizations that have led the way in developing clutter busting radio advertising. The awards

have been instituted to encourage continued creative focus on radio advertising.

While the parentage of the idea was that of Mirchi, the design was created and crafted by the

music fraternity itself. The jury led by Chairman, Javed Akhtar, would make any recipient proud

- the other members comprised the best in the industry: Prasoon Joshi, Anu Malik, Shankar

Mahadevan, Louiz Banks, Lalit Pandit, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Sadhana Sargam, Sonu Niigaam,

Kailash Kher, Suresh Wadkar, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Ramesh Sippy and Kunal Kohli. The

jury set tough standards. This initiative of ‘Listen to my movie’ has been felicitated with one of

the most prestigious Readers Digest Pegasus CSR Awards in the ‘Silver Category’.

As a part of its CSR Mirchi initiated a program to improve the quality of life of the visually

impaired and the company came up with an initiative i.e. “audio books”. This initiative has

already reached hundreds of schools across the country.

Radio City: Radio City20 is a FM radio station in India. It

broadcasts on 91.1 (earlier 91.0 in most cities) megahertz from

Mumbai (where it was started in 2004), Bangalore (started first in

2001), Lucknow and New Delhi. It plays Hindi songs, English and

regional songs. It was launched in Hyderabad in March, 2006, in Chennai on July 7th 2006 and

in Vishakapatnam October 2007. Radio City recently forayed into New Media in May 2008 with

the launch of a new mega music portal - PlanetRadiocity.com that offers music related news,

videos, songs, and other music-related features. Radio City has launched Fun Ka Antenna -

Online Radio Station which plays hits across genres including International, Bollywood, Indipop

and Sufi among others.

Radio City Bangalore is India's first private FM radio station and was started on July 3, 2001. It

launched with presenters such as Rohit Barker, Darius Sunawala, Jonzie Kurian and Suresh

Venkat. Over the years, the station had been steadily losing popularity with the launch of newer

stations in Bangalore. The station has been criticized for multiple format changes and presenter

lineup. The Radio station currently plays a mix of Hindi and Kannada music. Recently as of July,

2006 it has announced plans to invest Rs. 700 to 800 million in the current fiscal year to set up

16 FM (Frequency Modulation) stations across India. The Chief Executive Officer is Ms Apurva

Purohit.

BIG FM 92.7: BIG FM 92.7 is a nationwide private FM radio

station in India owned by Indian businessman Anil Ambani21. It

broadcasts at 92.7 MHz (92.7FM). Currently, it covers 45 cities.

This is the only private FM radio station which is being

broadcast from Srinagar and Jammu in Jammu & Kashmir state.

It has made an announcement to invest Rs. 4,000,000,000 dedicated to transmission equipment,

infrastructure and licensing; which would make the proposed network the largest ever. From July

1, 2008, BIG FM included Singapore, the first city outside India, in its broadcasting network. It

broadcasts its programs daily from 5 to 8pm on XFM 96.3, under the name of 'BIG Bollywood

96.3FM’. Its main tagline is "Suno Sunao, Life Banao".

Radio Active: Jain Group of Institutions (JGI)22 is a conglomerate

of 35 mission driven institutions that spans the gamut of education,

from primary to higher education, and charitable schooling to

professional courses. JGI draws on the essence of tradition and

sophistication of modernization to educate the professionals of tomorrow. Inspired by its

dynamic founder and Chairman Mr. R Chenraj Jain, the JGI family is principled, proactive and

visionary.

Its vision is to contribute leaders to a vibrant and responsive India. Its mission is to provide

excellence in academic education and focuses on the holistic development of the individual. The

Vision behind Radio Active is to empower every individual in society to become a winner and an

achiever by harnessing and nurturing human potential; to sensitize society to global, national and

local issues; to use technology and human enterprise in tandem to help create a meaningful and

proactive social ambience where interdependence becomes mutually supportive and to focus on a

universally responsive India.

In keeping with its tradition of promoting the welfare and betterment of society, JGI has taken

the initiative to launch a community radio station serving the cause of progress and development

of the community at large.

The community radio station, Radio Active will seek to reach out to Bangalore’s masses on

issues concerning health, environment, development, scientific awareness, women, social issues

etc, in turn seeking to inform, educate, while entertaining the public.

-Gagan Deep