The Hon. (Dr.) Nalinda Jayatissa - Minister of Health and Mass Media
The Minister of Health and Mass Media tabled a written answer on Lakhanda Radio Service, stating it was launched on 15 November 1996 to retain State media listeners while adopting popular radio formats. The response provided financial data from 2018 to August 2025 showing continuous losses, with monthly revenue of about Rs. 5.5 million against an estimated break-even requirement of Rs. 8.5 million. It also reported audience rankings, recruitment details since 2018, and measures proposed to improve performance, including programme quality, sales and promotions, sponsor-targeted programming, social media-oriented content, and external promotional events.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, I table the answer to the question on “Lakhanda” Radio Service.
¶ 02 Answer tabled.
¶ 03 (a) (i) 15 November 1996.
¶ 04 (ii) To retain listeners within State media, protect responsible State media identity while following popular private radio formats, and attract audiences through a new approach.
¶ 05 (iii) Lakhanda Radio: Income, Expenses and Profit/(Loss), 2018–August 2025 - 2018: Income Rs. 87,150,810; Expenses Rs. 130,118,245; Profit/(Loss) (Rs. 42,967,435) - 2019: Income Rs. 62,087,920; Expenses Rs. 117,135,978; Profit/(Loss) (Rs. 55,048,058) - 2020: Income Rs. 58,711,285; Expenses Rs. 113,099,333; Profit/(Loss) (Rs. 54,388,048) - 2021: Income Rs. 62,433,077; Expenses Rs. 103,758,596; Profit/(Loss) (Rs. 41,325,519) - 2022: Income Rs. 65,026,493; Expenses Rs. 109,618,708; Profit/(Loss) (Rs. 44,592,215) - 2023: Income Rs. 79,414,455; Expenses Rs. 107,231,122; Profit/(Loss) (Rs. 27,816,667) - 2024: Income Rs. 88,173,993; Expenses Rs. 110,800,543; Profit/(Loss) (Rs. 22,626,550) - 2025 (to Aug): Income Rs. 49,069,854; Expenses Rs. 65,372,957; Profit/(Loss) (Rs. 16,303,103)
¶ 06 (iv) From 2018 to 2021, per LMRB ratings, Lakhanda ranked 7th with about 1.3% market share. LMRB ratings were not used after 2021; since 2025 ratings are obtained via SRL. Up to July 2025, SRL places Lakhanda at 8th.
¶ 07 (v) Employees recruited since 2018 (names, addresses, designations) and subsequent status: - T.U. Lankathilaka, 61/1 Sangharama, Siddamulla, Piliyandala – Resigned 2019-05-06. - W.M.K. Giribawa, 43/5, Makuluduwa, Piliyandala – Contract ended 2018-11-06. - K.M.D.P. Sarathchandra, 156/2/10 Metron Garden, 2nd Lane, Aswedduma, Kurunegala – Contract ended 2020-01-14. - T.S.B. Peiris, 81, Wenna Watta, Wellampitiya – Contract ended 2019-10-22. - [Another entry]: 47/98, Anura Mawatha, Pamankada, Wellawatta – Resigned 2024-04-01.
¶ 08 (b) (i) Currently operating at a loss. Average monthly revenue is about Rs. 5.5 million; the monthly revenue needed to reach break-even is about Rs. 8.5 million.
¶ 09 (ii) Measures: - Improve programme quality. - Strengthen sales and promotions. - Introduce sponsor-targeted new programmes. - Promote radio content targeting social media. - Organize external promotional events to attract listeners.
¶ 10 (c) Not applicable.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Friday, 24 October 2025 ·No. 22644 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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- not yet extracted — page/column anchors are not in the current dataset; the source PDF is the citable location.
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Cite as: The Hon. (Dr.) Nalinda Jayatissa - Minister of Health and Mass Media. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 24 October 2025. No. 22644. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/28765