How relations are made, broken on a radio channel in Dubai

Kris Fade

Will anyone end a relationship listening to a chat show on a radio channel? Possible. That's what the host of The Kris Fade Show on Virgin Radio Dubai has to say.
Kris Fade, the Dubai celeb radio presenter who had several experience on-air over the years shared with Khaleej Times some memorable calls the show has received.
Fade, whose show receives about 200 calls each week, said one of the most memorable calls he received was from a woman who admitted to being with her partner just for his money.
Her partner was actually listening to the entire call and ended the relationship the same day he was going to propose to her.
The story goes like this, Fade said: "We did a call on Valentine's Day, where we asked listeners for the best Valentine's Day gift. A woman called who said she got a Porsche and an overnight stay at the Burj Al Arab. We asked if she'd still be with her man if he wasn't rich, and to our surprise we got response from her saying 'no'. The listeners were appalled.
"Her partner was apparently listening and texted us saying that he couldn't believe what she said. Later they confronted each other and he ended the relationship on the same day he was going to propose to her. So, he thanked us for saving him. he's in a happy relationship now."
One call that had listeners in tears was from a woman who couldn't hold back on her emotions on-air while talking about her lonely life.
Fade said the show received several calls from listeners offering their friendship to her.
"She had initially called after one of our shows and told us that she had no friends and nothing to live for. We invited her on the show and all I asked her was 'how are you doing?' and she just started crying. The whole nation got behind her. People were calling in saying they'll be her friend. People were offering her spas and free lunches. It was incredible," he said.
Fade's most recent memorable on-air encounter was with a mother who had lost her son.  The mother and her daughter brought over his music, which they found in his laptop, and Fade played it on-air.
The song, called 'The Beginning', was played at this year's RedFestDXB and become the top selling songs on iTunes Middle East.
Fade's show can be heard from 6am to 10am on 104.4 Virgin Radio, which is part of the Arabian Radio Network.
Radio channels on come back mode
Investing in the right content and talent is the key to ensuring radio stations successful, the chief operating officer of the Arabian Radio Network (ARN) said.
Four radio stations have shut down in the past year, including Radio 1 and 2, Josh and Hayat. However, Radio 1 and 2 were bought over by new management a few months after their closure was announced.
Even though it has been a rough year for the broadcast industry in the country, ARN is continuing to invest more in the industry and have recently launched two new digital brands - Al Khaleejiya Classic 100.9 and Al Arabiya Cassette.
Steve Smith, the COO, told Khaleej Times that the radio industry can still have a bright future in the UAE, however, management teams need to make the right investments.
He said: "There is room for more radio to be successful, but content is the key component. Content really drives the success or failure of a radio station. That's investing in great talent, training great talent, continuing to find new talent and making sure that your format fits what the consumer is wanting. If don't invest in that, you will fail."
"I believe, and so does ARN, that radio has a wonderful future in the UAE. Sheikh Zayed Road is never empty, so people are in their cars constantly. But it all comes down to great content and making sure that you're everywhere.
"The second thing that is really important is that your strategy has to include being everywhere and what I mean by that is being on every platform, so we're on OSN, we're on e-live, we're on terrestrial and we're on your smart phone - we're everywhere. If you get these two things right, the future of radio is absolutely going to explode."
sarwat@khaleejtimes.com