Mumbai: Radio Mirchi has increased its advertising rates across stations with effect from 15 Sep.

Radio Mirchi COO Nandan Srinath said, "Radio is now firmly in the media pie. Almost every media plan has radio in it. Independent listenership tracking exists in four major cities, and in each city radio is a far larger medium than print and in some cases TV in terms of reach. Our reach has increased in each city in the RAM measurement over the previous ILT measurement. Engagement with our channel is now clearly measured in terms of time spent listening. Our new prices are in line with increased deliveries in terms of reach and engagement. In other cities, we had kept our prices at the same level for the last 12 – 18 months. The new prices reflect the true value of our airtime. We have kept prices constant for last two years to ensure that the medium gets established – in CAGR terms this price increase is really a small one."

Radio Mirchi national sales head Kaushik Ghosh added, "September – December represents a four month period of heightened retail sales across categories due to festivals and the marriage season. Radio is a medium that has a finite inventory – since too many ads spoil the listening experience. Radio Mirchi has always kept both listener and advertiser interest in mind by providing the best and least cluttered environment among all radio stations. The pricing structure is designed to maintain the low clutter on our station."

"In spite of the price increase, Radio Mirchi will continue to be the most attractive medium in terms of cost of reach – especially compared to local mediums like print and outdoor. Print has already increased ad rates, and newspapers are thinner – so in any case people are reading less of newspapers. A two week threshold campaign in print for any of the six metros would cost between Rs 50 – 100 L at current prices. A threshold outdoor campaign for two weeks in any of those six metros cost between Rs 40 – 75 L. It continues to amaze us how so much money is poured into outdoors – which is not measured at all! In comparison, a threshold radio campaign on Radio Mirchi for two weeks in any of the six metros will only cost between Rs 9 – 12 L." explained Ghosh when asked whether radio would become less attractive to advertisers after the price increase.

Radio Mirchi operates 32 stations and sells 10 affiliate stations. Radio Mirchi is currently valued at $250 million.