The Hindu Business Line : Radio Today's new FM station to talk, not sing

New Delhi May 3 Radio Today has announced the first talk format FM channel, to be launched soon. The channel will start with a station in Delhi, followed by Kolkata and Mumbai.

The company is not ready to announce the name yet although it has been registered with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. On 104.8 Mhz frequency, the channel is targeted at `thinkers', says Mr Anil Srivatsa, COO, Radio Today. According to him, people feel the need to communicate and the anonymity of the radio medium will work in their favour.

During a trial run, the channel claims to have received 88 callers in four hours.

"There will be gaps between our expectations and how we execute the project. But radio is a very forgiving medium. It is not meant to be clear and precise, it is expected to be about people who are real," said Mr Srivatsa, adding that it was in tune with the philosophy of the industry, which was "not to fake it, but keep it real and unscripted."

The company claims the talk format is the new buzz in the industry, currently dominated by music shows.

Mr Srivatsa, who has hosted his own radio show in the US, believes that despite the great pick-up of radio in the country, audiences in India are not being super-served as is the case in the US. "Radio in the country has played it very safe. We would be doing things not differently, but better, constantly reinventing ourselves," he added.

The company has already hired `radio-hosts'; `jockey' is a taboo word for a channel that will play very little music.