Nilendra Deshapriya takes over as Director/Head of Channel at FM Derana

Nilendra Deshapriya, a well known personality in the audio visual field has been appointed as Director / Head of Channel at FM Derana, the radio arm of the well known Derana media family. This was announced at a Press Briefing attended by Laksiri Wickramage, Chairman and Madhawa Madawala, Executive Director / Chief Operating Officer.

Derana has in a short period of time enriched the lives of the Sri Lankan public with their unique coverage of audio visual media including Television, Radio, Internet and Mobile News Alerts and Nilendra’s appointment will strengthen FM Derana which is an important component in the Derana family, stated Madhawa Madawala.

Nilendra Deshapriya studied at Prince of Wales College, Moratuwa, and has worked as a producer and director of films, theatre, tele-dramas and many successful television productions during the past thirty years. He has also been a pioneer in introducing the Genre Reality TV to Sri Lanka.

“My goal is to build a family channel that everyone wants to listen to. We have a clear vision and a strategy to be No 1 in the near future” said Nilendra Deshapriya when questioned on his plans for the station. Currently Derana is positioned on a platform of Optimism and Positivism, with a cheerful and upbeat mix of contemporary and popular music as well as relevant and informative chat shows. The FM Derana song list has been carefully selected so that the channel broadcasts the very best of the past and the present. What’s more, FM Derana has already created history within this short period of time. The very first would be the channel telecast of the opening radio session (official launch) on Television (on TV Derana) live as a simulcast on the 29th of March 2009. However the biggest achievement of FM Derana would be obtaining the exclusive Radio broadcasting right for the ongoing ICC cricket World Cup 2011. Nilendra today joins a team of broadcast professionals who single-mindedly share in the positive philosophy of the station. The handpicked team has vast exposure and a deep understanding of Sri Lanka’s radio industry and consumer markets.

FM Derana is a Sinhala language, FM radio channel launched on 29th March in 2009, extending the promise of ‘Embracing novelty while upholding values’ to the Sri Lankan radio industry. Designed to appeal to a broad cross-section of listeners, FM Derana leveraged on the strength and success of TV Derana, a strategic consolidation that will revolutionize the media landscape with its simple yet highly entertaining format.

Making no compromises, FM Derana operates a fully digital studio employing the best and latest technology available to broadcasters. The channel is being broadcasted island wide from its very inception – with 10 strategically situated base stations - Western province on 94.5fm, Southern Province on 102.3fm, Central Province on 99.2fm, Uva Province on 92.4fm, Wayamba & North Central Provinces on 92.4fm and Magal Kanda on 94.7fm, Polagahawela 94.5fm, Ratnapura 99.2fm - North, - 89.8fm in Jaffna and 93.3fm in Vavuniya -  beaming clear and consistent signals across the country.