New Delhi: Ramesh Menon, CEO of Audio Business, HT Media Group, Tuesday announced that the company is shutting down its FM station Fever FM.
In a LinkedIn post shared by the Fever FM, Menon said, “It is with a heavy heart we bring to you this urgent announcement. You our partners and our listeners have been with us through our ups and downs and our thick and thin but we must make this decision for all. Radio has been a part of your journey, figuratively and literally. Everyday. But as they say, all journeys must come to an end and the end for Radio is closer than you expect.”
Launched in 2006, Fever Network radio stations include Fever FM, Radio One, Radio Nasha, and Punjabi Fever.
Fever Network operates 22 stations across 15 cities, with three in Delhi and Mumbai, two in Bengaluru, Chennai, and Kolkata, and a presence in Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, and 7 UP cities.
In the Oct-Dec quarter, the revenue from Radio broadcast and entertainment vertical fell 4.4 per cent to Rs 39.74 crore.
However, HT Media Chairperson Shobhana Bhartia had acknowleded in the regulatory filing on January 19, 2024, that Radio saw better traction in the FCT segment, which resulted in sequential revenue and margin improvement.
In an earning call with investors, HT Media CFO Piyush Gupta said, “Radio has been a bit of a challenge in spite of our best efforts, Radio revenue has not come up to speed as much as we would have liked to. There is a marginal decline of 4% with revenues tracking to INR 40 crores, and operating EBITDA at INR 3 crores with a 7% margin as against 17% margin last year. Sequentially, of course, they were up 12%.”
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