FM station banks on local reach, listeners’ requests

Friday, July 15, 2011

THE FM industry of Cebu still sees brighter prospects this year despite the growing popularity of gadgets that can store music like iPods, MP4s, and mobile phones.

Melecio Alfante, chairman of Best Broadcasting Corp., said although there are various options for music audiences these days, the FM industry has sustained its growth as there are still a lot of Cebuanos who’d prefer listening to music over FM.

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“People tune in to radios to know the latest songs,” said Alfante, who is also a disc jockey (DJ) of DYKI 89.9 Smooth FM.

Market research company GfK Philippines earlier reported a steady growth in the sales of consumer durables like gadgets, with the entry of affordable Chinese brands.

Despite this, Alfante said 89.9 Smooth FM, in particular, enjoys a good number of listeners. FM stations normally gauge the number of listeners through requests or calls they get every day.

“People know new songs through the radio. FM stations are still considered one of the sources of information, especially when it comes to music and entertainment, apart from television and the Internet, because of its wider (local) coverage. Listeners even visit booths to download songs,” he said.

The station 89.9 Smooth FM recently relaunched, with improved equipment, to capture the growing “music gadget market”. Alfante said the new 89.9 Smooth FM will provide better quality of music and will play contemporary and rhythm and blues, among others.

While the FM industry has kept its footing despite the popularity of music gadgets, Alfante sees programming as a challenge for some stations.

“The problem seen now in the industry is that we can hear more songs than DJ’s. There is now a lack of proper programming,” Alfante said.

“FM stations should also innovate and improve to strengthen their visibility and earn continued patronage from listeners and advertisers,” he said.

Alfante said 89.9 Smooth FM is also using HD radio, which enables AM and FM radio stations to broadcast digitally.

The technology is described in an industry report as “a tremendous technological leap from today’s familiar analog broadcasts.”

These provide radically better audio quality and reception and new data services.

“We are excited about this technology as this would help improve the industry,” Alfante said.