Mumbai in short
What shapes a schedule in this city.
A city that spends hours getting to work
Mumbai commuters lose a large part of the day to the journey, and radio is one of the few media that can hold their attention through it. That gives a drive-time schedule here more usable minutes per listener than almost anywhere else in the country. The trade is that everyone knows it, so breakfast and evening inventory is priced accordingly, and a schedule on a modest budget often does better taking daytime weight than a thin presence in drive.
Why radio works in Mumbai
Three things about this city that make the medium punch above its cost.
The commute does the work
A journey measured in hours rather than minutes turns a single spot into repeated exposure without a rupee of extra airtime
Three language audiences in one city
Hindi, Marathi and English stations reach genuinely different Mumbaikars, so the language choice is real targeting rather than a formality
Retail density
Distribution here is dense enough that a radio-driven store visit is a short detour rather than a trip across the city
Formats available in Mumbai
The same five formats everywhere we plan. Availability is confirmed per station and campaign period.
Plan my formats
Recorded spot or jingle
Fifteen, twenty or thirty seconds, scheduled across the dayparts that match your audience.
Presenter mention
Read inside the programme by the presenter that audience already listens to.
Time check or feature
A fixed position in the day: the time check, the traffic report, the weather.
Programme sponsorship
Sponsor billing across a show for a defined period, with included spots and sponsor lines.
Multi-language audio
One offer, written separately for each language rather than translated across.
Match the goal to the format
A shortcut for narrowing the choice before you speak to anyone.
| Goal | Recommended format | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Launching a brand or a store | Recorded spot | Repetition builds recall, and a spot is what you can afford to repeat |
| Something that needs explaining | Presenter mention | A trusted voice can take thirty seconds to make a case a jingle cannot |
| An offer running for a fortnight | Spot burst across dayparts | Weight inside the window, then it stops cleanly |
| Owning a moment in the day | Time check or feature | The same slot daily is how a brand joins the routine |
| Reaching one language community | Station-led buy | The station is already the segment |
| A long association, not a burst | Programme sponsorship | The audience attaches you to a show they chose |
Radio advertising rates in Mumbai
Card rates per second of airtime on 12 Mumbai FM stations. A 10-second spot costs ten times the per-second rate, for each time it plays. Time band, spot count and campaign dates move the final figure, which is confirmed in the quote.
Source: Excellent Publicity station rate pages, checked September 2026. Card rates in INR, before GST. Stations marked On request have no published card rate and are quoted for your dates.
Get a costed schedule| Station | Frequency | Language | Per second | 10-second spot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Radio City | 91.1 FM | Hindi | ₹125 | ₹1,250 |
| Radio Mirchi | 98.3 FM | Marathi, Hindi, English | ₹125 | ₹1,250 |
| Red FM | 93.5 FM | Hindi, Marathi | ₹120 | ₹1,200 |
| Big FM | 92.7 FM | Hindi, Marathi | ₹112 | ₹1,120 |
| Ishq FM | 104.8 FM | Marathi, Hindi, English | ₹90 | ₹900 |
| Radio Nasha | 91.9 FM | Hindi | ₹75 | ₹750 |
| Radio One | 94.3 FM | English | ₹70 | ₹700 |
| Fever FM | 104 FM | Hindi, Marathi | ₹68 | ₹680 |
| AIR FM Gold | 100.1 FM | Hindi, Marathi | On request | On request |
| AIR FM Rainbow | 107.1 FM | Hindi, Marathi | On request | On request |
| Magic FM | 106.4 FM | Marathi, Hindi | On request | On request |
| Vividh Bharati | 102.8 FM | Hindi, Marathi | On request | On request |
Mumbai radio advertising, answered
How much does radio advertising cost in Mumbai?
Published card rates on Mumbai FM stations run from ₹68 to ₹125 per second of airtime, so a single 10-second spot costs between ₹680 and ₹1,250 before GST. Radio City 91.1 and Radio Mirchi 98.3 are at the top of that range. The campaign total depends on how many times the spot plays, in which time bands, over how many days.
Should I buy Hindi or Marathi?
It depends who buys the product. Marathi carries strong local identity, Hindi carries broader reach, and plenty of campaigns run both.
Is drive time worth the premium?
When the budget can sustain frequency in it, yes. When it cannot, daytime weight usually buys more useful repetition.
Can radio support a store opening?
It is one of the better tools for it, because the message lands during the journey that could end at your door.
Get your Mumbai station plan.
Send the audience, the languages you need, your dates and a budget range. You get back a station shortlist with time bands, formats and current quoted rates.