Even as it considers putting the popular Vividh Bharati channel of All India Radio on FM Mode, Prasar Bharati is to make an in-depth review of the medium wave radio channels since it feels that a majority of listeners are presently hooked to FM.

The Prasar Bharati Board accepted a proposal by Chief Executive Officer Jawhar Sircar in its meeting yesterday evening that medium wave was a thing of the past since the present generation depended on car radios or mobiles for audio waves, which are mostly available in FM mode.

He said he proposed to the Board that medium wave channels could be run simultaneously on FM till a complete transition is completed.

Sircar told Radioandmusic.com that he had requested the Board that there should be a ‘freeze’ on the new DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) since it is linked to medium wave.

He said that he felt the FM should be strengthened, and that Doordarshan transmitter towers all over the country could be adequately used for this. In fact, he said this was already done in many of the towers.

He has also suggested launching the Vividh Bharati service – presently only available in Delhi – in all the other three metros and putting the channel on FM. (It may be recalled that a proposal to this effect was made by AIR when FM was launched but was never implemented.)

All India Radio sources told Radioandmusic.com that substantial sums had already been spent on research and on DRM, which has failed to take off so far as the DRM sets are not easily affordable. Sources said this was an issue linked with supply and demand. In fact, the Sam Pitroda Committee had also recently given its view for strengthening DRM, these sources said.

In fact, it was claimed that AIR was ahead of many countries in the work it had done on DRM, and it had already floated a tender for purchasing new equipment for DRM. Furthermore, the Planning Commission has already sanctioned huge sums of money for promoting DRM in the country, the sources said.

The Board is also in favour of monetising the excess land available around fifty radio transmitters all over the country that are not being adequately used to generate revenues for Prasar Bharati. (It is understood that the Government had earlier opposed this on the ground that this was public property and also for security reasons.) Prasar Bharati feels this land can be given out to public sector companies or banks as this will not compromise the security aspects.
Speaking at a World Radio Day function organised by the News Services Division of AIR, Sircar had said yesterday that even the Parliamentary Standing Committee had favoured monetisation of this land.

Sircar also says that stopping transmission of short wave transmissions – since listenership was poor for these channels – would result in a saving of Rs 100 to 110 crore.

However, Government sources told radioandmusic.com that this was not possible since short wave was aimed at reaching out to foreign listeners or Indians overseas, while admitting that the issue could be studied to shut down transmission wherever listenership was poor.

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