For the radio industry, the headlines in recent months have been traumatic. Last month, HT Media pulled the plug on Radio Nasha in Mumbai, Radio One in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, and Fever FM in Chennai, surrendering the licences for the popular stations. Last month also saw TV Today’s retreat from FM with the shutdown of Ishq 104.8 FM and the completion of asset transfer to Abhijit Realtors. Earlier in the year, the Sun TV Network-owned Red FM surrendered its MagicFM Mumbai licence.Private radio players cite the unsustainable licence fees and spectrum usage fees as a huge structural challenge. Broadcasters must pay an annual licence fee based on either 4 per cent of their gross revenue or 2.5 per cent of the non-refundable one-time entry fee (NOTEF) for a city — whichever is higher. As the NOTEF bidding prices were very high in metro cities a decade ago, stations have been locked into paying huge fees that don’t match their current dwindled income. Ad revenues have fallen since the rate cuts made during the Covid-19 pandemic never really corrected. Adding insult to injury, audio streaming platforms, which pose a big threat to FM players, carry none of the costs nor content restrictions. FM radio operators have been petitioning regulatory bodies to de-link annual fees from the entry fee, and allow them to broadcast news and current affairs — something that the TRAI has also recommended.