Private FM radio stations reported promoting income of Rs 1,819 crore in FY25, marginally under the Rs 1,903 crore recorded in FY20, the final full yr earlier than an advert drain through the pandemic disrupted this trade with a mass attain.
The downturn in FY21 was sharp, with FM radio advert income plunging to Rs 941 crore. Since then, the restoration has been regular. Revenue rose to Rs 1,227 crore in FY22, climbed to Rs 1,547 crore in FY23 and reached Rs 1,776 crore in FY24, in response to information submitted by personal FM radio operators to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
“In the last couple of years, radio as a medium has withstood the onslaught of digital platforms and has revived itself in a new form to connect with advertisers,” mentioned TAM Media chief government LV Krishnan.
He cited greater contributions from tier-2 markets, with elevated promoting on native stations in cities similar to Kochi, Bhopal and Jaipur for the expansion. He mentioned native manufacturers and hyper-local classes, together with training, coaching institutes and actual property, are utilizing radio extra for model communication and festive campaigns.
Radio stations are providing a variety of promoting codecs, together with on-air RJ integrations, occasions, out of doors promoting and non-music digital content material, giving advertisers extra choices, he mentioned.
“Hence, not just in India but globally across markets, radio has held steady, revived itself and is growing in the post-pandemic years,” he famous.While radio promoting is but to totally regain pre-Covid ranges, its restoration contrasts with sharper stress throughout different legacy broadcast segments.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s newest annual accounts present income from personal direct-to-home tv operators fell to Rs 649 crore in FY25 from Rs 692 crore in FY24 and Rs 860 crore in FY23, a decline of practically 25% over two years.
In comparability, authorities income from personal FM radio rose to Rs 196 crore in FY25 from Rs 187 crore in FY24 and Rs 179 crore in FY23.
Advertising volumes are additionally enhancing. Between January and September 2025, radio advert volumes grew 4% year-on-year, in response to TAM Media Research. The prime 10 promoting sectors accounted for 89% of whole volumes. Gujarat and Maharashtra remained the biggest markets with 18% and 15% shares, respectively, whereas the highest 5 states collectively accounted for 62%.
As of March 31, 2025, India had 388 operational personal FM radio stations, alongside 591 stations operated by public broadcaster All India Radio, as reported to TRAI. Longer-term prospects hinge on coverage and expertise shifts.
A Ficci-EY report initiatives radio revenues to succeed in Rs 3,000 crore by 2027, pushed by non-free business time income and modest development in free business time, supported by urbanisation and rising automotive possession in non-metro markets. An enormous chunk of FM radio listening occurs in automobiles and different autos.
The report additionally flags digital radio as a possible development lever. Last yr, TRAI really helpful the introduction of digital radio companies in simulcast mode, permitting present FM broadcasters to transmit one analogue channel, three digital channels and one information channel on the identical frequency beneath a single expertise normal within the VHF Band II.