EXCLUSIVE: Bleak future for Club Asia?

The future of London based station Club Asia seems to be uncertain after rumours emerged today that possible takeover talks had begun.

Whilst information at this stage seems to be sketchy, a presenter at the station told BizAsia.co.uk that he was informed today about the “serious changes” taking place. Another said he was “going away tomorrow, coming back next Tuesday.” He added, ���Hopefully progress will have been made with buyer, etc.”

On-air changes became evident today with some shows doing without regular presenters and depending solely on back-to-back music.

At the time of filing this article, Club Asia’s website was also facing problems.

Club Asia is managed by sisters Humerah Ahmad and Sumerah Srivastava. It launched in 2003 and fast became a one-stop shop for a young Asian London. However, it later repositioned itself to compete directly with the likes of Sunrise Radio (and ZEE Radio) as an older female-skewed station concentrating on more Bollywood music.

Recently, the station removed itself from the Sky Digital platform and said it was putting the money into launching on DAB digital radio – a launch date, which is still pending.

Club Asia’s listening figures over the past 18 months have been turbulent to say the least. From a record high weekly reach of 223,000 in June 2007, falling to a measly 172,000 in December 2008 and then climbing back up recently to 202,000, the station has been showing signs of recovery. But what next for the once dominating brand?

Keep it with BizAsia.co.uk for more on this big story.

At the time of filing this article, BizAsia.co.uk was awaiting an official response from Club Asia.