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FM broadcasting in India

Type of radio broadcasting in India

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As of December 2018, there are more than 369 operational private radio stations in more than 101 cities and towns across India. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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