MUMBAI: After news channels, its time for radio! Sahara Swar, the first satellite radio in Mumbai's suburban trains, will start by July this year.
 
 
According to Sahara Media and Entertainment head Sumit Roy, the satellite radio will offer music, primarily filmi as well as news, probably every half hour. Roy was in Mumbai to conduct a tete-a-tete with media journalists and keep them abreast of the latest happenings post the launch of Sahara Samay Rashtriya.

Sahara already has four channels booked on World Space and intends to start with the Mumbai channel. Work is already on in full swing and preparations to start installing speakers in all compartments of both the western Railway and central Railway suburban trains would start soon. Mumbai's railway system is used by millions of commuters as it is convenient and economical.

"The 24 hour channels will have a captive audience," says a smiling Roy,"While some of the infrastructure to transmit the audio feed via satellite is in place, some of it is being put in place, including a studio in the city," he adds.

The radio channel will depend on advertising for a steady revenue stream, and considering that Sahara intends to put speakers in every compartment in every suburban train in the city, advertising should not be too hard to come by.

The other three radio stations on the World Space platform would be introduced in a phased manner and would focus on education, entertainment and other fields, Roy said.