Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.
Here’s What Happened
Newstalk have signed a new sponsorship deal for The Hard Shoulder.
MG Motor Ireland are the new partners for the show fronted by Kieran Cuddihy, with the deal negotiated by Media Central which is owned by Newstalk parent company Bauer Media.
The deal includes sponsorship of the main show, and there are also elements of social media co branding and additional activations throughout the year.
It’s always good to see brands spending money in the radio industry, as that’s what ultimately pays the bills. Hopefully we’ll see some creative activations throughout the year.
Coimisiún na Meán are looking for the publics thoughts on two new funding schemes.
€5million will be allocated as part of the schemes, with one dedicated to local democracy and the other to court reporting. These funding opportunities are open to broadcasters, but unlike schemes in the past they will also be open to Print and online publications.
The schemes will be available in both Irish and English, and will launch after the public consultation to finalise how they should work.
This all comes following recommendations from the future of media commission, so it’s great to see that some of these suggestions are now being acted upon. More information about the schemes and consultations can be found below.
Finally for now, Rte is still not having a great time.
Things haven’t been quite as loud over the past few weeks, but RTE is still having some problems. One of those longstanding issues relates to the misclassification of some workers as contractors, while they should have been classed as employees.
The former host of 2FM breakfast Keith Walsh is one of those people, and he’s now looking for compensation from the broadcaster. RTE has already paid €1.2million to revenue as part of these misclassifications, but things might get a lot more costly. RTE has reportedly set aside €20 million to deal with the issue.
It’s all a bit of a mess really. RTE isn’t in the spotlight as much in the last few weeks following the fallout from the resignation of board Chair Siún Ní Raghallaigh, so hopefully things can start to recover a bit over the next few months.
Let us know your thoughts on social media. Just search Radio Land Ireland.
Quick Bits
Former RTÉ Midlands Correspondent Ciaran Mullooly is running in the European Election
Jennifer Zamparelli Is taking a holiday
RTE Radio 1 is launching a new Poetry programme
Students from Radio Kerry have been nominated for Smedia Awards
And that’s the summary for this week. Come back to radio land next week for more radio news📻 and be sure to check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn for more fun from the world of radio.