Lyca Group Acquires Asian Sound Radio Licence (EXCLUSIVE)

The consolidation in the U.K.’s Asian radio space is continuing with the Lyca Group acquiring the licence of popular Manchester based station, Asian Sound Radio.

The Lyca Group previously bought Sunrise Radio’s frequencies. The Asian Sound Radio licence will sit under Lyca Group’s Lyca Media umbrella. This will be the third Asian radio station in the group after the Lyca Radio, Lyca Gold and Athavan Radio brands in Greater London. It also runs English-language station Time 107.5FM in the Romford area. Asian Sound Radio, co-founded by brothers Shafat Ali and Shujat Ali, went on-air in 1992 and covers the North West of England with an estimated audience of 150,000.

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Starting with telecom company Lyca Mobile, in the media space the Lyca Group operates radio and TV stations and Lyca Productions, a film distribution and production company that has Rajinikanth’s “Vettaiyan” and “Lal Salaam,” Kamal Hassan’s “Indian 2,” Ajith Kumar’s “Vidaa Muyarchi” and Mohanlal’s “L2: Empuraan” coming up in 2024.

Shafat Ali said: “It’s the end of an era and the start of an exciting time for Asian Sound Radio. We were ultimately the first Asian commercial Asian radio station to be awarded by Radio Authority for the North of England. As we’re hugely proud of our journey and I would like to thank advertisers, listeners and my staff for nearly 31 years of award-winning content. I would also like to wish Lyca Group all the best with their plans for the new Asian Sound Radio. One of the reasons we entered sales talks with the Lyca Group was for its excellence in broadcasting and its commitment to Muslim audiences in Greater Manchester with entertainment and religious content including the marking of Ramadan and Azaan being played out.”

Lyca Media CEO Raj Baddhan added: “We can’t wait to share our exciting plans to bring the super successful formula we have created with Lyca Radio in Greater London, now for listeners in the North West of England. We are hugely grateful to Shafat Ali for working with the Lyca Group for a smooth sale. As we step into our 10th year of broadcasting excellence, this is just the start of a new era for the Lyca Radio Group.”

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