According to the latest RAM report for the four Indian metros for the week of August 21 to 27, Big FM continued to lead in Mumbai with 14.7 percent share of listeners, down by 0.3 percent.

Radio City stayed at the second spot with 14.3 percent share – same as previous week, and Radio Mirchi was third with 13.8 percent share.

Fever, which had the highest Time Spent Listening (TSL) of 6.16, was at the fourth spot with 13.6 percent share – up by 0.3 percent since last week.

Red FM was fifth with 12 percent share of listeners – same as last week.

In Delhi, Fever stayed at the top spot with 17.7 percent share of listeners – down by 0.2 percent since last week, and the highest Time Spent Listening (TSL) of 5.21.

Radio Mirchi was second with 13.9 percent.

Radio City climbed a spot to take the third place with 10 percent share.

Last week’s number three, Radio Nasha, lost 0.5 percent share to take the fourth spot with 9.9 percent.

Red FM was a close fifth with 9.8 percent share.

In Kolkata, Mirchi expanded its lead with 21 percent share – up by 0.7 percent since last week, while Big FM continued to be second with 16.3 percent, gaining 0.3 percent.

Fever was third with 15.4 percent share and the highest TSL of 5.24.

Oye FM continued to be fourth with 10.7 percent, gaining 0.8 percent since last week.

In Bangalore, City continued to lead with a share of 23.2 percent – down by 1 percent, and the highest TSL of 9.47.

Big FM followed at the second spot with 20.7 percent and Radio Mirchi was third with 17.5 percent share of listeners.

Fever was fourth with 14.8 percent share.

As violence spread in the southern Indian state of Karnataka over a dispute on sharing water from the Cauvery river with its neighbouring state Tamil Nadu, popular Tamil radio presenter RJ Balaji took to social media to remind people that they were ‘all human first’.

The dispute has lasted for more than a 150 years during which both states involved have accused each other of reneging on several agreements.

While Karnataka contends that it does not receive its due share of water from the river, Tamil Nadu says that it has come to depend very heavily on the existing pattern of usage of its water and any change in this pattern will adversely affect the livelihood of millions of its farmers.

In the latest development, the country’s Supreme Court has ordered Karnataka to release 12,000 Cusecs of water from the river to neighbouring Tamil Nadu till September 20.

This has resulted in widespread disorder in Karnataka which has seen instances of travel and transport services being blocked, buses being burnt and anti-tamil violence leading to the imposition of a curfew in Bangalore - the state’s capital.

Balaji hosts a show called ‘Take it Easy’ on 92.7 Big FM at its station in Chennai – the capital of Tamil Nadu.

On Sunday, he posted a message to his Facebook page asking the people of both states to "remain sensible and refrain from posting things that spread hatred and violence".

As the post went viral over Sunday and Monday, Balaji posted shared a video on his timeline on Tuesday captioned: "More than being a Tamilzhan or Kannadiga, let's be human first!"

Indian network 92.7 Big FM has launched a musical game show titled ‘Big Antakshari’ with singer Kanika Kapoor. 

The show will start airing from September 19 across all 45 stations of the network in the country.

Antakshari is a popular spoken parlour game across the subcontinent where each contestant sings the first verse of a movie song that begins with the Hindustani consonant on which the previous contestant’s song selection ended.

The station says it has replicated the game into a radio format by adding various new elements and contests.

A spokesperson from the network said: “We have kept the essence of the original Antakshari intact and tried to add a tinge of modernity into it."  

Kanika Kapoor said, "It has been my favorite game since childhood. I remember playing it during my school days with friends, family and cousins. There are many more memories associated with it. Really look forward to this iconic musical radio game show."

India’s international music station Indigo 91.9 fm marked the anniversary of its Bangalore station on Monday with the release of an anthem composed by rapper BrodhaV.

The anthem was released on-air and posted on social media and can be heard at https://www.facebook.com/Indigo919Bangalore/videos/1228450767175715/

One of the other highlights of the station’s weeklong celebrations is the Indigo Prize Vault, an on-air contest where lucky participants can opt to open three vaults in succession to win exciting prizes.

According to the latest RAM report for the four Indian metros for the week of August 28 to September 3, Fever climbed two spaces to take the second spot in Mumbai with 14.5 percent share of listeners and the highest Time Spent Listening (TSL) of 6.01.

It gained 0.9 percent share since last week to move closer to Big FM, which leads with 15.8 percent share.

Radio City slipped from the second spot with 14 percent share – down by 0.3 percent since previous week while Radio Mirchi was fourth with 13.1 percent share.

Red FM was fifth with 11.7 percent share of listeners.

In Delhi, Fever stayed unchallenged at the top spot with 17.6 percent share of listeners – down by 0.1 percent since last week, and the highest TSL of 5.25.

Radio Mirchi continued to be second with 13.5 percent and Radio City was third with 10.8 percent share.

Radio Nasha maintained its fourth position 10.4 percent share.

Red FM was a close fifth with 10.1 percent share.

In Kolkata, Mirchi was in the lead with 20.4 percent share – down by 0.6 percent since last week, while Big FM continued to be second with 15.9 percent after losing 0.4 percent share.

Fever was third with 15 percent share and the highest TSL of 5.21.

Oye FM continued to be fourth with 10.6 percent share of listeners.

In Bangalore, City continued to lead with a share of 23.4 percent – up by 0.2 percent, and the highest TSL of 9.55.

Big FM followed at the second spot with 20.1 percent and Radio Mirchi was third with 17.8 percent share of listeners.

Fever was fourth with 13 percent share.

According to the latest RAM report for the four Indian metros for the week of September 4 to 19, Fever and Radio Mirchi were tied at the second spot in Mumbai with 14.2 percent share of listeners.

Fever, despite losing 0.3 percent since last week, also managed to have the highest Time Spent Listening (TSL) of 5.52.

Radio Mirchi, which was at the fourth place last week with 13.1 percent share, gained 1.1 percent.

Big FM continued to lead with 15.8 percent share - a gain of 0.1 percent since last week.

Radio City continued to be third with 13.8 percent share – down by 0.2 percent since previous week while Red FM was fourth with 11.6 percent share of listeners.

In Delhi, Fever stayed at the top spot with 18.2 percent share of listeners – up by 0.2 percent since last week, and the highest TSL of 4.58.

Radio Mirchi continued to be second with 13.8 percent.

Radio Nasha gained 0.5 percent share to climb to the third place with 10.9 percent share, displacing Radio City, which slipped to the fourth place with 10.4 percent share – down by 0.4 percent.

Red FM was fifth with 9.9 percent share.

In Kolkata, Mirchi stayed in the lead with 20.3 percent share – down by 0.1 percent since last week, while Big FM continued to be second with 15.8 percent after losing 0.1 percent share.

Fever was third with 14.7 percent share and the highest TSL of 5.3.

Oye FM continued to be fourth with 11.2 percent share of listeners.

In Bangalore, City consolidated its lead with a share of 23.9 percent – up by 0.5 percent, and the highest TSL of 10.08.

Big FM followed at the second spot with 19.8 percent and Radio Mirchi was third with 18.3 percent share of listeners.

Fever was fourth with 13.4 percent share.

According to the latest RAM report for the four Indian metros for the week of September 11 to 17, Fever and Radio Mirchi were tied once again in Mumbai with 13.6 percent share of listeners.

Last week, both stations shared the second spot and this week they are at the third place.

Fever, despite losing 0.6 percent share since last week, also managed to have the highest Time Spent Listening (TSL) of 6.17.

Radio Mirchi also lost 0.6 percent share.

Big FM continued to lead with 15.6 percent share - a loss of 0.2 percent since last week.

Radio City climbed a spot to take the second place with 13.8 percent share, in spite of losing 0.1 percent since the previous week.

Red FM was fourth with 12 percent share of listeners – up by 0.4 percent.

In Delhi, Fever stayed at the top spot with 17.9 percent share of listeners – down by 0.3 percent since last week, and the highest TSL of 4.5.

Radio Mirchi continued to be second with 13.7 percent.

Radio City climbed a spot here as well to take the third place with 10.5 percent share, gaining 0.1 percent.

Last week’s number three Radio Nasha lost 0.5 percent share to slip to the fourth place with 10.4 percent share.

Red FM was fifth with 10.1 percent share.

In Kolkata, Mirchi stayed in the lead with 19.8 percent share – down by 0.5 percent since last week, while Big FM continued to be second with 15.7 percent after losing 0.1 percent share.

Fever was third with 14.7 percent share – same as last week, and the highest TSL of 5.4.

Oye FM continued to be fourth with 11.1 percent share of listeners.

In Bangalore, City continued to lead with a share of 23.4 percent – down by 0.5 percent, and the highest TSL of 9.57.

Big FM followed at the second spot with 20.8 percent – up by 1 percent, and Radio Mirchi was third with 18.1 percent share of listeners.

Fever was fourth with 13.9 percent share.

Reliance Broadcast Network Limited’s 92.7 Big FM has re-launched its Delhi station with a ‘Retro-Romantic’ positioning.

The move comes while the station has been ranking low in the weekly RAM ratings, coming sixth in the latest report.

Its new tagline is ‘Sunte Hi Pyaar Ho Jaye’ (You’ll love it as soon as you hear it).

The new strategy aims to strike a balance between 'retro' and varied facets of love, playing music from the 70s to the 90s.

It has also crafted new shows and introduced fresh presenters.

RJ Dev will host 'Morning Show with Dev' from 7am to 10am, RJ Simran will host the mid-morning show from 12pm to 2pm, RJ Ananta will host the evening show from 5pm to 9pm and RJ Pallavi will present love stories from the current times from 9pm to 11pm.

Ashwin Padmanabhan, Chief Operating Officer, Reliance Broadcast Network Limited said: "If there is any emotion that has a universal appeal irrespective of age, social or geographical differences, it is love. Romance is timeless and the beautiful music between 70's to 90's depicts the emotion beautifully. Our aim is to provide content that is retro in nature and appeals across age-groups. We are confident that our new identity will be welcomed and embraced by all."

Indian content conglomerate Zee Entertaining Enterprises has restarted talks with Reliance Broadcast Network Limited (RBNL) to acquire its radio and television business.

Owned by billionaire Anil Ambani, RBNL operates 92.7 Big FM across 45 stations in the country.

It started operations in 2006 and claims to reach 1200 towns and 42 million listeners.

The network recently added 14 more frequencies in Phase III FM auctions last year.

It was one of the first radio players in the country to change its format from CHR to retro, three years ago.

Zee is a subsidiary of the Essel Group and its founder is Subhash Chandra.

The company has 35 channels serving Indian content across India and 169 countries and forayed into radio space recently by acquiring the UAE’s oldest private FM station, Hum 106.2 FM.

RBNL and Zee have been in talks since the beginning of the year but they hit a roadblock in August when Zee Managing Director Punit Goenka said that his company was no longer interested in the deal owing to regulatory hurdle of 49% foreign investment cap in radio business.

The size of the deal was being pegged at anyhwere between $225 million  (Rs 15 billion) to $300 million (Rs 20 billion).

As per current guidelines, FM operators who migrated to Phase III cannot offload more than 49% stake till March 2017.

However, there is a possibility that Zee, which was initially looking at acquiring 49% stake in Big FM, may up its stake to 100% post lock-in period. 

Its entry into radio segment in India will allow it to draw synergies with its other media businesses. 

Indian network Red FM’s Mumbai station is the official radio partner of the ‘Hamara Station, Hamari Shaan’ (Our Station, Our Pride) – a collaborative endeavour between Mumbai First, Making a Difference Foundation and Western & Central Railway.

The drive aims to beautify 36 suburban stations in the city between October 2 and 8.

The radio station plans to add a creative twist to the venture by using use quirky yet provoking messages to promote cleanliness on the railway stations.

Red FM presenters Malishka and Rishi Kapoor will amplify these socially toned messages on air too as well as through announcements bearing their well-known voices which will be played at the railway stations.

On this association, Nisha Narayanan, COO, Red FM said, “We are honoured to be associated with such a credible cause given local stations play a significant role in the life of Mumbaikars. We hope the initiative raises awareness and inspires social change among people.”

According to the latest RAM report for the four Indian metros for the week of September 18 to 24, Big FM continued to lead in Mumbai with 14.7 percent share of listeners, having lost 0.9 percent since last week.

Radio City continued at the second place with 14.2 percent share, gaining 0.4 percent since the previous week.

Fever, which was tied with Radio Mirchi at the third place last week, slipped to the fourth spot with

13.7 percent share of listeners.

Radio Mirchi gained 0.4 percent share to be at the third place with 4.16 percent share.

Red FM was fifth with 12 percent share of listeners – same as previous week.

In Delhi, Fever stayed at the top spot with 17.5 percent share of listeners – down by 0.4 percent since last week, and the highest TSL of 4.58.

Radio Mirchi continued to be second with 13.4 percent while Radio City took the third place with 10.7 percent share, gaining 0.2 percent.

Radio Nasha and Red FM were tied at the fourth place with 10.2 percent share each.

In Kolkata, Mirchi stayed in the lead with 20.1 percent share – up by 0.3 percent since last week, while Big FM continued to be second with 15.4 percent after losing 0.3 percent share.

Fever was third with 15.2 percent share – up by 0.5 percent, and the highest TSL of 5.38.

Oye FM continued to be fourth with 11.4 percent share of listeners.

In Bangalore, City consolidated its to lead with a share of 25.2 percent – up by 1.8 percent, and the highest TSL of 10.23.

Big FM followed at the second spot with 19.5 percent – down by 1.3 percent, and Radio Mirchi was third with 16.9 percent share of listeners – down by 1.2 percent.

Fever was fourth with 13.3 percent share.

Indian network Radio City’s new station in Kanpur was launched recently by Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan.

The station, which will broadcast on 104.8 FM, is the network’s sixth station in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

It is the first of the 11 new stations acquired by the network in the recent Phase 3 auctions to be launched.

The other stations that will soon be launched by City include Patiala, Patna, Jamshedpur, Ajmer, Kota, Bikaner, Nasik, Kolhapur, Udaipur and Madurai.

On the occasion of the launch Abraham Thomas, CEO, Radio City, said: “With the launch of Radio City Kanpur, we are excited to foray into the first leg of our Phase III journey and become the strongest radio network in UP covering 6 cities and 39 stations nationally. Kanpur being a significant market for Radio City, we are all geared up to redefine radio entertainment post carving our footprint in metropolitan and tier 2 cities.”

Indian network 92.7 Big FM has signed up as the exclusive radio partner for 'Paddy Fields' - India's first Folk and Fusion Music festival. 

The event is set to take place on October 15 and 16 in Mumbai.

The line-up of participating artists includes The Colonial Cousins, Mame Khan, Gangadhar & Tulika, Papon, Chaar Yaar, Dhruv Voyage, The Nooran Sisters, and Salim & Sulaiman.

Ahead of the festival, these artists will perform unplugged versions of their songs as well as retro Bollywood songs on Big FM’s breakfast and evening shows in Mumbai.

On the exclusive association with Paddy Fields, a RBNL spokesperson said: "It is a wonderful initiative to bring together both, emerging and renowned music artists on one platform, and promote India's rich culture of Folk and Fusion music. We aim to leverage our expansive reach to provide the music festival its much deserved attention from our listeners."

India’s international music station Indigo 91.9 has announced the addition of new shows in Bangalore.

On the late evening slot RJ Ayesha Barretto presents a brand new show called Pillow Talk at 9pm.

She treats the audience to tales of love and romance; and a chance to relive fond memories.

Offsite with Melodee Austin is on air every Sunday from 10am where shetalks to the city's top corporate honchos, entrepreneurs, administrators over a casual banter, bringing out the lighter side and showcasing their hidden talent.

Announcing the reboot formally on the occasion of their anniversary party at Indigo Live Music Bar, Satya Narayana Murthy, CEO Indigo 91.9, said: "As a brand we are constantly pushing the bar of innovation. Through these offerings, our listeners get to experience non-music content that is both engaging and immersive. The endeavor is to offer differentiated and niche content and gives more reasons for the listeners to tune-in to the station." 

Shubham Keche, 24, who worked as an RJ for Indian network Radio Mirchi’s Nagpur station, died on Thursday while presenting his show.

Keche was hosting the breakfast show, Hi Nagpur, which airs from 7 am to 11 am.

According to his colleagues, at around 9.30 am he went to the washroom during one of the breaks and was found unconscious on the floor.

The security guard and the office boy immediately rushed him to the hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.

The post mortem reports revealed that his death was caused by cardiac arrest.

A popular radio personality in the city, he was the sole bread winner of his family since his father died of brain haemorrhage three years ago.

Indian network Red FM, is taking its show Mid Night Masala, which is hosted by RJ Heena, to nine new cities in with a campaign to make the country’s streets safer for women.

These cities include Lucknow, Kanpur, Allahabad, Nagpur, Indore, Bhopal, Varanasi, Jaipur, and Jabalpur. The show aims to focus on women safety at night with its campaign 'Heena Karegi Sabki Lights On'.

It will stress the need to have proper and adequate street lighting to avoid cases of women molestation and  teasing at odd hours.

RJ Heena will urge listeners to identify the darkest streets in their cities for three days in a bid to draw the attention of the authorities towards the state of affairs in the city.

Nisha Narayanan, COO Red FM commented: "With increasing incidents of eve-teasing, robbery, and molestation against women during the night, we want to highlight the need to have proper lighting on the streets and get authorities to improve the current situation."

 Dedicated to ensuring safety for women, Red FM will ask listeners to keep the streets lit up with Baraati lights, mobile flashlights, torch lights by security guards or bike headlights by biking groups during these odd hours. So, listeners, this Diwali let's just not light the city for a day rather pledge to ensure the safety of women all 365 days of the year.

Indian network 92.7 Big FM, which completes 10 years of broadcasting this year, has launched Anniversary Game as part of its celebrations.  

Through this game, the network is giving a chance to its listeners to win prizes daily for two weeks till November 19.

It will be played during the evening band across the network’s all 45 stations.

If the wedding anniversary of any listener coincides with the date mentioned on the show,  they will be announced as the lucky winner.

A spokesperson from Big FM said: “We are currently in an exciting phase with the successful completion of a glorious decade. To mark the beginning of our celebrations, we have launched the BIG Anniversary Game which will not only celebrate the landmark and happiness associated with anniversaries, but will also give our listeners a chance to win exciting prizes.”

Indian network Red FM has roped in Neelesh Misra to host a new weeknight show across 21 of its Hindi speaking markets.  

‘The Neelesh Misra Show’ airs between 9 and 10 pm, from Monday to Friday and has the tagline 'Ise aankhein band karke dekho'(Watch it with eyes closed).

Starting November 1, the cities in which the show airs include Varanasi, Lucknow, Allahabad, Kanpur, Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Pune, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Nashik, Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Bhubaneshwar, Guwahati, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

An award winning author, screenplay writer and lyricist, Mishra is known for telling stories from everyday life with a human connect.

He gained popularity through his nightly show ‘Yaadon Ka Idiot Box’ (Idiot Box of Memories) on Big FM, which ran for four years before ending in August last year.

Nisha Narayanan, COO, Red FM said: "He has been a legend in bringing the radio alive for listeners across age groups with his captivating storytelling that leaves everyone spellbound. We are elated to have him on board and sure to take the entertainment quotient multiple notches higher."

Indian network MY FM’s RJ Viny was awarded the ‘Radio Personality of the Year’ at the 12^th edition of  Association of International Broadcasters (AIB) festival in London.

Viny, who hosts the breakfast show at MY FM’s Indore station, is the first presenter from the country to be awarded at AIB.

She was awarded for her campign ‘Ek Baar Phir maregi Nirbhaya’(Nirbhaya will die again), which highlighted various issues related to women’s safety after the brutal gang rape and murder of a girl in Delhi a couple of years ago.

The campaign had also won an award at this year’s New York Festivals under the Best Human Interest Story category.

Watch RJ Viny at the AIBs here:

Indian network Radio City is the official radio partner for Bengaluru’s Midnight Marathon (BMM) 2016, to be held December 10.

The run, in its 10th year, is a flagship fund-raising event for Rotary Bangalore IT Corridor’s (RBITC) social service projects.

The theme of this year’s marathon - ‘Run for Happy Schools’, was unveiled by brand ambassador and chief guest of the event - Olympic medal-winning pugilist MC Mary Kom.

Over the years, the initiative has seen participation by runners from over 20 countries to support the cause.

According to Viraf Sutaria, Chairman, BMM, last year, 8,000 people participated in the Marathon and this year it is expecting 10,000 plus participants.  

The funds raised by the event will go towards schools to provide them with better facilities and learning environment.