New Delhi : My FM recently launched what is being claimed as the first ever radio reality show, ‘Paiso Ka Ped’ in Jaipur. As part of the two-week campaign, a specially fabricated tree made with coins and currency notes was installed at the World Trade Park mall in Jaipur.
The activity received over 1,500 registrations. This was followed by an on-ground screening, where all participants were met and out of which 100 were shortlisted. Lastly, 30 candidates were selected post a thorough medical examination as the finalists to compete in the contest. The winner was decided amongst the participants who managed to hold on to the tree for the longest duration.
The contest stretched for 65 hours non-stop, with the contestants fighting out against each other and performing various interesting tasks. The winner was announced on Monday, April 6, 2015 in the wee hours.
Commenting on the initiative, Harrish Bhatia, CEO, My FM, said, “This is one of the most unique initiatives that we have undertaken by bringing the concept of a reality show to radio. The central idea to this activity was to take radio out of studio to our listeners and make everyone feel it. ‘Paiso Ka Ped’ was the most intriguing reality show that people witnessed live and this was captured beautifully on radio. This also sets a benchmark in pushing the envelope and broadening the scope for radio programming. Such activities are not just aimed at connecting with the listeners and the live audiences, but they also spread happiness in general and build our brand affiliation.”
Viplove Gupte, National Programming Head, My FM, added here, “The innovation was truly path breaking as it was a departure from existing radio formats. For the first time, a reality radio show was organised on ground and there were 1,500 applicants who wanted to be a part of it. It’s amazing how we found our winner, as every couple of hours we kept things interesting for the participants and the listeners. The entire event was covered live on radio and that’s also another first of its kind. Soon, we will unveil some more such initiatives, which will take the radio world by surprise and we will be breaking in to newer formats which are listener centric.”
Meanwhile, the FM player has also launched, what is being touted as, the country’s first radio documentary show, titled ‘India Ke Dil Ki Baat’. The show discusses issues and topics that people generally know about and discuss, but don’t have the necessary insights to have an informed opinion. The show will be aired every Wednesday at 10 am across all 17 stations of My FM.
The first episode aired on Aoril 1, 2015, took up the issue of racial attacks on Indians abroad and the reasons why a person from a different state within India is exposed to such treatment from his own compatriots. Psychologist Deepak Raheja; former Indian Ambassador to the US, Meera Shankar; and people living in Australia took part in the discussion.
Issues such as Sec 66A Freedom on Internet, Land Acquisition Bill, the dark side of match fixing and more will be taken up in subsequent episodes.
