Factual
Private FM players racing to launch in Mumbai by April-end
Get set for the war of the FM airwaves in Mumbai.
As the deadline of 29 April draws near, all the players in the FM fray are scrambling to launch the city’s first private radio stations. Radio Today (from the Living Media group), Radio Mirchi (offspring of the Times of India Group) and Radio Mid Day (from the Mumbai eveninger’s stable) all expect to be up and beaming on or around that date.
Radio Today, headed by G Krishnan (also CEO of top Hindi television news channel Aaj Tak) will take off by 29 April, official sources say. Nischint Chawla, till recently CEO of Radio Mid Day, is the COO.
Radio Mirchi, which has already spiced up the airwaves in Indore and Ahmedabad, is racing against time for a simultaneous launch in Mumbai and Pune by 1 May, says AP Parigi, managing director Entertainment Network, the Times Group company behind Radio Mirchi. Queried as to where the FM station had located its transmission tower, Parigi mentioned two sites – one at Sterling Buildings in Tardeo in central Mumbai and another in suburban Malad.
According to the information available, the first to get off the blocks in Mumbai may well be Radio Mid Day – likely to launch between 23 and 25 April.
RADIO CITY HITS A ROADBLOCK:
Radio City, the ambitious FM project from the Star stable, however, has come up against an unexpected hurdle. The company has still to get its tower and transmitter site clearance from the government. Music Broadcast Private Limited (MBPL), the company promoting Radio City, already has space earmarked for the radio tower atop the Shripati building at Nana Chowk, central Mumbai, but in the absence of government all clear, is caught in a bind. Says Sumantra Dutta, head of Star’s FM operations: “We are very keen to launch but only if the government gives us clearance on the tower and the transmitter site. We, after all, launched India’s first private FM station (in Bangalore on 3 July 2001) and were the first to demonstrate the true potential of FM in India.”
Till date, FM operations have taken off in four centres – Radio City in Bangalore and Lucknow and Radio Mirchi in Indore and Ahmedabad.
Mumbai will, however, witness the first real case where multiple players will be fighting it out for the listener’s ear. Apart from Radio Mirchi, Radio Today, Radio Mid Day and Radio City, there is also Millennium Broadcast. It is not clear at this stage how far it has gone with its launch plans but it needs noting that Millennium Broadcast has experience behind it. It has already tasted a measure of FM success in Sri Lanka.
In the metro cities of Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata, private players have some more time to start operations (August 29, 2002) and unlike in Mumbai they will be using All India Radio towers for broadcast. In Mumbai, where neither DD nor AIR have towers, private players have been exempted from the condition of co-location for a period of two years and have been allowed to make interim individual arrangements. Operators in Mumbai have till 29 February to start broadcast operations. After that, they will be required to start paying license fees, whether services start or not.
One thing that the Private FM players will not be allowed to do, which will certainly restrict growth prospects, is broadcast news and current affairs programmes.
MUMBAI: India’s most famous hot seat is about to welcome an unlikely first-timer. For the first time on Hindi general entertainment television, industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla will appear on Kaun Banega Crorepati, the iconic quiz show hosted by Amitabh Bachchan.
The special episode marks a rare meeting point of boardroom heft and prime-time television, bringing one of India’s most influential business leaders face to face with the country’s most enduring screen legend. It is a crossover that blends intellect, leadership and popular culture, all under KBC’s familiar spotlight.
Birla’s appearance dovetails neatly with the show’s current theme, Jahaan Akal Hai, Wahan Akad Hai, which celebrates the confidence that comes from clarity of thought and knowledge. His presence lends weight to the idea that sharp thinking and conviction are as vital in life as they are in the quiz chair.
In a thoughtful conversation with Bachchan, Birla shared an upbeat view of India’s economic journey, pointing to the nation’s rapid growth and the scale of opportunity opening up across industries and communities. He spoke of momentum, ambition and a future shaped by enterprise and ideas.
The episode is not all serious talk. In lighter moments, Birla confessed his long-standing admiration for Bachchan, calling him his favourite actor and admitting to a touch of nervousness at answering questions in front of the Shahenshah himself. The candour adds a human touch to a man more often seen in headlines than on television sets.
The special episode airs on Monday, 29 December at 9.00 pm on Sony Entertainment Television and Sony LIV.
