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Changes in plans are afoot at both Radio City and Jagran Prakashan about their future joint course of action.
The information and broadcasting ministry has approved the acquisition of Music Broadcast Private, the company that owns popular FM station Radio City 91.1, by the Jagran Group. Radio City 91.1 will now rework their strategy for the third phase of frequency auction; the acquirer is busy restructuring its ad-sales strategy.
At present, one can tune into Radio City 91.1 in 20 cities, most of them in the west and south India. Now, the station will work closely with Radio Mantra, operated by Shri Puran Multimedia, the promoter group of Jagran.
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Radio Mantra has a significant presence in north Indian cities such as Agra, Bareilly, Faizabad, Gorakhpur, Ranchi, Hisar and Karnal.
“With the change in ownership, we will need to alter the strategy for phase-three. So now, instead of the 20 odd frequencies we were looking at, we will now look at around eight to 10 new frequencies,” said Apoorva Purohit, chief executive, Radio City 91.1 FM.
She added: “Of course, we do not need to focus on the north so much now. We are already present in a few north Indian cities as Radio City and Radio Mantra has a considerable presence as well.”
Purohit also said while the focus may not be on acquiring frequencies, the station will be conscious of bidding for the cities where Jagran has a significant presence. The reason for this is the holding company’s plans to have a robust advertising vehicle in its stronghold cities.
Shailesh Gupta, director, Jagran Prakashan, said, “For us, Radio City 91.1 FM makes sense as an acquisition mainly from an advertising stand-point. We have a robust presence in media like print and outdoor, but were lacking when it came to radio. With the audience that Radio City has and its dominant position in most of the cities it is present in, we hope to strengthen our advertising offering to our clients.”
Both the radio stations Radio Mantra and Radio City will continue to operate as separate brands and separate units. However, the ad-sales teams from both will be working in tandem at some level.
Apart from this, both Purohit and Gupta feel that the big game changer for Radio City will be when private ne ws is allowed on private FM radio. Currently, the private FM stations are allowed to use only the feed from All India Radio for news. Radio City will also be working with its parent company to develop intellectual properties for events in the future, which will leverage the station’s strength in the entertainment sector. Radio City will also be undergoing a brand enhancement exercise in the coming months, after the phase three auctions.
