Broadcasting in the city of Chennai began in 1924 by the Madras Presidency Radio Club.
The service was operational till the government-run All India Radio started broadcasting in the city in 1938.
It became one of the six operational stations in the AIR network in the country when India gained independence in 1947, along with Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Lucknow, and Tiruchirappalli.
The Vividh Bharati Service was launched on 3 October 1957 to compete with Radio Ceylon.
AIR Madras became the first station in the country to begin FM broadcasting on 23 July 1977, which was later expanded during the 1990s.