Govt. Considers Digital Radio Stations Over 2G | TechTree.com

Govt. Considers Digital Radio Stations Over 2G

Could be a win-win as while mobile telephony upgrades to 4G and 5G, the available spectrum could add a new form of entertainment

 

India could soon bring policies around digital radio standards that could result in a fillip to the FM (frequency modulation) radio industry. Media reports quoting senior government officials said a fresh round of spectrum auction could be in the works within six to eight months that could witness the digital radio industry getting a much needed fillip. 

A report published by The Mint quoted Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra to suggest that the government was working with all stakeholders including private radio players, automakers and smartphone makers to figure out the scope of digital radio adoption in the country and the revenue potential of such a move. 

The India Cellular and Electronics Association along with consulting company EY presented a report that says Indian radio industry clocked annual revenue of $390.7 million in CY 2019, the impact of the pandemic saw the industry’s ad-driven revenues drop by more than half — to $176.4 million in CY 2020. By the end of this year, this could grow to $226.9 million.

The report titled ‘Digital Radio Broadcast in India’ expects radio revenues to grow to $327.7 million by CY 2026, based on its current trajectory of analog FM radio broadcasts. However, with adoption of digital radio, the industry could clock up to $756 million in revenues by 2026 — more than 2x that of its expected revenue trajectory.

ICEA chairman Pankaj Mohindroo says adopting digital radio is not a cost intensive task for broadcasters and all that is needed is a concerted effort to bring in receivers compatible with digital audio radio transmissions. Smartphone makers could start off by making around 50 million devices for digital radio broadcasters, he said adding the cost of an FM chip to enable digital radio retention is quite low. 

Existing players in the FM business believe that in addition to digital radio receivers, there needs to be clarity on government regulations on the spectrum allocation given that even today there is no clarity on which of the two standards need to be adopted. The two are Digital Radio Mondiale and Xperi’s HD Radio that are currently competing to get a share of Indian radio listeners. 


TAGS: FM station, digital radio

 
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