FM broadcasting in India

{{Short description|Type of radio broadcasting in India}}

{{multiple issues|{{More citations needed|date=December 2012}}

{{update|date=August 2017}}}}

The FM broadcasting in India began in 1977; growing popularity after 2001 when the privatisation of FM broadcasting began. AIR's FM LRS (Local Radio Station) was inaugurated on 1 July 2000 at 06:00 in Kodaikanal relaying Madurai programs in the frequency 100.5 MHz. 100.5 was so popular that LRS was upgraded to an FM Channel in just two months. The channel covered a radius of about {{Convert|200|km|abbr=on}} due to its location at 2200 meters above MSL at Kodaikanal. KODAI FM is popularly known as it is the biggest individual FM channel in India, in both area coverage and listenership.

As of December 2018, there are more than 369 operational private radio stations in more than 101 cities and towns across India.{{cite web |url=https://mib.gov.in/sites/default/files/Operational%20FM%20rado%20Channels%20city%20wise%20list_0.pdf |title=Archived copy |website=mib.gov.in |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225134639/https://mib.gov.in/sites/default/files/Operational%20FM%20rado%20Channels%20city%20wise%20list_0.pdf |archive-date=25 December 2018 |url-status=dead}} The Government of India-owned All India Radio which has about 470 FM stations covering 92% of the area and 99.19% of the population of India. AIR originates programming in 23 languages and 179 dialects.{{Cite web |title=All India Radio {{!}} Prasar Bharati |url=https://prasarbharati.gov.in/all-india-radio-2/ |access-date=2024-03-20 |website=prasarbharati.gov.in}}{{cite web |url=http://allindiaradio.gov.in/Oppurtunities/Tenders/Documents/06%20AIR%20STATIONS%20HAVING%20FM%20TRANSMITTERS%20191218.pdf |title=Archived copy |website=allindiaradio.gov.in |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225142952/http://allindiaradio.gov.in/Oppurtunities/Tenders/Documents/06%20AIR%20STATIONS%20HAVING%20FM%20TRANSMITTERS%20191218.pdf |archive-date=25 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}

History

FM broadcasting began on 23 July 1977 in Chennai, then Madras, and was expanded during the 1990s, nearly 50 years after FM broadcasting grew in the United States.{{cite web |url=http://allindiaradio.org/milestone.html |title= Mile Stone|website=allindiaradio.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525235547/http://allindiaradio.org/milestone.html |archive-date=May 25, 2012}} India first experimented with private FM broadcasts in Goa and the large metropolitan areas of Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai. These were followed by private stations in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Lucknow.

Until 1993, All India Radio, a government undertaking, was the only radio broadcaster in India. The government then decided to privatise the radio broadcasting sector.{{Citation needed|date = July 2015}} It sold airtime blocks on its FM channels in Indore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Vizag, and Goa to private operators, who developed their own program content. The Times Group operated its brand, Times FM, till June 1998. After that, the Indian Government decided not to renew contracts given to private operators. Instead, in 2000, the Indian Government announced the auction of 108 FM frequencies across India, opening up the FM broadcasting industry to private competition.

Radio City Bangalore, started on 3 July 2001, is India's first private FM radio station.{{Cite journal|last=Sen|first=Biswarup|date=26 August 2014|title=A new kind of radio: FM broadcasting in India|journal=Media, Culture & Society|language=en|volume=36|issue=8|pages=1084–1099|doi=10.1177/0163443714544998|s2cid=143785018}} It launched with presenters such as Vera, Rohit Barker, Seetal Iyer, Jonzie Kurian, Geeta Modgil, Suresh Venkat, and Chaitanya Hegde and Priya Ganapathy on the weekends.Radio City (Indian radio station) The Times Group rebranded its radio operations, establishing the Radio Mirchi brand. The first Radio Mirchi station began broadcasting on October 4, 2001 in Indore.

Indian policy states that the broadcasters are assessed a one-time entry fee (OTEF), for a license period of 10 years. Under the Indian accounting system, this amount is amortised over the 10-year period at 10% per annum. The annual license fee for private broadcasters is either 4% of revenue share or 10% of reserve price, whichever is higher.

India's earlier attempts to privatise its FM channels ran into rough weather when private players bid heavily and most could not meet their commitments to pay the government the amounts they owed.{{Citation needed|date = July 2015}}

Content

Nationally, many of the current FM broadcasters, including the Times of India, Hindustan Times, Mid-Day, and BBC are established media institutions in India and are making a strong pitch for news on FM, which is currently limited to nationalized stations only. Private FM stations are allowed to rebroadcast news from All India Radio, as long as they do so without any changes or additions.{{cite web | title = Control freakery | publisher = The Indian Express | date = Oct 19, 2013 | url = http://www.indianexpress.com/news/control-freakery/1184364/ | access-date = Oct 19, 2013 }} The Supreme Court of India on 17 October 2013 issued a public interest litigation to the central government requesting that the rules should be changed to allow FM stations to broadcast news reports.{{cite web

|title = Why not let private radio stations air news?

|publisher = Hindustan Times

|date = October 17, 2013

|url = http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/newdelhi/Why-not-let-private-radio-stations-air-news/Article1-1136570.aspx

|access-date = 19 October 2013

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131022070239/http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Why-not-let-private-radio-stations-air-news/Article1-1136570.aspx

|archive-date = 22 October 2013

}}

Radio stations by location

{{update section|date=December 2018}}

{{see also|List of FM radio stations in India}}

=National Capital Region=

class="wikitable"

!Name

!Frequency

!Language

Radio Jamia (see Jamia Millia Islamia)

|90.4 MHz

|Multilingual

RADIO 7

|90.4 MHZ

|Hindi

Delhi University Community Radio

|90.4 MHz

|Multilingual

Radio SD 90.8

|90.8 MHz

|Hindi

Radio City

|91.1 MHz

|Multilingual

Big FM

|92.7 MHz

|Multilingual

Red FM

|93.5 MHz

|Multilingual

MY Fm

|94.3 MHz

|Hindi

Radio One

|94.3 MHz

|Hindi English

Hit95 FM

|95.0 MHz

|Hindi

Apna Radio (Indian Institute of Mass Communication)

|96.9 MHz

|Multilingual

Radio Mirchi

|98.3 MHz

|Multilingual

AIR FM Gold

|100.1 MHz

|Multilingual

FM Rainbow Lucknow

|100.7 MHz

|Hindi

All India Radio JAIPUR

|101.2 MHZ

|Hindi

Amit Bharti

|101.6 MHz

|Hindi

AIR FM Rainbow

|102.6 MHz

|Hindi

AIR AlWAR

|103.1 MHz

|Hindi

Fever 104

|104.0 MHz

|Hindi

104.8 Ishq

|104.8 MHz

|Hindi

Gyan Vani

|105.6 MHz

|Hindi

Vividh Bharti (All India Radio)

|105.4 MHz

|Hindi

Radio Nasha

|107.2 MHz

|Hindi

Sawai Madhopur FM

|101.5 MHz

|Hindi

Noida FM

|107.4 MHz

|Hindi

Gurgaon Ki Awaz

|107.8 MHz

|Hindi

{{Cite web |url=http://trace.bharatiyamobile.com/mobile-fm-radio-stations.php?location= |title=FM Radio Stations in |website=trace.bharatiyamobile.com |access-date=2016-10-31 }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.asiawaves.net/india/delhi-radio.htm |title=Delhi Radio Stations on FM, mediumwave and shortwave |website=www.asiawaves.net |access-date=2016-10-31 }}{{Cite web |url=https://onlineradiofm.org/ |title=Listen FM Radio Stations Online - Radio Mirchi, DevotionalFM Stations|website=www.onlineradiofm.org }}

=Kolkata, West Bengal=

{{div col|colwidth=25em}}

  • Radio SRFTI (90.4 MHz, Available within a 10 Km radius of the film institute){{Cite web|url=https://communityvoices.in/directory/community-media-profile/1409/|title=Community Media: SRFTI 90.4 F.M., Kolkata, West Bengal | profile by CommunityVoices.in}}
  • Radio JU (90.8 MHz, Available within a 5 km radius of the University, from 11:00 AM to 7:30 PM){{Cite web|url=http://www.jaduniv.edu.in/radioju.php|title = Welcome to Jadavpur University website}}
  • Y FM NSHM (91.2 MHz, Available within a 10 km radius of the institute, from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM){{Cite web|url=http://www.nshm.com/fm-nshm-community-radio/|title = Home}}
  • Friends FM (91.9 MHz) (Bengali, Hindi)
  • Big FM (92.7 MHz) (Bengali, Hindi)
  • Red FM (93.5 MHz) (Bengali, Hindi)
  • Radio Nasha (94.3 MHz,formerly Radio One) (Bengali, Hindi)
  • Radio Mirchi (98.3 MHz) (Bengali, Hindi)
  • AIR FM Gold (100.1 MHz)
  • Akashwani Kolkata (100.3 MHz) (Bengali)
  • AIR FM Vividh Bharati (101.8 MHz)
  • Fever 104 FM (104 MHz) (Bengali, Hindi)
  • Ishq FM (104.8 MHz) (Bengali, Hindi)
  • AIR FM Rainbow (107 MHz)

{{div col end}}

=Asansol, West Bengal=

{{div col|colwidth=25em}}

=Siliguri, West Bengal=

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{{div col end}}

=Bolpur Santiniketan, West Bengal=

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=Suri, West Bengal=

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  • Gitanjali Radio (90.4 MHz Cultural radio station opened in 2024) (Bengali)

{{div col end}}

= Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh =

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

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= Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh =

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= Rajasthan =

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= Ahmedabad, Gujarat =

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

  • Radio Mirchi - 98.3 FM (Times Group)
  • My FM - 94.3 FM D B Corp Ltd.
  • Red FM - 93.5 FM (Sun Group
  • Radio City - 91.1 FM (Music Broadcast Limited)
  • Radio One - 95.0 FM (Only Bollywood Retro Station of Ahmedabad)
  • AIR Vividh Bharati - 96.7 FM (All India Radio)
  • Micavaani - 90.4 FM (Mudra Institute of Communications)
  • AIR Gyan Vaani - 105.4 FM (All India Radio)
  • Mirchi Love - 104 FM (Times Group)
  • All India radio - 100.1 FM
  • Radio Nazariya - 107.8 FM (Drishti)

{{div col end}}

=Hyderabad=

class="wikitable"

!Name

!Frequency (MHz)

!Language

Bol 90.4 FM

|90.4

|Multilingual

Radio City

|91.1

|Telugu

Big 92.7 FM

|92.7

|Telugu/Hindi

Red FM

|93.5

|Telugu

Fever Fm

|94.3

|Hindi

Mirchi 95

|95

|Hindi

Radio Mirchi

|98.3

|Telugu

All India Radio (AIR / AIR / Twin Cities FM Rainbow)

|101.9

|Telugu

All India Radio (AIR / AIR / Vvd Bharti)

|102.8

|Hindi

Kool 104

|104

|English

Gyan Vani

|105.6

|Hindi

Magic Fm

|106.4

|Telugu

Radio Charminar

|107.8

|Telugu/Hindi

Deccan Radio

|107.8

|Hindi

=Mumbai, Maharashtra=

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

{{div col end}}

=Bengaluru, Karnataka=

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

{{div col end}}

=Chennai, Tamil Nadu=

Source:

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{{div col end}}

=Kerala state=

{{div col|colwidth=22em}}

{{div col end}}

Market view, Jaipur

Traditionally, radio accounts for 7% to 8% of advertiser expenditures around the world. In India, it is less than 2% at present.{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}}

The ministry of broadcasting in India is setting up more (86) FM Radio to all parts of India by March 2017.{{Cite web | url=http://www.radioandmusic.com/biz/radio/air/160328-86-new-air-stations-come-march-2017 | title=86 new AIR stations to come up by March 2017}}

List of FM Stations in Jaipur:

:1. 94.3 MY FM (Listenership; 18 lacs plus)

:2. 98.3 Radio Mirchi (Listenership; 12 lacs plus)

:3. 104 Mirchi Love (Listenership; 10 lacs plus)

:4. 93.5 Red FM (Listenership; 8.6 lacs plus)

:5. 91.1 Radio City (Listenership; 6 lacs plus)

:6. 95 Tadka (Listenership; 1.4 lacs plus)

Current allocation process

In FM Phase II — the latest round of the long-delayed opening up of private FM in India — some 338 frequencies were offered of which about 237 were sold.{{Citation needed|date=January 2017}}

References

{{reflist}}

{{Audio broadcasting}}

Category:Lists of radio stations in India