Radio One, Fever FM/Nasha set to merge

HT Media and Next Radio have announced the signing of a binding term sheet for the proposed merger of their radio businesses. The merger, which aims to take advantage of a larger combined metro play, is subject to the approval of shareholders, legal bodies and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Once the merger is approved, HT Media and its shareholders will hold 74% while Next Radio shareholders will hold 26% in the merged entity.

According to the release issued by Radio One, the companies are looking at a time-frame of 12 to 18 months for regulatory approvals. 

Radio One MD and CEO Vineet Singh Hukmani and Fever FM CEO Harshad Jain will continue to function in their respective roles. Moreover, the radio stations will continue to operate with their separate brand names.

HT Media owns Hindi radio channels Fever FM and Radio Nasha with a dominant presence across metros and UP while Next Mediaworks, through its subsidiary Next Radio Ltd, operates successful segmented radio stations across the major metros under the Radio One brand, including the only International format stations in the country.

While Radio One is a pioneer in the international format space, Fever and Radio Nasha lead Hindi CHR and retro radio, respectively. The merged entity will offer enhanced value for listeners and advertisers by offering them clearly segmented high-value products. Seven stations of Fever FM and Radio Nasha (Delhi-2, Mumbai-2, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai) and all six stations of Radio One (Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and Pune) will aim to come together under the merged entity. 

Sales teams of both companies will continue to function independently as before and will not sell combination products.