A Lagos-based media franchise, Royal Roots (R2) is charting a new course in broadcasting. Aside having a cable TV station, R2TV, the company launched a new radio station, dubbed R2 92.9 FM in Ibadan, Oyo State. The new outfit will be first to broadcast for twenty-four hours in the ancient city.
The radio station is also billed to operate as a young people-focused, entertainment-driven broadcasting medium. Speaking during the launch event in Lagos, CEO, Greg Odutayo said the station will target young demography, youths between the ages of 15 and 35, maintaining that this category of the population desires more”.
He disclosed that the move to Ibadan was also technical as Lagos could not admit more radio stations. “We wanted to offer the people in Ibadan and other cities in South West premium entertainment. We discovered the most radio stations in Ibadan are doing exactly the same thing. In Ibadan almost 90% of the stations speak Yoruba. So the students are cut off. Most of the stations do not provide as much entertainment as they want. We found out that the city desired more “In coming, we are bringing fresh entertainment packages. Our programmes will be researched, not impulsive. We will go beyond playing the music, to providing additional information to what songs we play. English will be the basic language of our presentation and we will infuse Yoruba and pidgin every now and then. This is because our audiences are aspirational. We target young people between the ages of 15 and 35. We speak for the youth,” he said.
Speaking on the importance of radio to society, Odutayo said “There is more connection with the audience in radio than on television. Our aim is to establish media platforms that are collaborative, that work in synergy with one another. So in putting together what we have, they are not far from each other. It is same entertainment; it is the same reach in terms of demography and typography”.