1) Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) is a new service being offered in India to accurately measure radio audiences on a weekly basis using a "Radio Diary" method. 2) Radio operators believe measurement will help the growth of the radio industry by convincing advertisers of reach and potentially doubling revenue over 3 years as it did for the television industry. 3) Currently radio contributes only 3% of total ad spending but measurement is expected to bring more business and increase this to 6% within 3 years.

1. RADIO ADVERTISING <br />RAM=1).Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) is a service being offered by Nielsen Media Research in collaboration with IMRB International. It will use the ‘Radio Dairy’ method and measure “intensity and frequency of audiences” on a weekly basis. <br />2) Radio operators feel the measurement service would stimulate the growth of the industry. FM stations have been struggling to convince advertisers of their reach and advertising rates have been terribly suppressed. <br />3) Currently, radio contributes three per cent of the total ad pie. Three years down the line, measurement will bring more business commitment to radio enabling it to double its revenue like we had observed in TV.”<br />4) RAM will have a sample size of 480 per city. The investment requirement is Rs 1.2 million per subscriber. <br />The measurement service is segmented into three parts – radio establishment survey, panel representation, and training of the panel<br />5) “The RAM service is all set to accelerate radio industry via measurement. The setting up of the RAM service signals maturity and professionalism of radio industry players who have come forth and pledged support for creating and industry-supported currency in a market,”<br />MAJOR RADIO OPERATORS IN INDIA on FM, mediumwave and shortwave<br />067310<br />Aamar 106.2 FM:HITZ FM Radio India Pvt Ltd All India Radio (AIR / Akashvani):Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Radio One:Mid-Day Multimedia Limited Gyan Vani:Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) Power 107.8 FM:India FM Radio Pvt Ltd Radio City:Star India Pvt Ltd Radio Mirchi:Times of India Group Red FM:Radio Today Suryan FM:Sun TV Pvt Ltd Win 94.6:Millennium Broadcast <br />Radio business facing major challenges<br />INDIA’S nascent FM Radio business, which is facing problems relating to lack of adequate advertising revenue and soaring costs, is being confronted by another major challenge<br />A large chunk of handsets that are sold in India these days have access to FM radio, but listeners complain that more than music they are bombarded by talk shows, irrelevant interviews with other listeners and celebrities, and advertisements. Access to Indian and international radio stations on the PC and the mobile phone would eat into a big chunk of listeners for FM radio operators.<br />While the FM radio business took roots in the west about 40 years ago, India refused to allow private players into the sector. The state-owned giant expectedly failed to innovate and roll out its FM network It was only in the last seven years that private FM stations began sprouting in the metros.<br />According to Rana Barua of Radio City 91.1 FM – which plans to add 16 new stations over the next three months – the three cities account for 70 per cent of the Rs6 billion in advertising revenues generated by the FM radio industry. The sector is estimated to be losing about Rs1.2 billion every year. Because of stiff competition in these cities, Radio City is expanding into smaller, tier II cities<br />Last year FM radio frequencies relating to 91 cities were auctioned, but 50 of them have proved to be unviable because of the negligible potential for ad revenues. Ad rates vary dramatically between the metros and tier II and tier III cities, fluctuated between a high of Rs1,200 for a 10-second spot to a low of Rs50<br />Under the fee-based system, the operator’s outgoings to the government went up automatically by 10 per cent every year, irrespective of whether there was a corresponding growth in revenues. Today, the government has a four per cent share in revenues, yet most operators are still not making money.<br />. INDIA has been terribly late in opening up radio, a powerful medium, to private sector players. All India Radio, a government owned – and once a monopoly – broadcaster has dominated the medium for years<br />