EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Indian FM radio industry was privatized in the year 2000. Many industry observers advised against investing in the market as the general notion was that after introducing the satellite television, the market for radio broadcasters is dead as television has more to offer. Although there were many deterring factors, still organizations invested heavily and begun operations across the country. In a short time span, the enthusiasm started failing as investments were not recovered from operations and profits were dipping. A number of factors pointed out that with amendments in Government rules and regulations, the industry could revive from their losses. Considering this, the Phase II of privatization was initiated in 2006, wherein the regulations were made more flexible and provided ample scope of growth. The general audience notion of the available radio stations is lack of differentiation in terms of content. This report gives a description of the problem regarding similar content and is a result of a market survey providing an insight in the consumer preference. Specifically, the report was an exercise conducted to validate the application of brand extension in service industry.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am indebted to Dr. Samar Faten Badar, Faculty Member (Marketing,), for her great support and help all through the project. I am also thankful to Prof. Ramkishen, without whose help and support it would have been difficult to obtain the necessary data for the report.

I would also like to thank the staff of the Mumbai University Library and the British Library for being patient and helpful all throughout.

I would also like to thank the 120 odd respondents who took out time to help with the market research.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary Acknowledgement 1 Introduction 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 2 Background Growth Potential and