Radio Mirchi finally gets to say Oye!

Consolidation in FM industry continues. Close of heals of Dainik Jagran acquiring Radio City, I&B Ministry has given its nod to ENIL to acquire four FM radio stations from TV Today Network’s Oye FM.

ENIL, the parent company of Radio Mirchi, was keen to acquire all Oye FM stations but Radio Mirchi’s presence in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata led to I&B ministry not granting it permission to take over Oye FM in these cities. Four radio stations for which it did get the approval are Amritsar, Jodhpur, Shimla and Patiala.

The company had signed the non-binding memorandum of understanding with TV Today Network for the purchase of seven radio stations. The same was earlier declined approval by MIB on February 13, 2015 & May 08, 2015. MIB had stated that the deal was not in conformity with the FM Radio guidelines, however, now approval for four stations has been granted.

While radio business was not delivering for TV Today Network, ENIL is growing at a steady pace. Its revenue rose to Rs 407 crore and net profit reached Rs 83 cr for the fiscal 2014. Radio Mirchi already has presence in 32 cities.

As is known, in 2006 TV Today Group had sold ‘Red FM’ to a consortium led by Sun TV.  However, it ventured into FM space again with ‘Meow FM’ and later renamed it ‘Oye FM’.

All the top leading players in FM space are backed by well-established media groups. In terms of footprint Sun leads the way with 48 FM stations (Suryan and Red FM), Big FM is at number 2 with presence in 45 cities, ENIL is third with 36 stations now, followed by Dainik Jagran Group with 20 radio stations (Radio City). However, in terms of market share and revenues Radio Mirchi leads the way.