Arun Katiyar: Does global radio work?

TUNING IN

For an entire generation brought up on medium wave and short wave radio (MW and SW), the real question regarding FM must be: what's the big deal? The broadcast quality of FM is considerably better, but what's the big deal?

The power of FM is not just immaculate digital quality sound "� although that is 70 per cent of its appeal "� but that by circumstance it must cater to a very local audience. It is the specialised or local quality of the content, coupled with the fact that it is live (mostly) and immediate that helps FM dominate the airwaves.

Now consider this: would you listen to perfect digital quality sound without local content that has relevance to your life on the radio?

Meaning, would you consume great audio quality with content that is irrelevant or close enough to being meaningless; or content that is so timeless you could just as well have heard it a decade from now without a serious difference in impact? Satellite radio does exactly that.

You can buy a satellite radio receiver for anywhere upwards of Rs 3,500 and start listening to 31 radio stations. At the turn of the dial: irresistible jazz, rock in three or four flavours, country favourites, opera and classical, a bunch of dignified Hindi music channels, a couple of interesting pop and salsa channels and so on. You pay a subscription of Rs 1,200 a year and get commercial-free radio 365 days a year.

But since consumers of satellite radio are spread across entire continents, the content can't exactly be tailored for every listener. So, more often than not, there is no content at all. At best, satellite radio can bring home something like CNN-International, which is quite removed from your immediate environment.

Currently, WorldSpace satellite radio does exactly this. The service provides access to the most wonderful music, without a break. But it doesn't tell you about the events unfolding in your neighbourhood or in the next suburb. It doesn't have commercials that tell you about the hot deals in air conditioners this summer, the movies playing in town and the low cost loans that are available to finance your dream home.

Then again, you can't exactly carry your satellite radio receiver from home to office. Neither can you install one in your car (the set doesn't work in a moving vehicle since it has to be constantly aimed at a satellite). Technically, you could lug the radio set from home to office and back. But it would require quite a bit of determination and courage.

Let this much be said "� the music that WorldSpace provides on each of its channels is marvelous. Some have mass appeal while others are entirely niche. But each is a delight to listen to. And maybe one of the great reasons for its appeal is the fact that there is no senseless chatter from mindless radio jocks.

WorldSpace has been available in India for a little over three years. It has roughly 65,000 subscribers. Now it is spending Rs 13 crore in advertising in a bid to gain a larger share of listeners, starting with Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and covering other parts of India by July.

As a radio consumer, what will you do? Perhaps ask a fundamental question first: how many of the 31 channels interest you? How often do you listen to classical and country? Rock and club? Of the 31 stations, maybe you will listen to one or two. Does that justify a subscription of Rs 1,200 a year?

Now ask yourself a couple of more questions that have nothing to do with radio: would you have paid Rs 12 for a bottle of packaged water 25 years ago? Would you have paid Rs 250 a month to watch a bunch of television channels 20 years ago? Would you have paid Rs 150 for a cinema ticket (which you do in a multiplex) when you could have seen the same movie for Rs 30 in another theatre 15 years ago?

Everything changes and if not today, you will in time to come be willing to pay for quality radio. That may be the only way left to get quality radio.

AM operators once said that FM would never be a cause for concern to them. Today, that story too has changed. FM operators must not undermine the power of satellite radio, despite the seemingly overwhelming odds.

(Arun Katiyar has spent over two decades working in the print, internet and radio media. He can be contacted at katiyararun@yahoo.com)