Fever FM hikes ad rates by 20 per cent

The channel had entered into a sales alliance with Dainik Bhaskar-owned radio channel, My FM, in April.

HT Media-owned Fever FM has hiked its ad rates by 20 per cent across all four stations including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru. The hike will be effective from May 15.

The earlier rate per 10 seconds in Delhi was Rs 900-1,100; while for Mumbai it was Rs 450-600; the Bengaluru station charged Rs 400-450, while for the Kolkata station, the rate was Rs 150-250.

Stating the reason behind the increase in the rates, Harshad Jain, business head, radio and entertainment, HT Media, says, "We are facing an inventory crunch. We have more supply of ads than we can consume. So we aim to deliver better quality to our advertisers and a better experience to our listeners."

The radio channel has advertisers across industry sectors such as FMCG, retail, telecom and others. It has added 1,000-1,200 advertisers in the past two years, it claims. It has 18.4 per cent market share in New Delhi, 10.4 per cent in Mumbai, 5.9 per cent in Bengaluru and 8.8 per cent in Kolkata.

In April, the channel formed a sales alliance with the Dainik Bhaskar-owned radio channel, My FM. The latter had also increased its ad rates by 20 per cent recently. Though both channels have increased rates in quick succession, Fever FM adds that it is not a mutual decision but an independently conscious move.

Fever 104 FM began its operations in Delhi in 2006, followed by Mumbai (January '07), Bengaluru (March '07) and Kolkata (January '08).