Radio One sings a different tune

Radio One (94.3 MHz) is singing a different tune in its two key markets, Delhi and Mumbai. The radio channel, a joint venture of BBC Worldwide and Next Mediaworks, has taken a step away from the de-rigeur Bollywood music, and is positioning itself as a channel that airs only English music.

The objective is to be an ‘intelligent’ channel that appeals to an evolving audience of English music. “We do not want to be just a radio station but rather an infotainment station,” says Shyju Varkey, station director and national marketing head, Radio One. “Business, entertainment, sports will also find space on the channel, and will be tied together with English music,” he adds. Listener engagement will be further extended via on-air and off-air promotions such as quizzes, debates, essay writing competitions for kids on weekends. News, of course will not be aired, due to regulatory restrictions on the radio medium in India.

So is there a captive audience base for English music in India?

Radio One says it has done its homework. As Varkey indicates, “Our research shows that all radio stations play Bollywood music and eventually sound the same.” Cloned content means listeners keep switching channels between songs. Thus, Radio One is counting on English music to break the clutter. The brand is confident that a large English speaking population in the two metros who consume English news through different mediums like television and print will take a shine to the music.

Deloitte Haskins & Sells partner (media) Ashesh Jani agrees that preference for English content has increased in the last few years.

But gaining listenership is only half the battle. The other is advertising revenue. “The challenge like in any other media business, is that the market leader takes away the larger chunk of revenues,” says Prashant Panday, executive director and CEO, Entertainment Network India Limited (ENIL), who operates the Radio Mirchi channel in India. “Costs, which include music licensing and talent, are pretty similar across broadcasters, as a result of which players lower down in the pecking order find it difficult to break-even at the profit-after tax (PAT) level.” Thus, for Radio One, which occupies fifth or sixth position across markets like Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Kolkata (source: Radio Audience Measurement 2011 data), garnering advertising revenues will be an uphill task.

Revenues from advertising cannot be ignored since it brings in almost 80-90 percent of revenues for a radio channel. If the past is an indication, English music has not found much success with players.

But Varkey is optimistic. “Today, advertisers are looking for a differentiated product in radio so that they can target better and engage better. Such content is prevalent in print, television and the Internet but not in radio,” says Varkey. Allied Media chief operating officer PM Balakrishna says advertisers will come on board if the station is able to create a buzz. “It depends on how well the station promotes the new offering,” explains Balakrishna. Also, with niche product categories emerging across sectors, there is better scope than in the past.

Players are also counting on the rollout of Phase III radio licenses, which once underway, will allow channels to operate at a second frequency. “The cost of operation of a second channel would be much lower and thus a second frequency in English might be commercially feasible,” sums of Panday of ENIL.