Jawid Cader is the Programming Manager of KISS FM, an English dance station in Sri Lanka.
He spoke to Asia Radio Today about his station, part of Voice of Asia Network, and gave us insights about the radio industry in Sri Lanka.
1. Start by telling us about KISS FM Sri Lanka, which group you belong to and how the station came about and developed?
KISS FM Sri Lanka was created to be different, to make our exclusive audience be the first to know about hit music and to set new standards in the industry for others to follow.
KISS FM Sri Lanka is not only a radio station but a brand lifestyle where people get to be a part of something special and unique.We are the most gadget friendly and digitally connected radio station in Sri Lanka. We always encourage the listeners to engage and interact with our brand lifestyle through digital media so we can keep them up-to date on the latest buzz in showbiz and music while pushing them to discover the biggest dance hits of tomorrow.
The station came into the spotlight when Sri Lankan radio was beginning to sound increasingly bland as stations were reluctant to play new music. KISS brought about a monumental change as we introduced the wave of EDM music to Sri Lanka and started spinning hit after hit of feel good music. Sri Lankan radio has never been the same ever since.
2. Sri Lanka is a very competitive and dynamic radio market. What are you doing to differentiate yourselves against the other players?
In a dynamic market, the only way to stay ahead is by creating a strong brand. We focus on playing new, up-tempo happy music every day which keeps our listeners on the bleeding edge of things in their equally fast paced and stressful lifestyles. In addition to the exclusive singles that air every day, our presenters maintain a strict professional ethic in taking on mature content that helps and contributes to the day-to-day lives of our listeners.
All this ultimately translates to a truly international product that can be easily incorporated into the life of a Sri Lankan and anybody else from around the globe.
3. Tell us about your on air schedule? Who does what and when?
The day starts off with the KISS Breakfast hosted by Ka$h Love at 6 am lasting till 10 am. Driving people to work with quick life hacks and rib tickling humor.
The request show KISS CONNECT lasts three hours featuring competitions and daily give-aways. The host of this show is Kenzi.
At 1 pm there’s a special show called KISSTORY which airs feel good hits from the past, inducing sweet nostalgia in the lives of our listeners. This is the first of many live-mix shows that air on the station. It alternately features Jacque Carter and Kay Dee.
Taking into account the slow paced nature of the late afternoon – the show that kicks off at 2p.m is the KISS Pickup. It features jovial content and often edgy on-air material to keep listeners engaged and hooked, hosted by Kayden King.
At 5 pm, we have the KISS Over Dive, with a seasoned veteran of radio, Danny at the helm as designated driver.
Total KISS kicks off at 8 pm with edgy music in the company of Kassie all the way till midnight. This is the only night show in Sri Lankan radio which features an immensely talented female DJ that spins, mixes and thrills LIVE on-air.
Saturday 2 to 5 pm we have our very own KISS Demand Top 30 show that re-counts the biggest hits and requests of the week.
On Sunday we have a Lounge show hosted by Kay Dee, from 6am to 10am
4. Your website and apps are really impressive. Tell us about your strategy for a very visual/photo-based approach rather than text?
The idea behind the website and the app is “familiar and effective delivery through efficiency”. Our app comes in at a frugal 1MB yet it delivers a vicious punch. We were very adamant on creating an “experience” on the website for the masses. It had to be familiar but new; hence the Windows 8 inspired live tiles approach.It had to deliver interesting content which would expand our reach: which we are proud to say that it does.
The visual/photo based approach reaches beyond boundaries where a language barrier would stop a certain individual. We are conscious of our audience, we have listened to them and understood that they require and respond better to things that are precise, attention grabbing and concise.
5. What are your online listening stats and how many downloads so far for your new app?
At any given time, we can confidently quote our online listenership to be around 500: although there are so many days that prove this figure to be extremely conservative on our part. Our online listenership is not only expat-locals. Research from mid to late last year shows that a strong contingent of British nationals has become avid followers, even calling in frequently for requests on KISS 969 as well. Percentage wise, 57% of our “international” online audience is from the UK, with listeners from the USA ranking second with 20%, Australia a close third with a little over 13% and Germany and China rounding out the top 5.
The KISS APP has reached 5,000 strong downloads within the first few months of its launch and also enjoyed the rare distinction of topping the Apple App Store’s top free application downloads; we happen to be the only radio station in Sri Lanka to achieve this monumental benchmark.
6. How do you see the station growing? Are you nationwide? Do you plan to be?
The station is constantly expanding its audience as we speak. Sri Lanka has a well documented history of being a pioneer in radio in Asia as experimental broadcasting was begun here just after three years of broadcasting in Europe. KISS 969 only broadcasts in Colombo and Kandy through FM.
We have plans to be a nationwide station but for now, we’re concentrating our prowess on the party central of Sri Lanka as we have understood that the largest concentration of English speaking listeners that tune in to radio come from the two regions we transmit in. We remain in the exclusive club of rarified Sri Lankan radio stations known and instantly recognized globally as a true entertainment powerhouse. We plan to be the only Sri Lankan radio station to be benchmarked by international startups and peers alike.
7. What about digital radio in Sri Lanka? Are plans afoot to move to DAB+ or similar and will your group be involved?
Although we understand the obvious benefits of DAB+ and its sister technologies such as the robustness it offers with regard to noise and multipath fading for better mobile listening, we feel that FM/analogue broadcasting is a better fit for us, at-least for now, as the country still lacks some of that vital, dependable sort of technological edge that DAB+ and the likes requires to truly capitalize over FM.
We find it difficult to justify- for now – since DAB reception quality degrades rapidly when the signal strength falls below a certain critical threshold whereas FM reception quality only degrades slowly with the decreasing signal.
Having said that, we maintain that we are ready to stay committed to which ever technology that offers us the best fit – it remains a question of time and the level of technology our audience avail themselves rather than a fact of commitment on our part.