Indiantelevision.com's feedback from speakers for next week's FICCI FRAMES 2003 convention rolls on with comments from Mid-day Multimedia managing director Tariq Ansari.

The last couple of years have seen a boom in FM radio stations being launched by the likes of Star, the Times Group and Mid-day. However, there does not appear to be much in terms of content to distinguish one from another. Ansari at the convention will be part of the forum on Radio The Second Coming. Here he gives readers a brief idea on the growth potential of radio.

How is community radio expected to grow in India?

Given the right support from Government, community radio can be a tremendous source of entertainment, information and development in discreet communities. However, the Government needs to be absolutely clear on the commercial co-ordinates of those initiatives.

With so many radio stations and all of them sounding the same, what will be the differentiator?

Unfortunately, the high license fees are forcing radio stations to adopt the same mass appeal strategy. The change in the license fee regime will lead to more differential radio stations.

Is there a market for fiction programming on radio in India? Do you see it happening in the near future?

Once again, if there is any change in the license fee regime, there will be more impetus for innovative programming, including fiction programming.