ITV

Tag: Tarun Katial

  • Big 92.7 FM to launch in Mumbai on 14 November; to target mini-metros in next pahse

    Big 92.7 FM to launch in Mumbai on 14 November; to target mini-metros in next pahse

    MUMBAI: Finally, Big 92.7 FM is making its official debut in Mumbai on 14 November.

    With the launch of Big 92.7 FM Mumbai station, Adlabs Radio completes its first phase of launching stations across six metros; in the order of Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata.

    The second phase would involve pitching into the virgin territories like Srinagar, Jammu and Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh) and other mini-metros.
    Meanwhile, the radio company has also entered into a partnership with Century Communications. Interestingly, the yet to launch radio stations from the stable of Century Communications will broadcast on 92.7 FM, the same frequency as the Big FM.

    When queried about forming any further alliance with other small players Big 92.7 FM COO Tarun Katial refused to divulge anything at the moment, but admitted that they are in talks and soon shall be locking in deals.

    Under the agreement with Century Communications, the partnership has been chalked out for content syndication and ad sales. This gives them the leverage of a network of 45 stations (owned by Adlabs Radio) and 9 stations (Century Communications).

    To ensure high aspiration and connect with the listeners, Big 92.7 FM has roped in television stars as their radio jocks including Shwetha Tiwari (Prerna of Kasautii Zindagi Ki), Pallavi Joshi (host of Antakshari), Vrajesh Hirjee and Abhijit Sawant (Indian Idol fame).

    Positioning it as the young adult contemporary station, the programming mix the station intends to offer from 5 am Seher, which will continue till 7 am. Hosted by Shweta Tiwari, the show is all about bhajans, sufi and other alternative soothing and instruments sounds. The breakfast show The Big Chai will be hosted by Vrajesh Hirjee and Pallavi Joshi, wherein the show will offer amusing circumstances and some bizarre stories with listeners voting in a solution for each situation. The station also has created Baburao who is the utility man providing updeats on the latest happenings of the city on The Big Chai.

    The station has created a show Anirudh LLB (Love Ladkiyan Bollywood), which is more to do with espousal arousal created for the housewives and girlfriends, besides providing insights on the Bollywood side of life. In a unique manner, the station has created Murder at 9 pm, which is a thriller series about an unconventional police officer, who is passionate about solving crimes in the city. The Indian Idol fame Abhijit Sawant will play all the big numbers of the week on weekends through The Big 30 Countdown.

    To Katial, “It is our aim to create content that is relevant, credible and has an aspirational value to the listeners.”

    To create a buzz on Big 92.7 FM especially where there are so many brands competing for the same share of mind and ears, it is essentials for the brands have to touch lives, build bonds and thereby build equity. “Our strategy is to give visibility to the brand and get a sample feedback during our launch period,” says Big 92.7 FM interactivity activation and PR head Vidyuth Bhandari.

    Speaking in short on the series of on-ground activation, Bhandari says that the radio channel will run a CSR campaign which is fight against terrorism on the launch day. It will also create a big buzz in the inroads of Mumbai through Big Barrat activity is a gesture to welcome the brand.

    The station will generate a noise at all possible malls. The company is said to have tied up with manufactures for co-branded radio sets. They have also tied-up with around 250 odd chai stalls (Tea stalls), wherein they will be provided with radio stets and play Big FM.

    The brand will unleash its 360 degree campaign on the launch date, reinforcing its positioning as adult contemporary station. With an investment of Rs 4 billion dedicated to transmission equipment, infrastructure and licensing, the proposed network for Big 92.7 FM is set to make a ‘big’ splash in the expanding radio industry in India. The marketing budget has been pegged at Rs 450 million of which around Rs 50 million has bee marked for Mumbai.

  • Big 92.7 FM signs up Mohinder Amarnath for ICC updates

    Big 92.7 FM signs up Mohinder Amarnath for ICC updates

    MUMBAI: The cricket bee has stung the newly launched private FM player Big 92.7 FM! The brand has signed up with ‘Jimmy’ Mohinder Amarnath, the 1983 World Cup match winner, to provide updates on the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy.

    The ICC World Cup Champions Trophy kicked off 7 October and will continue till 5 November. Spout chewing gum has been roped in to sponsor the updates on Big 92.7FM.

    According to an official statement, Amaranth will be offering regular cricket updates on Big 92.7 FM four to five times a day to provide a ringside update on the matches and players performance and even a few interesting tid-bits on the player’s and team’s performance. 

    The show will be broadcast in Hindi on New Delhi station and in English on Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore stations. The brand is likely to launch in Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore in the coming weeks.

    Speaking on the occasion, Big 92.7 FM COO Tarun Katial said, “It is our endeavour to create an edge and provide our listeners with exclusive entertainment. Cricket is a sport which unites the nation and it is our way of offering Big entertainment on Big 92.7FM. The credibility of Mohinder Amarnath gels with the Station’s aim of providing credible and relevant information to our listeners.”

  • BIG 92.7 FM promo budget Rs 400 mn; Bangalore station launch on 9 October

    BIG 92.7 FM promo budget Rs 400 mn; Bangalore station launch on 9 October

    BANGALORE: Adlabs Films (AF) will launch its Big 92.7 FM in Bangalore on 9 October. The city is the fourth station of the company’s proposed 45 (54 co-branded) FM radio stations; the other three being Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi. Soon to follow are Kolkata and Mumbai.

    Big FM has earmarked about Rs 400 million towards its national promotional campaign. The company plans to kick off the Bangalore marketing and promotional initiatives with a city-wide campaign to get citizens to come together and work towards “Making Bangalore A Safer Place”. The campaign will be driven by brand ambassador Upendra.

    To create awareness among Bangaloreans, the station is exploring the outdoor space also in a big way. According to Big associate VP & station head Farida K. Print, about 40-45 locations have been covered with outdoor hoardings as per the strategy. Another novel initiative would be 92.7 FM only receivers in auto rickshaws. The plans also include various ground events and television commercials.

    Adlabs Films has roped in Kannada film actor Upendra as brand ambassador for Karnataka. The radio station has hired personalities from the Kannada film & television industries as RJ’s. According to Katial, the content would be mainly local with some Hindi and no English at all, which is generally different from the trends set by the other FM stations in Bangalore.

    Unveiling the brand, Big 92.7 FM COO Tarun Katial said, “With this launch, we aim to present innovative radio programming. Not only have we developed fresh and unique content but have also roped in personalities who will connect with the listeners and provide the glamour quotient. Our detailed research on the city’s psychographics will ensure that the station sounds refreshing and unique with a major focus on utilities and entertainment.”

    Rs 4 billion has been invested on transmission equipments, infrastructure and licensing, as per an official release. The IP protocol technology being utilised for Big 92.7 FM is from Axia, USA.

  • ADAG’s Big FM radio to roll out its first phase in six metros

    MUMBAI: The Reliance ADA Group has finally officially announced today that it will soon launch its radio station under the brand Big FM, which will broadcast on the full powered common frequency of 92.7 across its 45 stations.

    According to an official statement, the first phase will cover the six metros of Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, later spreading to the virgin territories like Jammu, Srinagar, Aligarh and Bikaner.

    In an attempt to offer a fresh new approach to the medium, the Big FM will indulge in high amount of interactivity on the station. Adlabs Radio COO Tarun Katial points out, “We will use it as a platform for consumers, taking on issues which are word of mouth and bring listener emotions to the fore.”

    Adopting a two-pronged launch strategy, Katial says, “While the metros are ideal to establish brand recognition and recall, the other virgin markets are completely new and fresh to explore, giving us an opportunity to provide an entertainment medium to the listeners.”

    “It is our endeavor to enthrall the local audiences and build a brand that connects at the grassroots. Credibility, maturity, relevance, entertainment and aspirational are our pegs for content as a product that reaches into every home and is of relevance to every listener.”

    By early next year, Big FM will be present across India from Srinagar to Trivandrum and Surat to Guwahati. This FM radio station will have its presence in 1000 towns and 50,000 villages across India – reaching 200 million listeners, informs the statement.

    The ADAG has geared up to tap the tremendous market share that is present. This leading corporate house known for its groundbreaking success in very business that it enters, will be positioning its stations in a unique and contemporary way that appeals to more mature audiences.
    The RJs that will give Big FM the voice and personality, have been selected via a careful and selective nationwide hunt. The station will present itself in a larger than life avatar and all morning slots will boast of highly acclaimed celebrity jockeys.

    With an investment of Rs 4 billion dedicated to transmission equipment, infrastructure and licensing, the proposed network for Adlabs Radio will be the largest ever, the release states.

    The overall manpower strength will stand at 1500 employees nationwide. The IP protocol technology being utilized for Big FM has been sourced from AXIA, USA making this station amongst the first to utilize such superior gear in Asia. Extensive research on consumer tastes and moods will ensure that the content aired complements the listeners’ tastes and provides them a dynamic, interactive platform.

  • ADAG-Reliance to focus on movie, radio operations; work on DTH goes `slow’

    ADAG-Reliance to focus on movie, radio operations; work on DTH goes `slow’

    MUMBAI: Anil Ambani’s Reliance group has decided to concentrate on movie and FM radio businesses in the media and entertainment sector for the time being instead of DTH television service.

    A top source in the group admitted that plans to start a DTH service in the country are going “slow”.

    Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) had applied for a DTH licence under the brand name Reliance Bluemagic, which is yet to get all governmental clearances.

    A recent failure of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to put a new generation communication satellite in orbit could also have some bearing on Ambani’s go-slow approach as far as DTH is concerned, a media industry analyst opined.

    ISRO’s recent failure has also put a question mark in the short term over Sun TV group’s plans to start a DTH service in the absence of transponder space on India satellites, which is a pre-requisite government norm.

    Sources in the Ambani-controlled ADAG also confirmed that present focus is on movie and radio business where scales of operation need to be ramped up considerably.

    Anil has controlling holding in Adlabs Films, which was started by film industry veteran Manmohan Shetty who still looks after the business.

    In recent times, Adlabs has signed up with several successful directors like Ram Gopal Verma and Kunal Kohli for a string of film productions over the next 24 months.

    Acquisition of some existing production houses could have been an easy way out for Adlabs to increase scale of operations, but existing big production houses are not in sale mode at present, media analysts observe.

    According to industry sources, Adlabs is looking at co-productions of films, bagging overseas distribution rights for big ticket Hindi movies, Indo-foreign country co-productions and ramping up the number of multiplex within the Adlabs fold so in future digital distribution of films could add some jazz to the business.

    Meanwhile, Reliance Radio, helmed by former Sony India honcho Tarun Katial, has started fine-tuning its operations for a flag off.

    Sources said that over the next 45-60 days a spate of private radio FM stations, which got licence in the second phase early this year, are likely to start operations. This would include Reliance’s stations too.

  • Media companies oppose Broadcast Bill 2006

    Media companies oppose Broadcast Bill 2006

    NEW DELHI: It was day of lobbying here as print and electronic media met up with a government official on Thursday to express serious concern over a draft Broadcast Bill 2006, which despite being in formative stages has the potential of being restrictive.

    The underlying theme of a meeting that media company representatives had with I&B secretary SK Arora was that proposed media norms were simply ways to gag the media, even if it’s still to get a Cabinet nod, and had to be opposed.

    More irksome and dangerous, media companies felt, was an attempt by the government to try draft a legislation without consulting the industry, contrary to what had been done with other media norms (especially the PRB Act relating to the print medium), which smacked of total lack of transparency.

    Though Arora did not hand out any assurances at the meting with the media committee of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), he did admit that he would try preparing a concept paper based on a draft Cabinet note relating to the Broadcasting Bill 2006 for industry’s feedback.

    The senior government official, who also received a representation from the Indian Broadcasting Foundation separately later in the day, tried his best to allay fears of the media and conveyed that some of the so-called draconian features and restrictions already existed in some form or other in existing pieces of legislation.

    According to some of those who attended the meeting, when confronted with the fact that proposed norms would hamper fair business activities, Arora opined that government’s endeavour was not to be restrictive, but facilitate business and create a level playing field for all.

    Those who attended the meeting included the India Today Group chief Aroon Purie, Business Standard’s CEO and editor T N Ninan, Zee group’s Jawahar Goel, Discovery Network India’s EVP and MD Deepak Shourie, NDTV’s Narayan Rao and Star Group India CEO Peter Mukerjea, The Tribune newspaper editor HK Dua and Reliance-Anil Ambani group’s Tarun Katial.

    That Arora had very little to offer to the media, except carry their feedback to his political masters, was evident when Reliance’s Katial brought up the topic of allowing news and current affairs on private radio FM stations and drew a blank from the government official.

    Though CII is yet to issue an official statement on the meeting, opinion seems to be divided.

    While one media representative termed the meeting “an exercise into futility with lot of work still to be done,” another said that most media companies felt a bit re-assured.

    However, on one issue there was unanimity: the need for electronic and print apex bodies to come together on a common platform to raise voice against restrictive media legislation.

    Increasingly as the government faces flak over the proposed Broadcast Bill, which smacks of restrictions and attempts at media muzzling by introducing a government-controlled regulatory body, industry too is scurrying to get its act together.

    In the middle of June, the I&B ministry had circulated a draft Cabinet note on regulating broadcasting services amongst other ministries for feedback. When leaked in the media, it kicked up a furore.

    Since then, I&B minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi has been blowing hot and cold. First he denied existence of the draft. Then he backtracked to say he’d bring in a media-friendly legislation in Parliament to emphasize the very next day that he does not propose any “dilution” or “pollution” in the draft.

    While the government would want to bring the Bill in Parliament in the monsoon session, starting from Monday next, other ministries are yet to send in their feedback that may take up to 15 days for compilation, according to an official of the I&B ministry.