MULTIPLE stations, each with very different “personalities”, function side-by-side reflecting incredibly diverse societies in which the CFL group work.
“Over 30 years we have developed program formats for each of the stations that target specifically different sectors of the community” says general manager Fiji Ian Jackson.
“These markets are constantly changing and so we have to be very sensitive to shifting needs of listeners. This is the ultimate secret to our success”.
Despite its diversification, CFL’s core business remains radio. The exciting thing about this is that every day is, in a special sense, a new day!
CFL stations FM96, Navtarang, Viti FM, Sargam and Legend FM dominate Fiji’s radio industry, consistently recording more than 80 per cent market share in Tebbutt Research media surveys.
Mr Jackson: “This doesn’t happen by accident. Over the years we have developed clear target markets for each station, and our objective is to become an integral and positive part of our listeners’ lives. This isn’t easy. It means constantly reviewing programming to ensure it remains fresh and relevant.
“Listeners rule at CFL! Everything depends on our relationships with our listeners. These can get very intense because it isn’t just about playing the right song. It is about making sure we deliver the best possible experience and transmission across the country.
“It is about ensuring our listeners are the first to get breaking news and, in times of natural disaster and other national crisis, they know they can rely on us to be there for them. Basic to our approach is that we have always recognised that there are no short cuts in this relationship.
“One of the striking changes is the way in which the conversations with our audience has moved from being one way – transmission through the radio- to multiple ways with listeners being able to communicate back to us by various means.
“It is hard to imagine now that when we started in 1985 the fax machine wasn’t around. Now communication has deepened and evolved through stunning technology, largely social media”.
FM96
This is CFL’s foundation station which continues to serve its core youth market.
Tony Rahiman, program director, points out that FM96’s domination of this market is generational. “To stay relevant we consistently have to shake things up to retain our edge.
“People sometimes comment about the style of language used on FM96. Fact is we don’t speak “English” on the station. We speak the language our listeners use every day. It is constantly changing.”
Legend FM
Legend FM was launched in 2002 for a market that wanted to hear pop classics from a more mature
sounding station. This, combined, with a very strong news focus, is at the heart of Legend FM.
Alex Elbourne, Legend’s program director: “We don’t want to get too serious. After all this is Fiji where we all enjoy a good laugh, so we combine the serious with some fun.”
Navtarang and Sargam
Navtarang, inaugurated in 1989, has “owned” the Hindi radio market since its inception. Nowadays it works in partnership with sister station Sargam and this allows it to focus on a younger market.
Satya Nand, head of Hindi programming says radio is at the centre of every Indo-Fijian household. It remains the prime source of entertainment, news and information. But this market is also experiencing fast change.
Navtarang focuses on the latest trends while Sargam continues to fill the traditional role of Hindi radio.
The result is that Navtarang remains the most popular Hindi station by a large margin with Sargam taking up the number two slot with an older more conservative audience.
Viti FM
Viti FM is aimed at a slightly older, more traditional iTaukei market (with FM96 as the biggest station for iTaukei youth). This market is also caught up in a wave of change. At first listeners expected vale ni walesi to be very conservative. The arrival of irrepressible personalities like Maikeli Radua ended all that!
Today iTaukei language radio is probably the fastest growing in terms of audience numbers, reflecting the structure of Fiji’s population.
Mr Jackson stresses that getting all of this right every day is a massive challenge. After 30 years it’s something the team at Communications Fiji Ltd obviously loves, he says.
