Zee Middle East has announced the launched of its first radio station 106.2 Big FM in the UAE.

The company had recently bought a stake in India’s Reliance Broadcast Network Limited (RBNL), which operates 92.7 Big FM across 45 stations in India.

With the launch of Big FM, Zee claims its first international foray into the world of radio entertainment.

It acquired the frequency, earlier known as Hum 106.2 FM, in September last year.

Hum FM was one of the first Hindi and Urdu language frequencies to hit the UAE airwaves in the 1990’s and  also went on to popularize live cricket commentary on radio.

106.2 Big FM’s line-up of content includes original content produced in-house, content acquired from Big FM in India and cricket rights of key series for ball-by-ball commentary.

Speaking on the launch, Amit Goenka, CEO – International Broadcast Business, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), said: “The product has been developed with a lot of attention to detail and I am sure it will be of immense interest to the advertising community.”

ZEE Network (MENA) COO Manoj A Mathew, who along with Gagan Mudgal – the content and creative head, curated the product, said: “With a treasure trove of great music content, along with one of Bollywood’s biggest music labels, Zee Music Company, launching the BIG brand in UAE with high-quality, disruptive content will surely stand out. All shows will be double headers – hosted by the resident Music Jockeys (MJs), as our presenters will be called, and co-hosted by popular Indian singers.”

The station currently has Benny Dayal along with MJ Lavanya hosting the morning drive time show, the afternoon show is hosted by MJ Ujjwal, followed by the evening show being hosted by Palak Muchhal and MJ Arpit. Another ace feature is the introduction of a signature show of Big FM India – ‘Suhana Safar by Annu Kapoor.’ The late-night show is hosted by MJ Gagan Mudgal and there is a weekend special hosted by Harshdeep Kaur.