2024 (independent radio wants money, but not that money)

Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.

Here’s What Happened

We’ve spoken before about how the independent broadcasters of Ireland want money in order to fund local news, but the sector has seemingly decided not to engage with the schemes for local council and court reporting.

The Independent are reporting that the sector want funding for their core news service rather than for extra news, and as such aren’t engaging with the schemes from ⁨Coimisiún na Meán⁩. They say that the schemes ”simply do not work for the radio sector”

The IBI had a similar response when I shared an opinion piece I wrote a few weeks ago, with the organisation responding on social media saying “additional’ S&V (Sound & Vision) schemes do absolutely nothing to help hardworking newsrooms and journalism”

I think in some ways it’s a shame that these schemes aren’t being better utilised by broadcasters. The IBI have asked the government for €179,000 for each of their 34 member stations, but are on the same hand rejecting a €6 million set of schemes that they say aren’t fit for purpose.

I’ve said it before, but we need schemes that put more journalists in newsrooms, not schemes that mean stations no longer need to pay the journalists they already have. This feels like a real missed opportunity to me.

How do you feel? Are the IBI right? Am I wrong? Let us know your thoughts on social media now. just search Radio Land Ireland.

Read the Independant article here

RTE’s annual report for 2023 was released this week, revealing lots of interesting statistics from the year of chaos at the national broadcaster.

The business made just over €150 million from commercial revenue, with the total coming in at €150.7 million. Licence fee cash income was €193.3 million, with that including the €15 million allocated in the budget.

In total RTÉ got €344 million, with it costing €341,9 million to run the network day to day. they also spent over €7 million on special events coverage, with the broadcaster ultimately losing €9.1 million.

Honestly while this is bad, it could be much worse. RTÉ has reduced its presenter pay a lot with Joe Duffy now at the top earning €351,000. Compared with over €500,000 for Tubridy not that long ago this is a big reduction.

If you like numbers the annual report is well worth a look. The fancy online interactive report has bean replaced by a massive PDF this year, but no harm in a chunky document before bed I guess.

You can check out the report in full at the link below.

Read the Anual Report here

Finally for now, RTÉ is looking to sell its first sponsorship for RTÉ RnaG.

Spórt an tSathairn & Spórt an Lae are up for sponsorship, with the Saturday and Sunday sports shows looking to find a partner for the next year.

Irish government agencies need to ensure that 20% of their advertising is in Irish, with 5% of ad spend needing to go on Irish language services. RTÉ is trying to cash in on these new rules, with the broadcaster offering ad spots on their Irish language station for the first time.

Now, they are expanding to include show sponsorship. The deal is on the market for €70,000. It will be very interesting to see who picks this up. Will it be a government agency? Or perhaps a brand wanting to really target the Irish speaking community.

Time will tell. Check out the full details of the offer below.

Read about the sponsorship now

Quick Bits

LMFM host Michael Reade has terminal cancer

Drivetime is launching a new podcast

Radio stations have started revealing their local heros

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.

This week in radio 11/5/2024 (2FM shake up time)

Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.

Hears what Happened

2FM breakfast team on an orange background

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.

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.

Promo for podcast series Runaway Joe on a bus

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.

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

This Week In Radio 4/5/2024 (all about revenue)

Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.

Here’s what Happened

The Irish Times are reporting that the government are planning to replace the licence fee with a slightly reduced fee that will be collected by Revenue instead of An Post.

This is a rejection of what the media minister wants, as she reportedly wants RTE to be funded directly by the state, in a similar way to other state bodies like the HSE, or indeed TG4. This idea has significant opposition however from other members of government.

Ultimately if we want to keep RTE in its current form it will need state funding of between €200 million and €250 million a year, so it’s a lot of money. The question of how to pay that is frustrating as people generally don’t want to pay for it.

I would hope that if revenue does start collecting the fee though it changes to a more modern style of tax instead of the flat fee it is today. Just reducing the fee is kicking the can down the road, so I hope a sustainable solution can be found.

It’s been an important week for RTE as the minister received the outstanding reports related to the broadcaster. The Irish Times have some good coverage, so I’d recommend checking that out below.

Check out the Irish Times coverage of the reduced license fee and RTÉ reports here

Today FM have secured a sponsor for sports updates ahead of the Paris 2024 olympics.

Flogas have signed a 1 year deal to sponsor the updates airing across the station schedule, with stings initially set to focus on the companies support for Team Ireland,

The agreement was made by Bauer owned MediaCentral, Core Sponsorship and Today FM, and will include over 400 stings a month.

These sports updates will bring in a nice bit of revenue for Today FM, but media in general tends to get a big boost from the Olympics. RTE holds broadcast rights this time around following a deal with Warner Bros Discovery.

All media outlets will be trying to cash in on any slice of the pie they can get, and it looks like Today FM have got an early gold medal.

Read about the Flogas sponsorship here

Finally this week, lyric FM has turned 25. The station launched all the way back in 1999.

The broadcaster celebrated with a concert in limerick this week which was also broadcast on the station. Lyric has built a very loyal audience in its 25 years on air, and is unlike anything you’d hear on commercial radio.

It has fans all around the world as we discussed in our last post, and has a huge following closer to home too. Michael D. Higgins congratulated the station with a message this week, summing up its significance really well.

“Over the past quarter-century, lyric fm has truly enhanced the cultural landscape of Ireland, showcasing the beauty and diversity of not just classical music but also such a wide range of music that includes traditional, jazz, world music, musicals and film scores.
Michael D. Higgins

It’s a huge achievement for the station, and hopefully they’ll be on air for another 25 years and more. Congratulations to all at Lyric FM from us at Radio Land.

Read the lyric FM press release here

Quick Bits

RTE’s Bryan Dobson has retired after 37 years with the broadcaster

An Irish presenter had her voice cloned by AI, and it was then used to scam a business out of £20,000

The Dawn Chorus takes place tonight

FM104 are giving away a Jeep Avenger on their breakfast show

What’s your favourite Gift Grub character of all time

Yesterday was press freedom day, and there were calls for new defamation legislation

This Week In Radio 6/4/2024 (a bit of sponsor money)

Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.

Here’s What Happened

Photo of a car with an MG motor sign on the wall. The car is surrounded by those involved in the sponsorship deal.

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.

Read the story here

⁨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.

Read the details here

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.

Read the story here

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

This Week In Radio 2/3/2024 (irish in the media)

Lots happens in the radio industry each week so here’s a summary of the week we just enjoyed.

Here’s what happened

There was a really interesting article in the independent this week discussing how Irish can be a massive help if you’re trying to get into media.

This week is Seachtain na Gaeilge, or specifically its Seachtain na Gaeilge right up to st Patrick’s day. It’s a great opportunity to celebrate the Irish language in all areas of Irish life, including media.

Aindriú de Paor has been one of the people speaking out on the benefits of Irish in media this week. Aindriú has hosted shows on Raidio na Life, RnaG and 2FM, hosting some shows with a blended approach of Irish and English.

The presenter said that “The extra skill really helps you stand out in the workplace, especially in the media”. he’s spoken about how it’s helped open that door a bit earlier, making it easier to get jobs.

This is a really interesting area to me. When you look at RnaG, TG4, and all the Irish obligations on other broadcasters, it’s easy to see how the language could be a big help.

This may become the case even more if that proposed Irish language youth radio station launches, and we’ve recently had increased requirements for Irish language ads and the launch of the full Cula4 kids tv channel.

All this is making Irish look quite healthy in media terms. I know I’d personally love to be fluent in Irish, as I can genuinely see how it would help in a media focused career.

Hope everyone enjoys Seachtain na Gaeilge, and gets a chance to speak a cúpla focal.

Read the story here

If you listen to a Wireless group radio station, you’ll be well used to the top of hour sequence at this stage. Yes you’ll have the news and the weather and all that, but one thing stands above all the rest. The jingle from Harry Corry. It’s like clockwork, on the hour, every hour.

Harry Corry, See what’s in store.

However yesterday everything changed. Harry Corry became the new sponsor of LiveLine on Radio 1, and they ditched the jingle. Let me repeat that, they ditched the jingle.

The new 1 year deal is Harry Corry’s first with RTE, so it looks like the Rte People might have snatched one of the biggest spenders from Wireless group. Financial terms of the deal haven’t been disclosed, but a deal was previously advertised with a 12 month sponsorship cost of €210,000. A nice chunk of money.

While the jingle might have been deemed a bit too much for LiveLine, it’s cool to see the Harry Corry team spending more in the radio industry.

I cannot tell you how relieved I felt when I heard the jingle in the top of hour sequence on 96FM this afternoon. It’s become a cue to news for a whole generation of radio presenters, so it’s good to know that the great tradition of the Harry Corry jingle will continue, even if it’s not on LiveLine.

Logo on 96FM

Logo on LMFM

Logo on Q102 Provided by Patrick Hennessey

Read the story here

The sound of Ireland is planning to return to FM broadcasting in Dublin around St Patrick’s day, but RadioToday are reporting that they’re still awaiting licence approval.

Despite this, the station has secured a primary sponsor, with the Department of Foreign Affairs backing the broadcaster once again this year.

They are also giving away €5,000 in free advertising to deserving businesses across Ireland. This is a really cool initiative, so hopefully the station gets its licence in time.

I love good Pop Up stations, so will be interested to have a listen. The station returns on march 11th for an 8 day run, subject to licence of course.

Read the story here