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MUMBAI:
FM radio operators are high on music content despite music
companies pinching hard on their costs by hiking rates.
During
prime time, a FM station dedicates 40 minutes of an hour to
music, says an Ernst & Young (E&Y) report on FM radio
stations.
The
load of music content is even higher during non-prime time,
filling up 55 minutes in an hour of FM radio programming.
This goes to show that listeners have a high preference for
film music.
Titled
“India’s FM radio sector- Understanding the growth
imperatives,” the E&Y report says ads fill up 9 minutes,
while the RJ talks only for 5 minutes in an hour of FM radio
programming. However when celebrity guests are on the show,
RJ talk sometimes increase to 10 minutes.
Most
of the radio stations have four ad breaks, while few experiment
with three or five breaks in an hour, says the survey report.
Though
stations have defined music formats under contemporary, mass
and retro, most of the operators use the same programming
genre with little or no differentiation.
To
FM’s claim of being differentiated, the survey says that
over 75 per cent of the genres across stations are common.
The most commonly used genres are Bollywood shows, countdown
shows, talk shows and house-wife themed shows, which combined
account for nearly 40 per cent of the content shown during
the day. This is followed by regional music, local event information,
game shows, campus shows and drive time shows which account
for 38 per cent.
The least used genre is English music, radio shopping and
quiz shows. Some uncommon genres used are relationship-based
and contemporary adult shows.
The
survey was carried out in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai
with 25 senior executives across 10 radio companies. Some
of the radio stations included are Big FM, Radio Mirchi, Radio
City, Red FM,Radio One, Fever FM, Meow FM, Aahaa FM ad Radio
Dhamaal, among others.
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