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Entertainment of Friday, 22 April 2005

Source: Ghanaian Chronicle

Multiple FM Stations Bring Excitement to T'di

KYZZ FM

KYZZ FM is less than two years on the airwaves, but is quietly, but rapidly catching on well with listeners in the twin-city of Sekondi-Takoradi and its environs.

Located at Esikafo-ambantem (the rich didn't arrive early), Kyzz FM is rather trying hard to catch up with the big names in radio in the twin-city.

It has Skyy Power FM, Goodnews Fm and ROK FM to contend with.

KYZZ FM has almost stopped broadcasting news in English, and targets Akan listeners. It still has some of its programmes run in English.

The station has the most current affairs programmes on its schedule. One of its prized presenters, Kwame Malcom, a University of Ghana graduate, hosts most of the current affairs programmes.

It has suffered from a high staff turnover, since its establishment.

Kyzz FM, with its high local language programming, attracts all classes of audience and this is rivaled only by Goodnews FM, which also has a high percentage of its programmes in the local language.

SPICE FM

Spice FM is less than a year old, and has a long way to go if it is expected to rival the other stations.

The station's strategic location, along a busy road close to the market centre, has given it the advantage of attracting a lot of local announcements.

Spice FM is strongly committed to its sporting fans, as it devotes a lot of time to sports programmes.

Some residents of the city the paper spoke to, wished that the station could engage some more experienced presenters.

Spice FM has recently started broadcasting Accra-based Happy FM's local news in Akan.

ROK FM.

ROK FM, the latest to hit the airwaves about nine months ago, is creating waves. It is the only station, perhaps, after Skyy and Goodnews, whose test transmission period was excellent, and which attracted a lot of listenership.

Within its short period of existence, ROK FM has served notice that it means business. Its bargaining tool is the four-hour live broadcast of Peace FM's Kokrokoo morning show. Also as bonuses in its kitty are the 6am, 12 mid-day and 6pm Akan news bulletins.

It also has a number of interesting programmes and there are hopes that it has a lot to offer its listeners.

ROK has made the seniors sit up and re plan. It has a strong sports team and a number of interesting presenters who are a delight to listen to.

Surprisingly, it has been able to capture a chunk of the local advert market. In any case, ROK FM has the leverage of Peace FM and this could be very rewarding.

The station, located on the top floor of Adom House, also along the Liberation road, a few meters away from Goodnews Fm, has come to stay.

From the look of things, the management of ROK FM, is bent on going by the Peace FM programme format, as majority of its programmes are in the Akan language.

Here too, there is not much in English news.

But ROK FM has a crop of promising presenters and newscasters, who only need a bit of experience and they would be able to compete with their seniors in terms of news presentation.

MELODY FM

After years of speculations, the station finally started operating early this year. But disaster befell it last month, when fire gutted its vital equipment.

Management of the station is tight-lipped on the cause of the fire, and the police are investigating.

But it seems when it finally hits the airwaves, Melody FM would also be a force to reckon with. It would be the second station to operate from its own premises.

From all indications, the radio scene in the Twin City is just about booming. The bulk of the adverts market share and revenue would, however, be focused on a few, including, well-listened to Twin City Radio.

There are fears, however, that some of them might fold up in the near future due to overhead costs and less income inflow.