Though the show treads the fine line between product promotion and reality show, Mehta believes television’s grip on the format makes radio’s job easier. “People are either singing or dancing on TV and we wanted to stay away from both,” she says. The simulation of the ‘live’ aspect of a show created by television also works against it.” On radio, people are constantly phoning in or SMS-ing. TV shows are pre-recorded though people like to believe otherwise,” says Rana Barua, marketing head at Radio City.

Barua and his team have a nation-wide talent in the offing at the end of the month, but he isn't ready to reveal plans yet. “We’ve done a city-centric show in the past before. Now, it’s pan-Indian with streamlined processes and RJs working as a cohesive unit across the country,” he says.

Radio commentators argue that shows which reward you with short-term gains (like a car or a house) promote products whereas genuine reality programmes bring about a substantial change in the listener or participant’s life. For instance, radio stations following the progress of a CAT student, from the time he sat for his exams, through IIM, till he landed that dream job, like the US-based The Apprentice on television, where contestants from around the US competed to become an apprentice to Donald Trump.

Vineet Singh, CEO, Radio One, says that once radio stations are handed multiple frequencies, programming will get more ambitious and experimental. “You need mature audiences to appreciate talk-based or reality shows; television is an active format whereas radio forces viewers to create images in the head. When you have two frequencies, you don't mind one channel running specialised programmes.”