Radio City is a name that has very quickly become literally music to our ears. In a tête-à-tête with bangalorebest.com, the CEO of Star India Pvt. Ltd., Radio Division, Mr John Catlett, tells us more about their venture that has soon become a resounding success.

Whose brainchild was Radio City?
Radio City is the result of the vision which Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd had, to enter into the media industry in India and the commitment from STAR to contribute to this growing industry at its inception.

What has the initial response been like, to the concept?

The response has been overwhelming. We have been receiving tremendous
feedback from every quarter - telephone calls, email, letters, and calls
to our request lines as well as positive comments from our advertisers and
potential advertisers. Retail stores, restaurants and offices are playing "Radio City" everywhere. Latest reports show an upsurge in the sales of radio sets in Bangalore that has already caught the eye of the media.

The question every Bangalorean is asking? Why didn't you hit the
airwaves earlier? Was it very difficult to cut through the red tape, before
things fell in place?

It does take a long time to physically set up a radio station and get all the required permissions from about 42 governmental bodies before one can go
on-air.

What's your target audience like, broadly speaking?

Our audience is all music lovers in Bangalore.

What are the various shows that are on air right now, which is the
most popular and why?

We feature music all day long with the intention that people can tune in
at any time of the day and find songs of their choice playing on Radio City. The shows however differ in terms of the on-air personality hosting them, kind of information being carried. We do have some special shows like the World Chart Countdown that is aired every Saturday at 4.00 PM. All the shows have been liked by people of Bangalore and it is difficult at this stage to say which one has been liked the most. Our reports indicate that people are tuning in to Radio City throughout the day.

What are the kinds of music you play, is it consciously more of
English rock towards the later hours? Are all your programs live, or are they prerecorded?

We play a broad range of music that people of Bangalore have told us they like, as per our research. Our RJs speak live on-air.

Have you conducted any survey to assess which is the most popular
genre of music, you play?

Yes, we have. The results guided us in our selection of hundreds of individual songs, which are well accepted by Bangalore's culturally diverse population.

What are the various contests and promotional activities you have
undertaken?

We have done a few promotions already including the recently concluded
'Bumper Sticker' campaign. The number plates of vehicles found flaunting
the Radio City Stickers were announced for a period of 2 weeks on-air. The
winners who called us after hearing their number plates read out received gift vouchers worth Rs 1000 from Indian Oil Corp, who are one of our first advertisers. The bumper prize winner has won a Bajaj Saffire two wheeler.

How successful have these ventures been, are there any further plans
in the offing?

Our promotions have been hugely successful and attracted tremendous support from the public. You will get to see many more of them soon.

What is the quintessential RJ, at Radio City like? How many RJs do
you have on board right now?

We have 8 RJs at Radio City Bangalore at this stage. They are all ordinary people with strong ties to Bangalore and a passion to connect with the audiences through music.

Do you think your presence is going to brighten the music scene
considerably? Are you considering providing a platform for upcoming
talents?

We definitely see our role in bringing popular music closer to people. In markets where a modern radio industry is well developed, record companies and artists have flourished with them. Radio provides potential music lovers with an inexpensive means to sample great music.

Where do you go from here? Does Radio City plan on starting a
request show? How else are you going to make Radio City bigger, better and brighter?

We have plans to bring innovation to the fore that helps connect with the local masses. Watch out for what we have in store for you next.

What would you say is the essence of Radio City?

Radio City is about giving the audiences of the city entertainment they can
all enjoy.

Preeti Prakash

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