The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 2019–2026
HT Media gave up on FM radio — five stations, seven years after buying in
Radio Nasha, Radio One and Fever FM went silent by June 2026 — a radio business with negative net worth of Rs 172 crore and 1.6% of group revenue.
HT Media · 2026-05-18
What happened
HT Media, the publisher of Hindustan Times, bought Next MediaWorks — owner of the Radio One brand — in 2019. The acquisition gave its FM division three brands: Fever 104 FM, Radio Nasha and Radio One, broadcasting across India's metro cities.
The radio business never earned its place. In the audited FY2024–25 statements the stations' combined revenue was Rs 29.19 crore — 1.62% of HT Media's consolidated revenue — and their combined net worth was negative Rs 172.08 crore, about negative 10.3% of the group's own.
The exit came in stages. HT Media's two Chennai stations went first: the Radio One licence was surrendered in October 2025 and Fever 104 FM shut on 24 December 2025, with the company noting the stations were not contributing to revenue.
On 18 May 2026 HT Media told the stock exchange it would surrender the remaining licences — Radio Nasha (91.9 FM) in Mumbai, Radio One (94.3 FM) in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, and Fever (91.9 FM) in Chennai — and end FM operations by 15 June 2026. The surrender was voluntary, no sale was agreed, and the licences still had years to run: Radio Nasha's until 2031, the others until 2030.
Why it happened
- HT Media bought into FM radio in 2019, at the point digital audio had already begun eating broadcast ad revenue — the acquisition bought licences whose medium was in structural decline.
- The stations were too small to matter: five metro frequencies generated under 2% of group revenue, so they carried group overhead without strategic weight.
- Sector economics turned first: with advertising revenue falling and listeners moving to digital, the business drifted to a negative net worth of Rs 172 crore — a hole the group had to absorb.
The lesson
Buying a medium whose ad revenue is already migrating buys a licence, not a business. HT Media held FM radio seven years, watched its net worth go negative, and surrendered licences years early.
Aftermath
FM operations ceased on 15 June 2026 and the five licences were surrendered to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. HT Media said it had not sold the stations. The group's consolidated net worth stayed positive at about Rs 1,666 crore, so the exit was a write-off of a failed bet rather than a threat to the company.
Sources
- Best Media Info — HT Media to shut down FM radio stations across India by June 15
- afaqs — HT Media pulls plug on FM radio business after mounting losses
- Wikipedia — Radio One (India)
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