1. At a Glance – Radio City, Volume Low But Drama High
Music Broadcast Ltd (MBL), better known as Radio City, is currently trading at around ₹6, which is roughly the price of a cutting chai in South Mumbai, except the chai gives more predictable returns. With a market cap of ₹212 crore, the company is somehow valued lower than its own investments worth ~₹312 crore, which is peak Indian market irony.
In the last 3 months, the stock is down ~20%, 1-year return is -49%, and over 5 years, investors have time-travelled backwards at -24% CAGR. Financially, FY25 ended with a net loss of ₹34 crore, ROE is -6.7%, ROCE -4.9%, and EBITDA margins look like they fell off the radio tower.
And yet… Q3 FY26 surprised everyone. The company reported ₹3.68 crore PAT, positive EPS of ₹0.11, and suddenly Radio City started sounding less like static and more like faint music. Add to that: redeemed preference shares, litigation soap opera, CEO reshuffle, GST notices, and a 24×7 video channel launch.
So the question is obvious:
👉 Is Radio City a dying FM dinosaur… or a misunderstood balance-sheet anomaly playing hide and seek with value?
Let’s tune in 📻
2. Introduction – From FM Pioneer to Market Punching Bag
Music Broadcast Ltd was once the cool kid of Indian private radio. Launched in 1999, it was among the first private FM radio operators, riding the liberalisation wave when “private radio” itself sounded revolutionary. Operating under the Radio City brand, it built presence across 39 cities, captured ~20% market share, and became the No.2 private radio network in India.
Fast forward to today, and Radio City is stuck in the awkward phase where Spotify exists, YouTube exists, Instagram exists, and advertisers ask uncomfortable questions like:
“FM radio… abhi bhi log sunte hain kya?”
Advertising still contributes ~91% of revenue, which means the business is cyclical, sentiment-driven, and GDP-sensitive. When ad budgets sneeze, Radio City catches pneumonia. COVID was not kind. FY21–FY23 bruised the P&L badly, margins collapsed, and losses piled up.
But unlike many “turnaround stories” that exist only on Twitter
threads, Radio City still has:
- Real cash flows
- Real investments
- Real assets
- And very real promoter family drama
The stock market, however, has chosen violence.
So before we declare FM radio “dead”, let’s understand what this company actually does, where the money goes, and why the balance sheet looks richer than the stock price suggests.
3. Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?
At its core, Music Broadcast Ltd sells attention. Specifically, ear-time.
The Old Model (Still 90% Relevant)
Radio City operates FM radio stations across India. Advertisers pay for:
- Spot ads
- RJ mentions
- Sponsored shows
- City-level campaigns
This is a high operating leverage business:
- Fixed costs = license fees, employee costs, transmission
- Variable costs = minimal
When ad revenue rises, margins explode.
When ad revenue falls… welcome to FY25.
The “New-Age” Add-ons (Management Trying, Credit Where Due)
To avoid becoming the Nokia of audio, Radio City has expanded into:
- Content production
- Event IPs
- Podcasts & audio stories
- Influencer marketing
- Commissioned branded content
- Social media amplification
In April 2024, Radio City launched RC Studio, India’s first 24×7 video radio channel on JioTV. Yes, video killed the radio star — so Radio City decided to become video too.
They also launched SMINCO.in, an influencer marketing platform, and partnered with indie artist platforms like Muzartdisco.
Does all this move the revenue needle materially yet?
👉 Not really.
But at least management understands the problem.
Question for you:
Is FM
