Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.
Hears what Happened
2FM are set for a breakfast shakeup after Doireann Garrihy announced this week that she would be leaving the show to focus on her podcasts.
She originally hosted the show with Eoin McDermott, but in recent years has been joined by Carl Mullan and Donncha O’Callaghan. The 2FM breakfast show has been a major success by many metrics, performing really well in JNLR books consistently for quite a while now.
Doireann has indicated that she’ll be taking her podcasts Laughs of Your Life and Doireann and friends on the road in some form, which will likely be much more lucrative then 2FM breakfast. It just goes to show the power of podcasts, and how in many ways radio isn’t set up to compete.
The question now turns to who will replace Doireann on breakfast. RTE will likely trial people for a bit before making any definitive call, but there are some people they’ll definitely be looking at. Exciting times.
Doireann will host her last 2FM breakfast at the end of this month. Best wishes to her and the whole 2FM breakfast team for the future.
Read more about the 2FM breakfast shake up here
In other podcast related news, RTE are looking for a sponsor for their upcoming true crime podcast called the Real Carrie Jade.
When a young woman named Carrie Jade Williams asked RTÉ Doc On One to follow her through brain surgery, they jumped at the chance. But as time passed, they began to understand that not everything was as it seemed. She was lying to them.
RTE have had huge success with Doc on One podcasts before, producing shows like The Nobody Zone, runaway Joe, and Finding Samantha. The new 6 part podcast series will begin publishing in June, and a TV special is also set to air later in the year.
The podcast sponsorship also includes the sponsor logo on promos across RTE platforms, adding to the reach. I’ve actually come across Runaway Joe promos on buses before, so RTE love to promote their podcast content.
The sponsorship fee for RTE’s upcoming series comes in at €90,000, and could be a brilliant fit for many brands. Cool to see.
Read more about the podcast sponsorship here
Wireless group which owns Irish station Q102, 96FM, Live 95 and others made another loss.
In recently filed accounts the company disclosed that they lost €2.78 million, despite a rise in Didgital revenue. The company had total revenue of €22.4 million, which is likely mostly made up from advertising on the companies various stations.
It’s not fantastic, but things could be worse. Wireless Groups parent company also operate the UK channel Talk TV. Talk TV made a loss of £54 million in its most recent accounts, showing that the business of radio is certainly a bit cheaper than telly.
Talk TV recently ditched their traditional broadcast channel, becoming an online brand focused on YouTube. That move looked to be going well this week, after one of the companies productions Piers Morgan Uncensored held an interview with a lady claiming to be the real Life Martha from hit Netflix show Baby Reindeer. The interview has now been seen millions of times.
Ultimately the one takeaway from this weeks Radio Land is really that the platform is becoming less and less relevant. It doesn’t matter if it’s radio, telly or online, if it has viewers, listeners, or people willing to pay then it can make money.
I won’t be rebranding to Podcast Land just yet, but the shift is undeniable.
Read about the Wireless group earnings here
Quick Bits
Run With Ray is returning to RTE Radio 1 later this month
Bauer’s Eurosong Radio is back online in Ireland for 2024
Today FM are giving away tickets to the UEFA Europa League Final In Dublin
Rte should learn a bit more about their funding situation soon
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.