NEW DELHI: It is less than a month since several FM radio channels launched in the capital city but some of them have staked their claims to ruling the airwaves.

The Times of India group's Entertainment Network (India) Limited's Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM, which was launched in New Delhi on 28 April, claims radio seems to have caught the fancy of Dilliwallahs – according to a recent research conducted by IMRB. The IMRB Car Track survey shows that almost 70 per cent of the cars had their radio sets switched on. Surprisingly, the same results (70 per cent) hold good even for the city of Kolkata, where Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM launched two weeks ago.

According to the survey conducted earlier this week, Radio Mirchi commands a share of 43 per cent of in-car listenership in Delhi – one and a half times that of the nearest competitor - and 52 per cent in Kolkata - more than all the radio stations put together, says a medianet release.

The medianet release claims that field personnel from IMRB stationed themselves at 10 of Delhi (like Panchsheel Club and Bhogal) and Kolkata’s (like Gariahat and Park Street) busiest traffic junctions, during morning and evening rush hours, and randomly chose private cars. The team selected a car; and checked the radio dial to determine the radio station tuned to.

Reacting to the survey findings, Radio Mirchi sources said that it was encouraging to see that almost 70 per cent of the in-car population was tuning in after only three weeks of launch of the private FM radio channels in the cities.

IMRB International country manager Hemant Mehta was quoted as saying: “The car track survey is a fairly accurate indicator of radio listenership. We have done this survey for over one year in Mumbai. The important feature of the methodology is that the findings are based on actually verifying the 'dial'in the car, rather than what is claimed by the car 'occupant'."

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