Broadcasting in the city ofChennai began in 1924 by the Madras Presidency Radio Club. The service was operational till the government-runAll India Radio started broadcasting in the city in 1938.
Currently, the city has 4AM and 11FM radio stations operated byAll India Radio,Anna University andSuryan FM,Radio Mirchi,BIG FM,Hello FM,Radio City,Radio One among others.[1]
Broadcasting in India began in June 1923 during theBritish Raj with programmes by theBombay Presidency Radio Club and other radio clubs. In 1924, the Madras Presidency Radio Club was established by V. Krishnaswamy Chetty. It made its first broadcast fromHolloway’s Garden inEgmore on 31 July 1924. The Club later faced some financial difficulties but was rescued by the Madras Municipal Corporation in 1927, which ran it till All India Radio was established in Madras in 1938.[2] The radio station at theRipon Building complex was founded in 1930.[3]
According to an agreement of 23 July 1927, the private Indian Broadcasting Company LTD (IBC) was authorised to operate two radio stations: theBombay station began on 23 July 1927, and theCalcutta station followed on 26 August 1927. The company went into liquidation on 1 March 1930. The government took over the broadcasting facilities and began the Indian State Broadcasting Service (ISBS) on 1 April 1930 on an experimental basis for two years and permanently in May 1932. On 8 June 1936, the ISBS was renamed All India Radio.[4]
All India Radio Madras began its operations on 16 June 1938. It became one of the six operational stations in the AIR network in the country when India gained independence in 1947, along withDelhi,Bombay,Calcutta,Lucknow, andTiruchirappalli.[5] The total number of radio sets at that time was about 275,000 in India. TheVividh Bharati Service was launched on 3 October 1957 to compete withRadio Ceylon. AIR Madras became the first station in the country to begin FM broadcasting on 23 July 1977, which was later expanded during the 1990s.[6]
