Radio Mirchi’s Operator Plans To Lower Share Of Radio Business
Radio Mirchi’s operator plans to transform its business from just being a radio station.
Entertainment Network India Ltd., the operator of Radio Mirchi, is looking to further lower the share of its radio business even as it plans to launch channels in the U.S.
Every radio company in India is experimenting with non-radio solutions, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Prashant Panday said. “Our programming teams are moving from audio stock radio to even videos and other forms of content.”
The radio business now contributes 70 percent to the company’s total revenue compared with 95-98 percent about a decade back, Panday said. The company expects to further lower it to 50 percent in the next five years.
U.S. Plans
Entertainment Network plans to tap the South Asian community in the U.S. by broadcasting programmes on amplitude modulated frequencies and FM translators, according to its exchange filing.
“We are awaiting the board’s approval to set up a subsidiary in the U.S. We plan to expand in various cities but now we are looking to target only the South Asian audience,” Panday said.
Non-Free Commercial Time Business
The non-free commercial time contributes 30 percent to the company’s revenue, Panday said.
Group Chief Financial Officer N Subramanian said the non-FCT business contributed 24 percent to the company’s gross profit margin in the previous financial year compared with 17 percent in 2016-17. The company, he said, expects this segment to grow at 15-20 percent in the next two to three years.
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