Eight presenters go in AMG station closure

Dubai government-owned Arab Media Group (AMG) has closed down one of its prime-time radio stations, and axed eight of its on air presenters, it confirmed on Tuesday.

The decision to close Pulse 95.3 FM was made on Sunday after months of problems with the station's frequency, which meant programmes were interrupted and listeners could not always tune into the Dubai-based station.

It had nothing to do with financial issues, said Steve Smith, chief operating officer at Arabian Radio Network (ARN), a part of AMG.  

The move saw eight presenters lose their jobs, however no further station closures or redundancies would be made, Smith told Arabian Business.

"ANR is doing well so it has nothing to do with the economic situation. We allocated eight redundancies in on air roles. The other stations are doing very well," Smith said. 

Pulse 95.3 FM played Hindi classics and Bollywood hits from the 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's, mixed with local and international news.

It was launched about a year ago, aimed at the "discerning" South Asian listener, from the growing community in Dubai.

ARN would be carrying out some research into the Hindi market with the view to launching another Hindi station in the future, Smith added.

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