Arabian Radio Network (ARN), a leading radio broadcasting group in the UAE, said its City 101.6 FM has won the ‘Best Asian Radio Station’ award for the second consecutive year at the Masala Lifestyle Awards 2009.

In addition, Malavika Varadhan, who presents the breakfast show ‘English Breakfast, Desi Mem’ has  won the ‘Best Radio Jockey’ award.

The awards were presented at a gala ceremony held on Friday at Le Royal Meredien Resort & Spa in the presence of Bollywood stars Ranbir Kapoor, Minissha Lamba, Sonu Sood, Sammir Dattani, Boman Irani as well as singers Atif Aslam and Raghav.

Mahmoud Al Rasheed, general manager of ARN, said: 'These two awards that bring great honour to ARN and City 101.6 are profound indications of the excellent quality of our network.'

'We are proud of our commitment to deliver the highest standards of service in the radio industry. ARN will remain in the forefront and continue to work towards bringing top-notch programmes to its listeners,' he noted.

Steve Smith, chief operating officer of ARN, said the accolades at Masala Lifestyle Awards 2009 bear testimony to ARN’s professional status and follow other coveted recognitions in the industry.

'We believe these awards will further encourage and motivate us to set new benchmarks in the radio industry within the UAE,' Smith added.

UAE’s premium network in the region, ARN has a portfolio that comprises Al Arabiya 99.0 and Al Khaleejiya 100.9 in Arabic, Virgin Radio Dubai 104.4, Dubai Eye 103.8, Dubai 92 in English, City 101.6, Hit 96.7 in the South Asian languages of Hindi and Malayalam respectively.-TradeArabia News Service