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HT Media, along with Next Radio Limited, now has 22 stations, and a national footprint spanning 15 cities in India.
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HT Media is now detailing out the synergies of operations of Radio One with its own brands Fever FM and Radio Nasha combined.
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The acquisition aims to provide the widest array of content, music and advertising options for listeners and advertisers along.
HT Media Limited (HTML) has acquired 51% majority stake in Next Mediaworks Limited (NMW), which operates seven FM radio stations across major metros [through its subsidiary Next Radio Limited (NRL)], under the brand name ‘Radio One’, including some in the international genre. NRL’s FM stations across Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune and one more have now come into HTML fold. This has positioned HTML as the strongest radio player in India, with three stations each in the biggest metro markets of Delhi & Mumbai and two stations each in Bengaluru, Chennai & Kolkata. Apart from the above, the key metro market of Pune has also got added to the network recently.
Harshad Jain, CEO – Radio & Entertainment Business of HTML has been named as the CEO of NMW/NRL. He will lead all the three brands of Fever FM, Radio Nasha and Radio One combined.
Talking about the recent development, Harshad Jain said, “This acquisition aims to provide the widest array of content, music and advertising options for our listeners and advertisers both. Needless to mention, that the combined set-up will provide growth opportunities for all the talented employees on both sides. The company is now detailing the combined synergies of operations both at the front and the backend.”
With a strong focus on top cities including Pune, Jain said they were set to become the dominant metro-centric media company. “We are looking to have the lion’s share in the listenership and revenues,” he added.
Fever FM and Radio Nasha are the leaders in the Hindi contemporary hit radio (CHR) and retro radio space, respectively. Radio One has three operational stations in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru that play English music and four—in Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, and Ahmedabad—that play Bollywood music.
According to GroupM’s AdEx report, the radio industry is predicted to grow faster than the previous years at 15% in 2019 to reach the staggering ₹3,116 crore. Radio has been consistently contributing close to 4% to the overall ad expenditure in the country in the last five years.
HT Media Limited, along with Next Radio Limited, now has 22 stations, and a national footprint spanning 15 cities in India.
