MUMBAI: All stations of Red FM will hike their ad rates starting from 21 September 2015. The network has increased the ad rates by 35 per cent.

Red FM COO Nisha Narayanan said, "We have not had a rate hike for a while now. Today, radio as a medium is growing at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18 per cent and attracts a large number of advertisers as consumption of radio is on an overall high. The demand and supply scenario has a huge imbalance with demand way beyond the inventory that we can play on Red FM. Also, the advertisers have shown faith in us to provide customised solutions for their brands and do not have an issue in paying premiums.”

Narayanan added, “With Phase III and newer cities we plan to venture into, we have decided to go ahead with rates hike of 35 per cent across the network. With strong hold in metro cities as well as Tier II and III cities, we will continue to provide customised quality solutions for all our clients across the network and hope to receive their support for the desired increase.”

Commenting on the scenario, Narayanan added that this is a very interesting time for FM radio space as the advertising community has been showing its faith in the medium continuously which is evident from the overflowing radio inventories. Demand across most of major metro’s and big cities has seen growth which is equivalent to festive season rush and thus, there is an eminent reason for the rate hike which have been stagnant for almost 2-3 years now.

She goes on further to also talk about Red as a brand having a very distinctive offering with the power of celebrity RJs like Malishka, Raunaq, innovative shows and distinctive music offering planners at the media houses definitely include Red FM to deliver the last mile connect within the TG of 18-35 years.

She added that in the wake of Phase III auctions and an overall optimism within the industry is also going to put pressure on the operational expenses. Thus, the rate hike is one of the steps that have become a necessity to optimise the demand and supply and offer best of entertainment and mileage to their advertisers and stakeholders. More and more volume is also coming from lot of new categories and it is good to see their trust in the medium by planning campaigns with FM stations.