Sri Lanka’s public radio broadcaster is likely to face severe streamlining, reports local media.

Hudson Samarasinghe, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), has proposed several measures to revamp the oldest radio station in South Asia.

Samarasinghe says SLBC needs to raise its game to compete with private broadcasters.

He suggested that SLBC may cut the number of radio channels from seven to four.

At present, the six main domestic channels include the Sinhala National Service, the Tamil National Service, an English service, City FM (in Sinhala) and both Sinhala and Tamil commercial stations.

The seventh – a sports service – only runs during important sports events.

SLBC also runs regional and community radio stations and an international service for South Asia and the Middle East.

Other proposals to modernise include investment in new technology, content improvement and a plan to sell some land belonging to the corporation in Gampaha district.

The funds raised will likely be put towards improving programming, he said.

Formerly known as Radio Ceylon, SLBC launched as Colombo Radio in 1925, soon after radio broadcasting services were launched in Europe.

It became a public broadcasting corporation in 1967.

In recent years, critics have said SLBC has failed to keep up with the scores of private radio stations that now dominate the airwaves in Sri Lanka.