Radio
Goa was once home to the Emisora Goa, a powerful radio station that was widely listened to when this small region was still a Portuguese colony. After the end of Portuguese rule, this station was replaced by a station from the All India Radio network.
Its studios are at Altinho, the hillock atop state-capital Panjim – also known as Panaji, Pangim or Ponnje – and its transmitters are located at Bambolim, some 5 km away. Bambolim also houses some powerful transmitters that broadcast foreign-language programmes as part of India's international programme. Two AM channels are broadcast, the primary channel at 1287 kHz and the Vividh Bharati channel at 1539 kHz.
Besides the AM broadcasts, All India Radio also has an FM, or frequency modulated channel. It is called Rainbow FM and is broadcast at 105.4 MHz. Since 2006, the FM broadcast is from 4.30 am to 12 midnight. The locally produced programs include mainly English, Konkani and Hindi music. The channel relays programs from AIR FM Rainbow India channel during the time slots when it does not broadcast its own programs. This channel has the best variety for listeners.
St Xavier's College in Mapusa started its campus community radio, named Voice of Xavier’s (VOX) on 17 December 2006 at 90.4 MHz. The station has a power output of 20 watts. This was Goa's second FM station.
In the end of January 2006, three private FM radio players - linked to the Indian media giant Times of India, the BPL electronics hardware firm, and the mega corporation Anil Ambani-linked Adlabs - won bids to set up private FM radio stations in Goa. Big FM at 92.7 MHz and Radio Mirchi at 98.3 MHz launched in Goa in May 2007. Radio Indigo at 91.9 MHz, the country's first and only 24hr international hit music station launched in June 2007. Big FM plays only Hindi music while Radio Mirchi features mainly Hindi music with a few Konkani songs. This has disappointed listeners, who were expecting a lot of English and Konkani music as the channels had claimed before launching. However, these channels' programs are hosted in both English and Konkani and the Konkani hosting has struck a chord with listeners. These channels have roped in popular Goan artists, tiatrist Prince Jacob and musician-singer Remo Fernandes. Radio Indigo programming is contemporary international music and international hit music. The music and hosting is purely in English, Due to this, listeners feel a Goan flavour is missing in the programming. All three radio stations broadcast 24 hours a day.
Though the new FM stations have bought life to Radio industry in Goa, the signal strength and the coverage of the same remains very weak (almost nil ) in southern part of Goa, that is after Verna plateau, thus most of the people of south Goa are unable to get reception in their home.
There is also an educational channel, Gyan Vani, run by IGNOU broadcast from Panaji at 107.8 MHz.
Read more about this topic: Media In Goa
Famous quotes containing the word radio:
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—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
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—Max Lerner (b. 1902)
“from above, thin squeaks of radio static,
The captured fume of space foams in our ears—”
—Hart Crane (1899–1932)