Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.
Here’s What Happened
So the owners of Classic Hits Radio (Bay Broadcasting) have written to the minister and the RTE DG, offering to buy 2FM for €10 million.
They state in their letter that they feel the service should be privatised, but RTE are fighting back saying that 2FM is not for sale. Kevin Branigan, who runs Bay Broadcasting has also said he’d be open to chatting with the 2 Johnnies if he purchased the station.
Bay broadcasting seem to be desperate to get a slice of RTE recently, but this trend isn’t new. They were talking about offering Ryan Tubridy a job last year, and a number of years back they wanted to take over the RTÉ DAB multiplex to take Nova National.
The question of privatising 2FM is an interesting one, and Bay Broadcasting seem to want it. Bauer would almost certainly like a slice too. Time will tell if this goes anywhere, but I’d doubt it. This to me feels more like marketing than a serious push to buy 2FM, but who knows.
Read more about Classic Hits wanting to buy 2FM here
Host Brian Dowling is taking a break from 98FM over the summer as he and husband Arthur Gourounlian prepare to welcome their second child.
Brian hosts alongside Suzanne Kane on 98FM, as well as having a large social media audience. Another popular social media creator and tv presenter is joining Suzanne for the summer, as James Patrice is set to cover with Suzanne in the slot.
The show airs 10am to 1pm on the Bauer owned station. James has filled in for Brian before, but it’s always interesting to see how a pairing goes on a longer term basis.
Best wishes to Brian and Arthur on the new baby, and to James and Suzanne with the show.
Read more about Brian’s break here
Bank of Ireland have apologised after running radio ads with confusing information.
In the terms and conditions mentioned in the ad, they refer to terms for a specific savings account, but this ad doesn’t mention a specific savings account. A listener could have interpreted the terms as applying to all savings accounts which isn’t the case.
The bank also had issues with some print ads containing wrong information, which resulted in them needing to contact a number of customers who had signed up for advertised products.
It’s a bit of a disaster for Bank Of Ireland but at least they are being transparent and apologised. I can definitely see how stuff like this happens, but hopefully its avoided in future.
So yeah, ads sometimes get it wrong too.
Read more about Bank Of Ireland ads here
Quick Bits
Irish Presenter Ronan Keating is leaving Magic Radio Breakfast
License fee payments for the first 5 months of the year are down a reported 15%
Paul Byrne has left Virgin Media, he’s previously covered on Red FM in Cor
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.