MUMBAI: Being a new entrant in the online radio space, Radio Whiskey has managed to attain success and break even within six months of its launch. With a move to expand its content offering to a larger number of audiences, the station is now aiming to expand its footprints to different mediums.
Beginning its walk down the route of innovation, the channel recently launched on mobile through the TuneIn radio app on all devices including android, Blackberry, iOS, Windows and more. The free service allows users to listen to the radio station on their mobile handsets by downloading the app.
Apart from that, the station is also currently in talks with a number of telcos to explore the option of a mobile internet radio through their networks. It will act as a platform for people who do not have access to radio. With the help of a short code, the users will be able to listen to the catalogue of the station.
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Speaking with Radioandmusic.com, Radio Whiskey co-founder Madhukar Pandey said, “Our content is very well demanded by listeners so we went mobile through TuneIn. Now, we are also exploring content providers and trying to make our content available to users through a mobile radio option using their network. We are still in talks with a few telcos and hope that it materializes soon.”
The channel is also signing an agreement with a telco to make its content available on their network through the popular mobile VAS option – Caller Ring Back Tones (CRBT). The entire catalogue of indie tracks will be available for users at a nominal rate pre-decided by the telco. With most of its services being available for free to users, the CRBT option is amongst the best way to earn revenues and attain returns. They are also aiming to start charging a one-time nominal fee from artistes in the future.
“The content we have is very different and features independent artistes from different countries. Showcasing our content and artistes through the mobile platform will actually prove to be very beneficial for us in the long run. We have almost signed the deal with the telco for CRBT but cannot disclose the name as yet. Our costs of managing manpower and technology are huge, so we are also exploring the option to start charging a small fee from our artistes in the future to be able to earn more revenues,” he commented.
While initially, the station was said to be airing as an ad free channel, they did undertake a few campaigns for brands like Talwalkars which helped them financially. However, Pandey states that the brand has not joined on-board and they are still following the philosophy of not approaching any advertisers. The brands approach them on a recurring basis and in return it also helps the station to recover costs and earn returns on investment.
Going all out to explore newer avenues, Radio Whiskey is also going on-ground with an initiative titled ‘Whiskey Nights’. The event will take place in clubs or lounges across cities and will give an opportunity to fans to interact live with the artistes and performing amongst them. The first concert will be held in February in Lucknow followed by similar events in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore.
Earlier also the station joined hands with CNBC TV18 as online partner for its personal finance and investment show ‘Informed Investor’. As per the tie-up, excerpts from the show were played on Radio Whiskey along with the recordings, which were segmented in two-minute capsules and showcased on the website.
Commenting on their new strategy, Pandey expressed, “Our listenership got stuck in the middle on the online space, so we tried different mediums to present our content to audiences in a unique manner. Earlier also we tied up with CNBC and most print media as partners for various media activities.”
In the future also, the station aims to tie-up with other mediums like cinema halls to play their jingles during the intermission and generate awareness about the brand and increase marketing.
Apart from that, the station is all geared up to launch its new set of tracks next month. The tracks will also feature special festive songs and one based on the recent Delhi gangrape case. They have also signed two new artistes and a few from Pakistan as well.
While the station encashes on various mediums to increase its reach and revenues, industry insiders also state that the station will also explore the terrestrial radio space soon by venturing through the community radio space. Sources also state that the station may first launch in Lucknow and depending on the commercial viability will see a launch in Delhi as well.
With the phase III auctions set to be held within this year it will create more space for commercial FM players to expand and tap into unexplored markets thus making it difficult for an online player to sustain itself in the market. Going down the community radio route can prove beneficial for them due to a majority of reasons. While they won’t have to pay a high license fee and can also manage the royalty costs, the only limitations will come in the view of setup cost and limitations of content and music that can be aired on these stations.
