Tony Patti confirmed as Lyca radio stations head
While the rumour mill has gone into overdrive about the newly acquired Sunrise Radio stations by Lyca Media, BizAsia can exclusively reveal that Tony Patti has been appointed Group Programming and Operations Director.
Patti, who was previously Operations Manager at Sunrise Radio has been branded as the ‘King of the Airwaves’. He returns as the head of the new Lyca Media run stations, which broadcast on 1458AM (Sunrise Radio) and 1035AM (Kismat Radio). Talking exclusively to BizAsia, Patti said, “Its a great challenge to put Asian radio broadcasting back on the map and at the top. I can only do these stations as I’ve done and achieved for the others I’ve worked for here in the UK and around the world and that to bring about the best ratings and listenership and creating new value to our great craft. The Lyca team is focused and have an astute sense of achievement and I am so proud to be a part of this great empire.”
As well as bringing back some of the best voices of UK Asian broadcasting on the new Lyca radio stations, Patti is hoping to inject some fresh talent on the stations over the coming weeks.
Commenting on the acquisition, Subaskaran Allirajah, Chairman of the Lycamobile Group said, “This acquisition represents a further extension of the Group�۪s strategy to develop its media interests. As a business which has served the Asian community in Britain for many years, we understand the integral part these stations play in the lives of our audience. We are running the stations today and plan to maintain the current programming approach proven so popular with many of its loyal listeners. While our absolute aim is to preserve the essence and character of these beloved stations, we will look to refresh the format in the future to honour the changing media landscape and reach further into local communities.”
In other news, BizAsia has learned that Dr Avtar Lit’s son, Tony Lit who parted ways from the radio business to join Sony Entertainment Television Asia a few years ago is now said to be working closely with his father to recover lost ground. The impact of Lyca’s acquisition is clear but what isn’t is how the Lits plan on changing their strategies to respond to Lyca Media’s “new” Sunrise Radio stations.
Lycamobile Group has a number of brands under its corporate umbrella including its flagship mobile brand Lycamobile, which currently operates in 17 markets, as well as Lycatel, Lycatalk, Lycamoney and Lycafly.
