The closure of several FM stations has reignited debate over the future of commercial radio in India. Industry professionals say the challenge is not declining public affection for radio, but a combination of regulatory constraints, technological disruption and an evolving advertising market.
Mumbai: “Radio isn’t dying, but it can be killed.” That observation by media and communications professional Anvita Nath captures the uncertainty confronting India’s commercial radio industry today. The recent closure of three FM stations operated by HT Media—Radio Nasha in Mumbai, Radio One 94.3 FM in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi, and Radio Fever 91.9 FM in Chennai—has renewed concerns about whether one of India’s most influential mass media platforms is entering a period of irreversible decline.
Yet conversations with former radio professionals suggest the reality is far more nuanced. Radio continues to reach millions of Indians across linguistic, geographical and socio-economic divides. The challenge, they argue, is not that audiences have completely abandoned radio, but that the industry has struggled to adapt to a dramatically changing media landscape.
A Medium That Shaped Modern India
Since its beginnings in pre-Independence India in the early twentieth century, radio has played an important role in informing, entertaining and connecting people across the country. From national emergencies and wars to elections, music and everyday companionship, it has remained one of India’s most accessible media.
Former Radio One RJ Annie Arakkal Marwaha believes the medium’s cultural significance is often underestimated. “People don’t understand what a huge socio-cultural impact radio has had.”
Commercial FM radio experienced remarkable growth during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Popular radio jockeys developed loyal audiences by creating highly personalised programmes and building genuine relationships with listeners. Personalities such as Hrishikesh Kannan and Malishka Mendonsa became household names, illustrating radio’s unique ability to create emotional connections that newer digital platforms often struggle to replicate.
Digital Disruption Changed the Rules
Industry insiders interviewed by TheNews21 believe the decline cannot be explained by changing listener preferences alone. According to multiple sources, commercial radio increasingly operated in a survival mode, leaving little room for long-term planning or coordinated industry advocacy. At the same time, digital advertising transformed the economics of media.
Unlike radio, digital platforms allow advertisers to precisely measure campaign performance through audience analytics, click-through rates and return on advertising spend. Companies including Google, Meta and Amazon consequently attracted growing advertising budgets. Radio, meanwhile, continued to face comparatively high operating costs, including licence fees. Industry data reflects these pressures. While digital advertising has expanded steadily, private FM advertising revenue has remained under pressure, declining by 1.3 per cent to ₹414.03 crore during the reported quarter.
When Smartphones Stopped Carrying FM
Another turning point was the gradual disappearance of FM radio capability from many smartphones. This occurred despite radio demonstrating its value during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it served as an accessible medium for public awareness and information dissemination. As smartphones increasingly promoted streaming services instead, listeners shifted towards platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, Gaana and JioSaavn, fundamentally changing media consumption habits. Although radio continues to maintain loyal audiences, industry observers believe the migration has been particularly noticeable in metropolitan areas, while Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities continue to demonstrate stronger listener engagement.
Regulation Remains a Major Constraint
Perhaps the most significant structural challenge facing commercial FM radio is regulation. Unlike many international markets, private FM broadcasters in India are generally prohibited from producing and broadcasting independent news bulletins. News broadcasting remains largely reserved for All India Radio. Although private FM stations were permitted to relay All India Radio news bulletins on a limited experimental basis beginning in 2019, industry participants remain uncertain about the long-term impact of that initiative.
Several radio professionals argue these restrictions have gradually reduced the competitiveness of commercial FM broadcasters at a time when digital creators routinely discuss news, current affairs and public policy across multiple online platforms.
Former Radio One RJ Bhaarat summarises the commercial reality succinctly: “Advertisers go where the attention is.”
Can Radio Be Revived?
Despite the challenges, industry professionals remain optimistic that commercial radio can recover if structural issues are addressed.
Suggestions emerging from interviews conducted by TheNews21 include:
- Greater coordination across the radio industry.
- More constructive policy engagement with government.
- Rationalisation of licence fee structures.
- Restoration of FM reception capability in smartphones.
- Better audience measurement systems that provide advertisers with transparent and reliable performance metrics.
These reforms, they argue, would strengthen radio’s commercial viability while preserving one of India’s most accessible public communication platforms.
More Than Nostalgia
The debate over radio’s future is ultimately not about nostalgia. It is about whether India wishes to preserve a medium that has connected communities for generations while adapting it to a digital-first advertising economy. Radio may no longer dominate the media landscape, but its decline is not inevitable. The industry’s future will depend less on listener affection—which remains surprisingly resilient—and more on whether policy, technology and commercial models evolve quickly enough to keep one of India’s oldest mass media relevant in the decades ahead.
(This article is based on reporting by Sonali Gill and has been edited for publication by TheNews21 Editorial Desk.)
About the Author
Sonali Gill is a contributing writer at TheNews21 whose work focuses on technology, media, public policy and society. Through original reporting, expert interviews and long-form analysis, she examines how technological change, governance and public institutions shape contemporary life. She is also an editor and book reviewer with a keen interest in digital culture, emerging technologies and evidence-based journalism.
