RIYADH: A year ago, MBC launched its first English-speaking radio station, LOUD FM, which brought new voices to the airwaves in Saudi Arabia.
On Monday, the station celebrated its first anniversary with an event at MBC’s headquarters in Riyadh’s Diplomatic Quarter featuring the hosts of programs such as “The Byron Cooke Show,” “Non-Stop Hits with Harry” and “The Drive,” as well as diplomats, influencers and fans.
The celebrations included a performance by Saudi musician TamTam, who debuted her latest single on the station last Thursday, and MBC presented two lucky listeners with a one-night stay at the Mandarin Oriental Al-Faisaliah.
“We are the first non-Arabic asset in the group,” presenter Cooke told Arab News. “The demographics are such that 40 percent of Saudi Arabia is now non-Arabic and that continues to grow.”
Cooke said that he and co-host Sana Kothari “are very excited to be part of the story” as more expats arrive in Saudi Arabia, which means more “young locals who are curious and can speak English as well as Arabic,” resulting in “an exciting time in terms of the growth of our potential audience.”
In its short existence, the station has already enjoyed a number of milestones and successes; it was the official radio station of MBC’s Joy Awards this year, which featured stars such as Sir Anthony Hopkins, Martin Lawrence and Bebe Rexha, and is the official station of the Saudi Pro League, featuring the weekly football show “Match of the Week.”
It was also the first station in the Kingdom to play the new single from Saudi artist Mishaal Tamer, and is the Saudi home of the popular syndicated show “On Air with Ryan Seacrest.”
Kothari told Arab News that there is a “big boom” happening in Kingdom as a result of the Vision 2030 national development and diversification plan and LOUD FM is helping to bridge the “gap between the rest of the world and Saudi Arabia.”
The rise of video streaming has prompted some industry experts to suggest that traditional radio is a dying medium. However, the station’s hosts seemed unconcerned by this view and said radio remains popular and relevant.
“What we’ve managed to achieve so far in one year has been pre-streaming,” Cooke said. Currently, the station is only available on an FM terrestrial signal in Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah. But MBC plans to launch a dedicated website for the station this summer, which will include live streaming to increase accessibility.
In the meantime, radio remains popular entertainment during car journeys in particular and, as Kothari pointed out: “There’s enough traffic in this country that we’re live for a very long time.”
Cooke added: “If you’re stuck in traffic in Riyadh or Jeddah or Dammam, you have friends there (on the radio) that hopefully you feel like you know, and I don’t think you will ever replace that with technology. Or certainly, we can work with technology to bring that local content and that sense of community.”
Andrew Harrison, the host of “Non-Stop Hits with Harry” said he has spent many years in the Middle East and has always been fascinated by the culture, language, people and hospitality in the region. He said he is grateful that his show means “I still get to do what I love in English, and hopefully entertain people and make them happy.”
Danah Alshammari, the Saudi host of morning show “The Daily Wake Up” and co-host of “The Drive,” told Arab News she has been working in the radio industry since the age of 14 and so “to have the opportunity to represent my country and let it be heard by different people from different nationalities is a dream.
“Radio is always about having fun. It’s the one thing where you just get on and be yourself.”
