SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — Oscar- and Grammy-winning composer A.R. Rahman has signed on to endorse America’s first 24-hour Bollywood radio station, according to a press release.
Radio DesiBeat, a station based in Southern California which offers up a mix of Bollywood music and movie reviews, celebrity interviews and contests, is available online (www.radiodesibeat.com) and on platforms including HD radio, Microsoft Zune, iPhone, iPad and BlackBerry.
The station’s personalities, including “Dil Maange More†host DJ Vaibhav, “Morning Masala Show†host DJ Manu, and “Bumper to Bumper†host DJ Priya, are all established professionals from major Indian radio stations, explained Gaurav Kumar, the station’s CEO and founder, in a phone interview with India-West.
Radio DesiBeat launched on 100.3 HD 2 in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego last month; on Aug 15, the station launched on 106.1 HD 2 in San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco. Future plans include HD broadcast in Seattle and other cities, and a possible tie-up with a TV cable or satellite provider to add the station to their music lineup, said Kumar.
Among the station’s early sponsors are Comcast, Reliance BIG Cinemas, DesiYou.tv and Bollywood Hits on Demand. A station executive declined to disclose the cost of the project or the name of the station’s program manager. Entertainment ECOsystem Inc. is the parent company based in Simi Valley, Calif., and which works very closely with DesiBeat ECOsystem Pvt. Ltd. in India.
The station’s official jingle will be released as soon as Aug. 27, said Kumar.
Rahman himself has already posted the following message to his Twiiter page: “Congrats to Radio DesiBeat on launching America’s first ever 24×7 Bollywood Radio Station. I am really happy to be a part of this with RDB.â€
Thanks A.R.Rajib Dey