Russian publisher Komsomol’skaya Pravda (????????????? ??????) plans to have the first station in its radio network on air in Moscow during March 2009.
The Moscow station is currently airing tests on 97.2 MHz in Moscow, but it plans to launch full programming with advertising next month. KP also has authorization for frequencies in Krasnoyarsk, Tyumen, Tver and Vladimir. The hope is to eventually gain frequencies in each of the 50 cities and regions where KP publishes.
Although programming plans have not been released, KP is describing the station as “full-scale conversational radio” (??????????????? ??????????? ?????); previously it had been announced that about half the airtime would be information-oriented and produced from Moscow. The target audience is expected to be 25- to 45-year-olds.
Although the economic situation is not the most favorable for launching a new station, KP needs to start seeing some return on its existing investments of some US$12 million in the facilities and frequencies for the station, according to press reports.
