MUMBAI: FM stations, at least in the country`s metros, have reason to cheer.The population owning a radio set in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore continues to increase. While 71 per cent of the population in Mumbai owns a radio device, the figure climbs to as high as 91 per cent in Delhi. 83 per cent of Bangalore`s population owns a radio set. Nearly all the radio owners in the metros are FM enabled.

These are some of the findings of the baseline study conducted in May 2007 by the Radio Audience Measurement service of TAM Media Research, soon to roll out in the three metros.While 100 per cent of radio owners in Delhi are FM owners, the figures are marginally smaller in Mumbai and Bangalore - 98 per cent in Mumbai and 99 per cent in Bangalore.

In Mumbai, 31 per cent of homes having FM devices have two players, while 10 per cent of the homes have three devices to play FM on. A miniscule but growing four per cent of homes have more than three sets to play the music on.The figures are more or less, similar in Delhi and Bangalore. 29 per cent of FM owning homes in Delhi have two sets, while 13 per cent have three sets. Seven per cent FM enabled homes in Delhi have more than three sets.In Bangalore, 32 per cent FM enabled homes have two sets, while 12 per cent homes have three sets. Only four per cent homes in the Garden City have more than three sets.Interestingly, it the mobile phone proliferation that appears to be driving FM listenership. In Mumbai, among FM owners, 49 per cent own a mobile phone enabled with FM. In Delhi, the corresponding figure stands at 39 per cent, while in Bangalore, it is 34 per cent.