BENGALURU : AIR, Mysuru came into existence in 1935, by a professor from the University of Mysore, and very soon evolved into a professional broadcasting institution. The professor, MV Gopalaswamy, is said to have given the name ‘ Akashavani’, which was later endorsed by the Government of India, a name that continues to be used to this day. It was a private enterprise till 1942 and was taken over by the central government post Independence. In 1950, the station was shifted to Bengaluru.
After ‘FMisation’ started in the 1990s, AIR got 98 per cent terrestrial coverage throughout India. Today, there are three transmitters that operate: Medium wave, shortwave and Frequency Modulation (FM). Shortwave transmitters cover external services, ensuring coverage of far-off countries, and in a way catering to those Indians staying abroad. The content is made available through national channels, primary channels and local radio stations.
News and centralised programmes by the government, which is mostly produced at the centre in Delhi, is aired on national channels throughout the country with the help of all the transmitters. Bengaluru is an example of a regional channel that provides content to other stations in Karnataka, and this is aired in addition to the local content that is produced from the local stations.
With digitisation, even radio has entered the realm of the social media world, making its presence felt on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and through an app on the Google playstore.
Explaining the digitisation of AIR, A Hanumantha, deputy director general at the station in Bengaluru, says, “Indian radio standard for digitalisation is called Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM).
More than 30 transmitters of the medium wave have been replaced by digital transmitters.” Talking about the kind of reach DRM has had, even in the form of text content that is sent it out, he says, “Around 15 lakh cars have DRM receivers. These people can receive the DRM as well as the text content. On AIR Bengaluru’s website too this is available.”