Customer Profile
Club FM, a popular Malayalam FM station, is owned by Mathrubhumi – a leading media group in Kerala, India. The FM station addresses its fan base every day by broadcasting songs and public awareness information-24/7. The FM station has 6 stations in Kerala and UAE, and can be tuned in frequencies 94.3 FM (at Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram, and Kochi), 104.80FM (at Thrissur and Kozhikode), and 99.6 FM (Dubai). Since its inception in 2007 to till date, Club FM has won several National and International awards for its operational excellence. In 2007, Club FM won three RAPA Awards, which are instituted by the Radio and TV Advertising Practitioners Association of India to honour exemplary radio and television services in India.
Business Challenge
Owing to its longstanding association with Mathrubhumi, RGB Broadcasting was chosen for setting up 2 live studios and 2 production studios for the 104.80 FM station in Kozhikode. Being a chief integrator, our work scope included planning, installation, configuration, testing and commissioning of advanced technology-driven equipment that supports the production and broadcasting of high-quality content. Since the start, the project was clouded with several challenges, such as pacing the installation of the production and studio facilities with the ongoing construction, managing the acoustics in a complex architecture, training the RJs and production teams to get accustomed to the new workflows, etc.
Like its parent organization, Mathrubhumi, the Club FM is also headquartered in Kozhikode, so this project was important for them for several reasons. They wanted to set a well-equipped state-of-the-art facility featuring top-notch equipment and products, which will ultimately help them build a strong customer base, and boost their loyalty.
RGBs Contribution
The team at RGB worked closely with the management and other contractors in all stages of project implementation. Starting from architecture design to positioning of main work areas to identifying the key areas for positioning of electrical points, the RGB team had played a key role in the project. Our vast industry experience combined with an in-depth understanding of advanced radio broadcasting systems, enabled us to select the right equipment for our facility, including audio servers, mixing consoles, audio distributors, telephone hybrids, and mic systems.
Also, it was important for the RGB team to maintain a uniform format of workflow, which easily strikes a balance with other Club FM studios in Kerala. To achieve this, it was important to gain an in-depth understanding of technical infrastructure in other Club FM radio stations operating in Kerala. We worked with the client’s team to understand it better. This understanding has helped us design a technology-driven architecture, which perfectly synchronized with the workflow pattern of equipment used at these various studios, and their production rooms.
After configurations, we conducted the test runs of the systems for several days. These test runs were conducted for one section at a time with the help of all related people like RJ’s and other technicians in the studio. Also, we have also involved local listeners and audio experts in the testing phase. All these cumulative efforts and unconditional support from Mathrubhumi team have helped us complete the project efficiently without stretching the deadlines.
Business Value
Eliminating the complications regarding multiple suppliers and vendors helped Star Sports officials to meet deadline as RGB resource pool was an answer to all their requirements. In addition to optimizing their technology and operations at cost effective prices, the project owner could implement new business models of space utilization and productively channelize resources for better monetization.
