Big Boys Grab Radio Stations

From left:Dr Kwabena Duffour,Dr Kwame Kyei and Roland Agambiri

A radio station is undoubtedly a powerful weapon and this may explain the sudden rise in the number of Ghanaian businessmen buying and establishing radio stations especially in the nation's capital, though its airwaves are already chocked with over twenty stations.

Roland Agambiri, Chief Executive of Agams Holdings and Chairman of Rlg Communications, has been reported as the newest addition to the rising list of thriving businessmen who have set up radio stations in recent times.

The report first put out by enewsgh.com said Mr Agambiri's station is called Radio 360 and is currently streaming online but would soon commence commercial broadcasting on the frequency, 90.1, in Takoradi in the Western Region.

The news site mentioned popular sports journalist Charles Osei Asibey as the station's General Manager and said he would be assisted by Frema Ashkar formerly of eTV Ghana and TV3.

Already Mr Agambiri owns the The General Telegraph newspaper.

Recently, highly respected businessman Samuel Amo Tobin, the Chief Executive of Tobin Pharmaceuticals Limited, a leading pharmaceutical marketing and distribution company in Ghana, also bought Sena Radio and renamed it Atinka 104.7 Fm.

The new station managed to poach renowned broadcast journalist Kofi Asare Brako and its popularity and listenership has since been on a gradual but steady rise.

Kumasi-based money magnet Dr Kwame Kyei, popularly known as 'Unity Oil', Chief Executive of Unity Group of Companies, has also established Vision 1 Fm. The station is currently transmitting from its new ultra-modern building at Dome in Accra just opposite the St John's Grammar School.

Former Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Kwabena Duffour, is another highly respected businessman raising eyebrows with the new investments he is making in Ghana's radio industry.

Dr Duffour's Media Group, Excellence In Broadcasting (EIB), is making waves with his newly established Starr FM, the biggest entrant into the radio fraternity. EIB has also taken over Choice 102.3 Fm and would soon be rebranding it as Kasapa Fm. The company has also taken over Live 91.1 Fm, all in Accra.

Perhaps, this would further heighten the competition for quality among the radio stations and create jobs for persons within the media fraternity and the thousands of interns churned out by mass communication institutions annually.

Online radio is another aspect becoming popular in the country.

Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom's Ghana Media Group, a subsidiary of Groupe Nduom, took the lead in this aspect with www.hedjorleonlineradio.com and has since followed up with a few others.

Meanwhile, these new stations have really not taken a significant shine out of the already existing ones.

For example, the Despite Group of Companies (operators of Peace Fm, Okay Fm, Hello Fm and Neat Fm) and Multimedia Group (operators of Joy Fm, Adom Fm, Asempa Fm and Hitz Fm) continue to enjoy their listenership, according to figures from the Synovate polls.

By Halifax Ansah-Addo (Twitter: @HalifaAnsahAdd)