New ‘Baby’ For Osei Kwame Despite

Camera-shy business magnate Osei Kwame Despite has added Asomdwee 100.9 FM to his list of media houses, ‘News-One’ has gathered.

The newly-established Asomdwee 100.9 FM joins the Despite Group of Companies that operates Peace 104.3 FM, Okay 101.7 FM, Hello FM and United Television (UTV).

The Despite Group of Companies has over the years been noted for poaching some of the best talents from media houses all over the country and the establishment of Asomdwe 100.9 FM is reported to have sent owners and managers of radio stations jittery.

A Peace FM source has told NEWS-ONE that reports at the station say Asomdwee 100.9 FM would be a predominantly Akan-speaking station and that behind-the-scenes negotiations for poaching some industry big names started last December.

The source said Asomdwee 100.9 FM would operate from the famous Ship House which houses Okay FM, Peace FM and UTV at Abeka Junction in Accra.

Already, test transmission is underway but not many people who tune in to 100.9 FM know the name of the station because no jingle is played and the station’s name is also not mentioned.

All it does for now is to play music with absolutely no talk.

A few big names from Akan-speaking radio stations are said to have been contacted and ‘crossover’ negotiations are underway.

Some of the industry big names that the Despite Group of Companies have poached from other stations include Chairman General Kwami Sefa Kayi and Fiifi Banson who were won over from Radio Gold, Abeiku Santana from Adom FM, Billy Ocean from Capital FM, Kwame Amoo from Hot FM, Odi Ahinkan from Solid FM and Micky Darling from Happy FM.

Though the private radio industry is heavily saturated, the fact that Asomdwee 100.9 FM would be operating from the stables of the Despite Group of Companies positions it in a good place for competition, considering the fact the company’s two other stations, Peace and Okay, have consistently remained the two most listened to radio stations in Accra, according to a Synovate survey report of radio and television consumption in Ghana. Peace FM topped the report as having the largest audience in Accra, followed by its sister station, Okay FM. Interestingly, Hello FM, also a product of the Despite Group of Companies, rubbed shoulders with Fox FM to emerge as the radio stations with the largest listening audience in the Ashanti Region.

Source: News-One