2026: The Year Of...: When radio evolves into a 360° experience ecosystem, says Nisha Narayanan of Red FM

Red FM’s 2025 playbook signals a major shift in India’s entertainment landscape: culture has become the centrepiece of brand building, content discovery and audience engagement. COO Nisha Narayanan says the year marked a turning point for the network as its on-ground IPs, led by South Side Story, Riders Music Festival and the debut Dugga Dugga Festival- transformed into large-scale cultural movements that travelled beyond regions and demographics.

As audiences increasingly sought authenticity, the brand’s multiformat identity across radio, digital and live events gained stronger traction.

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At the business level, Red FM doubled down on diversified revenue streams, with non-traditional income from branded IPs, digital content and experiential formats contributing significantly to growth. The network also spent the year preparing for long-term regulatory changes, particularly around digital radio and FM reforms, which Narayanan believes will reshape the private radio sector.

The larger industry, she says, is riding a wave of hybrid content consumption, where cultural relevance, live experiences and platform-agnostic storytelling now define success.

Looking ahead, generative AI may be changing workflows, but Narayanan insists it will not disrupt human creativity in a culture-led medium. Instead, AI is an accelerant, streamlining research, insights and operational processes, while the emotional depth and community connection radio thrives on continues to come from people.

In 2026, she expects deeper convergence of audio, digital and experiential storytelling, powered by regulatory shifts and growing demand from Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets for hyperlocal cultural narratives.

Edited excerpts:

What were the key achievements/highlights for you and your teams in 2025?

2025 has been a landmark year for us at Red FM, where we further cemented our identity as a culture-first, multi-platform entertainment brand. Our on-ground IPs scaled new heights. South Side Story evolved into a vibrant cultural movement that blended music, food, art and regional narratives, attracting a truly diverse audience far beyond its South-origin roots. Another key highlight was the debut of our Dugga Dugga Festival in Delhi, a celebration inspired by Bengal’s Durga Puja. The phenomenal response reaffirmed the growing appetite for authentic regional cultural experiences. Alongside these, the Riders Music Festival and our digital-first initiatives continued to expand their footprint and influence.

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On the business front, our commitment to diversifying revenue streams delivered strong results, with non-traditional revenues from events, digital content and branded IPs contributing significantly to our growth.

We also made meaningful progress in preparing the organisation for evolving regulatory and policy shifts, ensuring we remain future-ready for the next phase of radio, audio and experiential entertainment in India.

What defining trends stood out for you in 2025?

2025 was defined by a strong shift toward authenticity and cultural rootedness. Audiences, particularly Gen Z and young millennials actively sought experiences that celebrate regional identity, heritage and community, leading to a surge in demand for on-ground events, cultural festivals and immersive experiential platforms. This shift also influenced brand behaviour, with marketers increasingly favouring integrated solutions that blend radio, digital, social and live experiences, reaffirming that platform-agnostic storytelling has become essential.

On the business side, the industry continued to diversify its revenue mix as traditional advertising matured. IP-led content, branded experiential campaigns and hybrid marketing models gained significant traction. The year also saw important regulatory developments around digital radio and FM reforms, laying the groundwork for long-term structural shifts within the private radio sector.

Overall, 2025 underscored that consumers now aspire for deeper, more meaningful interactions, experiences that carry cultural resonance and create lasting emotional connections.

How did the rise of AI and generative AI impact your industry this year?

The rise of AI did influence our industry this year, but not in a way that replaces creativity or content creation. Instead, AI acted more as a supportive layer that helps us work smarter. It streamlined several backend processes like research, data mapping and basic content structuring, which allowed the team to focus more deeply on the creative and strategic aspects of storytelling. AI also helped us navigate audience insights faster, making it easier to personalise campaigns and sharpen marketing decisions.

However, in a culture-led business like ours, the emotional depth, originality and nuance that listeners connect with still come from human creators.

What AI has really done is reduce friction. It has made ideation, groundwork and experimentation quicker, but the essence of our industry continues to depend on human intuition, empathy and cultural understanding.

So, its role has been evolutionary, not transformational, an assistive tool that complements, not competes with human creativity.

What disruptive trends will take the spotlight in 2026?

In 2026, the industry is expected to see a deeper convergence of radio, digital audio, live events and experiential storytelling, creating an integrated “audio + experience” ecosystem where content is supposed to flow seamlessly across platforms. Hyper-local and culturally rooted narratives are expected to gain greater prominence, particularly in tier-2 and tier-3 markets where radio continues to hold strong community influence.

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Much of the sector’s growth is likely to depend on the pace of regulatory reforms, swift progress on digital radio and FM auction policies is supposed to unlock new markets and attract broader participation. On the consumer front, technology-led live experiences, powered by mixed media, AR and immersive formats are set to dominate brand engagement. As this shift accelerates, media brands are supposed to evolve into holistic, 360-degree content and experience companies, moving beyond traditional broadcasting to build deeper and more culturally resonant connections with audiences.

What are your New Year’s resolution/s on a professional and personal front?

As we think about the year ahead, we’re hoping to build on the momentum created at Red FM and continue shaping it into a truly multi-platform, contemporary media brand, one that brings together radio, digital content and the cultural experiences we’ve been curating.

We also want to keep engaging in conversations around digital radio and regulatory reforms, because there’s real potential for the industry to grow in healthier, more inclusive ways.

And we’re excited to take our cultural properties like South Side Story, Dugga Dugga and Riders Music Festival to new places and audiences who haven’t experienced them yet.

On a more personal note, I’d like to stay curious and keep learning, especially as new technologies and formats evolve so quickly. At the same time, I’m hoping to create more space for balance, reflection and overall well-being. Staying rooted in community matters to me and I want empathy and cultural pride to continue guiding the work I do and the choices I make in the coming year.