Digital radio can help boost broadcast sector revenue: Report

The report stated that digital radio broadcasting could be extremely beneficial for all stakeholders in the sector

The adoption of digital radio technology can help the broadcast sector double its revenues to Rs 12,300 crore in five years riding on a robust mobile ecosystem, said a latest report.

The report, prepared by India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) and EY, stated that digital radio broadcasting could be extremely beneficial for all stakeholders in the sector—broadcasters, listeners, advertisers and the regulators—and could help the FM radio segment augment revenues.

Titled ‘Digital Broadcast Radio in India,’ the report claimed that the number of radio stations could be increased from less than 300, currently, to over 1,000 by using the same spectrum. This would increase the amount of advertising inventory, and more than double revenues of the segment within five years of implementation, generating an additional Rs 12,300 crore during this period.

The country has so far tested two technologies—HD Radio and Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM)—for digital broadcasting in FM bands.

“Digital radio technology would lead to more advertising inventory to sell with the ability to charge higher rates based on segmented audiences. Given that the digital radio system can provide listenership data, broadcasters can build trust and eventually grow revenues,” the report noted.

Cost optimisation is another major factor of these technologies for the broadcasters, as their transmitters use significantly less power as compared to analogue radio transmitters, the report stated.

“Digital broadcast radio has the ability to cater to segments of entry-level smartphones and several hundred million feature phone users to receive enhanced services in areas of health, education, emergency and weather which by complementing data networks decongest them,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of ICEA.

Around four times more channels are possible within the same frequency which can provide more options to listeners. Further, the technology is broadcast-centric, and consumers would not have to pay any data charges, said the report.

Globally 1.4 billion people can access digital radio services, and the UK, US, China and many European countries had transitioned to digital radio almost a decade ago, said the report.