2023 (radio advertising lives on)

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

Here’s What Happened

Everyone knows how important ads are for the radio industry. If we don’t have brands wanting to advertise, then the whole radio industry falls apart. Sure Bauer might still make a few Bob off the cash machine, but it’s certainly not enough to keep the lights on.

Thankfully, Radiocentre Ireland revealed this week that the radio advertising market is continuing to grow. they released some fascinating figures for q1 2023 showing that everything is still operating as planned.

We had €30.8m in spot revenue, that’s an increase of 6% from the same period last year. It’s good to see the main supply of revenue is continuing to grow.
Branded content such as outside broadcasts and sponsorships was the only category to see a drop. The drop was only 1% and the category still brought in €6.4m, but it’s going to be worth keeping an eye on this in the coming months.
Digital revenue resulted in the biggest growth. This important segment grew by a huge 49% to €1.7m, which is great to see as it will be very important over the next few months and years. The industry is changeing and getting ready for a more digital future, so this growth is a good sign for the long term viability of radio.

Ultimately this is just 3 months, but it’s still good news. For a lot in radio we might not think about these details day to day, but it’s critically important for this to continue if the radio industry wants to compete in the evolving media landscape.

Read the story here

Broadcaster Dave Cronin hosted his last show on Beat 102 103 yesterday, after announcing he’s leaving the station.

Dave has been a presenter on Beat since 2012, and has hosted a number of shows on the station during that time. Most recently he’s been the presenter of Beat At Work, which is the stations mid morning show. He is also a continuity announcer for Virgin Media Television.

In really exciting news for Dave he’s now heading over to make his mark on the UK, which is a big step up from the humble south east of Ireland. it’s unclear if he will remain at VMTV, but his Instagram announcement only refers to Beat.

Very best of luck to Dave from us at Radio Land, hopefully we’ll be hearing you on a station in the UK really soon.

Read the story here

Ray Darcy is looking for a brand to go running with him.

Run With Ray is looking for a sponsor. This on air event encourages Radio 1 listeners to get out for a run which is great for people’s mental and physical health.

The sponsorship is over 6 weeks, with a week of outside broadcasts at the end where the show will hit the road to run with listeners across the country.

It’s not the only campaign like this on the Ray Darcy Radio Show as the programme usually acts as a companion to the popular operation transformation TV series. Operation transformation didn’t have a sponsor for its 2023 run, but it’s been a cash machine for RTÉ in the past. The department of health sponsored two past seasons of the show at a cost of €561,000. While this would be expected for an event across TV, Radio and Online, the run with Ray series will be much cheaper as it’s for the most part a radio only campaign.

RTE are looking for a fee of €25,000 to sponsor Run with Ray, which is a much lower bar to entry compared to a huge show like operation transformation. Full details of the sponsorship can be found below.

It’s great to see radio helping to try keep people healthy, the benefits of something like this are potentially huge, so hopefully we’ll see a brand support the initiative.

Get the details here

Quick Bits

Learning Waves is bringing back their Journalism graduate program for 2023

Tomás Mac Ruairí, secretary and broadcaster at Raidió na Life has passed away

The Dawn Chorus 2023 is airing next weekend

The Media Awards took place this week

Coimisiún na Meán is hiring new staff

Today FM are giving away a €1,000 pre paid credit card with thanks to virgin media

The final event for this years Irish Music Month has taken place

And that’s the summary for this week. Come back to radio land next week for more radio news📻 and be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for extra stories.

Transparency

A previous version of this article had the wrong air date for the Dawn Chorus. This has now been fixed. Thanks to Brian Greene for flagging the mistake.

This Week In Radio 22/4/2023 (what a week for public service broadcasters)

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

Here’s What Happened

After a bit of controversy which we discussed last week, Kevin Bakhurst has been appointed the next director General of RTÉ. After we published last weeks news stories, An Post boss David McRedmond ruled himself out of the running for the role.

There has been a lot written about Bakhurst since the announcement. He has previous experience in public service broadcasting having worked at high levels within both RTÉ and the BBC, and in more recent years he’s been working for the UK’s broadcast regulator Ofcom.

“I’m delighted to welcome today’s announcement of the appointment of Kevin Bakhurst as the new Director General of RTÉ. The appointment follows a competitive recruitment process, with Kevin as the unanimous choice of the RTÉ Board. Kevin brings an exceptional breadth of industry experience, great leadership skills and a passionate commitment to the development of public service broadcasting in all its forms. Kevin’s appointment comes at time of opportunity and change for RTÉ. With my fellow Board members, I look forward to working with Kevin in our shared commitment to a thriving and financially sustainable RTÉ.”
Chairperson of RTÉ, Siún Ní Raghallaigh

It’s going to be interesting to see if RTE’s strategy will change significantly when Kevin starts his new role. Dee Forbes will finish in the job on the 11th of July.

Siún Ní Raghallaigh also spoke to the committee on tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport, and Media this week on a range of topics related to RTÉ. As part of this she spoke about the RTÉ board leaks.

Watch the proceedings here

Overall a very busy week for RTÉ. What happened this week will have a huge impact on the broadcasters future, so hopefully it all goes well.

Very best of luck to Kevin Bakhurst from us at Radio Land. You can read more about his appointment below.

Quick Bits

Carl Mullan and his wife Aisling are expecting their second child🎉

RTE broadcaster Sean O Tuairisg has passed away

Sound and vision round 49 is open

The Media Literacy Ireland Award winners have been announced

A writer at the Irish Times wasn’t a massive fan of The 2 Johnnies

Today FM’s Dave Moore has spoke about DIY

The Irish Pirate Radio Archive is heading to America

A trial date has been set for an Irish celebrity accused of defiling a child

And that’s the summary for this week. Come back to radio land next week for more radio news📻 and be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for extra stories.

Transparency

The image on story three wasn’t displaying for people after publishing. This was very frustrating for your humble writer, but this issue has been fixed. An additional story was also added to Quick Bits, lucky you.

This Week In Radio 25/3/2023 (look who’s got new vehicles!!!)

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

Here’s what happened

98FM have signed a new partnership with Toyota ireland to become the stations official car partner.

As part of the two year deal, Toyota Ireland have provided 98FM with three Toyota C-HR hybrid electric SUV’s which will be used by the stations Thunder Team, their name for the street fleet or promotions crew.

In return, Toyota will get a spot advertising campaign, weeklong promotions, weekend sponsorships as well as promotional stings accross the stations output.

Toyota have been on a role with media sponsorships recently, as they also secured The Graham Norton Show on Virgin Media. They seem to be looking for lighter entertainment sponsorships, so it would also make sense for them to snap up Claire Byrne’s new game show or even love Island.

It’s great to see sponsors putting money into quality media like this, so fair play to Toyota on supporting shows on Irish TV and radio.

Read the story here

Radio presenter Dave Duke this week joined the podcast universe. He announced the Dave Duke podcast which is available on all the main podcast platforms.

It’s not new to see established presenters with podcasts now, but it feels like the podcast train is moving even faster than before. Niall Boylan, Dave fanning, and Dave Duke have all announced podcasts recently despite being established names.

This week we wanted to see how you feel towards traditional radio, so we’re asking over on instagram. Is radio cool? Or have podcasts, social media, and internet radio made the traditional side of media less exciting?

Radio has traditionally had fancy studios and high production values, but in a world where anyone can start a station from home is all that still interesting to you? Share your thoughts over on Instagram.

Check out Dave Duke’s podcast announcement here

Finally this week we have a bit of a sad story but a story that ultimately shows how kind people are.

Rónán Mac Aodha Bhuí, host of Rónán Beo on Raidió na Gaeltachta is sadly suffering from stage 4 Colon cancer with metastases to the liver and lung. He has been receiving treatment for this, but unfortunately these cancer treatments are hugely expensive.

This has led to a major fundraising effort being launched, with support coming from all over the world. Events were even held by the Irish American community in New York to support Rónán.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help with the fundraising. The goal was to raise €120,000, but at time of writing that has been well surpassed. The current total sits at €151,863 and it keeps on growing.

This really shows the generosity of people around the world. Sometimes we can be swamped with news of people doing bad stuff, but it’s also important to point out the good.

The very best of luck to Rónán and his family at this tough time.

Check out the GoFundMe here

Read the story about the events in New York here

Quick Bits

The Cash Machine has made its way to Red FM after Bauer bought the station

Radio presenter Claire Byrne is hosting a new game show called Ireland’s Smartest

An Irish celebrity who can’t be named for legal reasons has been sent forward for trial as a result of child defilement allegations

2FM breakfast host Carl Mullan has won Dancing with the stars

Bauer are launching a new audio platform called Rayo, but it’s not in ireland yet

The boss of Irelands Classic Hits isn’t happy with RTÉ Gold hiring people who could be on his stations

⁦‪@AoifeOC_‬⁩ oin Twitter has been asked to cover the Women’s Six Nations for Red FM and Newstalk

And that’s the summary for this week. Come back to radio land next week for more radio news📻 and be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for extra stories.

This week in radio 11/2/2023 (JNLR and jingles, it’s like a radio lovers dream)

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

Here’s what happened

The latest JNLR numbers came out on Thursday so we now have a good picture of how things are going in the radio industry. JNLR figures are hugely important as listener numbers are what ultimately brings in the advertisers who pay the bills. So, let’s take a look at how things are going.

It wasn’t a great time for Radio 1

Is post pandemic news fatigue hurting Radio 1? That’s one theory being tossed around as the station suffered some tough losses. In fact, all of the peak time weekday schedule is down. That’s not good.

Morning ireland is still the most popular show in the country, but it has had an audience drop. 433,000 listen to the show according to this book, that’s down 18,000
Tubs chats away to an audience of 331,000, thats down 13,000 from last time
321,000 listen to Claire Byrne each day. That’s 10,000 less than Tubridy and 10,000 less than her audience from the last book too.
Ronan had a loss in his last book falling 10,000 to 222,000. We’ll need to see if the slot gets a boost with Louise at the wheel, and might some of ronans audience join him on the yet to be announced show on RTÉ Gold?
LiveLine is now heard by 310,000 which is a drop of 11,000
Darcy only lost 2,000 in this book going down to 177,000, but that’s still a low radio 1 audience.
208,000 listen to Drivetime. That’s down 4,000.

Overall not great news for Radio1. They did have further to fall as they had huge gains during the pandemic, but those in RTÉ will be hoping that this is the end of the downward curve.

2FM had some ups and downs

2FM had some ups and downs in this book. While key shows are going up, the big surprise will be the loss of listeners for The 2 Johnnies. it’s a small drop, but it’s worth keeping an eye on at the same time.

2FM breakfast will be happy enough. 129,000 tune in each morning which is a boost of 5,000 from the last book. Two out of the shows 3 presenters are currently involved with Dancing With The Stars on RTÉ One Television, so that might give the show a visibility boost over the next few weeks. We’ll need to wait for the next book to see.
Jennifer Zamparelli sits at 134,000 listeners which is an increase of 3,000. A small increase but every little helps. This is a part reversal for Jenifer who lost 7,000 in the last book
Losses are mounting for Tracy Clifford who now has 116,000 listeners. She lost 7,000 back in November, and has lost another 4,000 this time.
The 2 johnnies have had their first loss in this book, they fell 3,000 and now have 119,000. It’s a small drop as I said above, but worth watching at the same time. Things have been good for this show on other fronts though as it now has a sponsor, so it’s not all bad.

Bit of a mixed bag for 2FM but breakfast in particular has been doing very well in recent books. In general not a bad performance, just some bits worth watching.

Today FM will be happy campers

The Germans will be happy with a very strong performance for Today FM.

Breakfast is back over 200,000 with an audience of 203,000. that’s a boost of 4,000
It’s 207,000 for Dermot & Dave, that’s a great increase of 9,000
Pamela Joyce has had a nice boost of 4,000 listeners. She now has 134,000
It’s up a huge 11,000 for Foley who now has 160,000
8,000 new listeners for Cooper who now has an audience of 172,000

This is good news for Bauer, especially after the losses in November. Overall a great performance.

It’s mixed news for Newstalk

Some ups and downs for Newstalk. Here’s how things are going.

152,000 now listen to Newstalk breakfast, that’s up 5,000
Pat Kenny is down 3,000 to 174,000. Not ideal but manageable at the same time.
106,000 listen to lunchtime live. That’s down 2,000
It’s up 6,000 for Moncrieff with an audience of 96,000. That’s a nice boost bringing the show closer to the 100,000 mark.
The hard shoulder has 159,000 which is a 3,000 boost from last time.

Nothing too bad here really. Not a clean sweep but a good performance at the same time.

Other stations

We aren’t able to go into detail on all stations, but here are 2 great sources if you want further reading.

The Irish Times

Adworld

It’s good to see that everything is still going strong in the radio industry. Some stations certainly didn’t have the best day ever, but like all things it’s a chance to learn and grow.

If you got JNLR results this week, let us know over on Twitter. @RadioLandIRL

Other News

It’s time for the return of a feature to Radio Land that we haven’t had for quite some time. It’s time for the return of…..

The Jingle Review!!!!

Tipp FM has some new jingles on air, but are they any good? Let’s take a listen.

First here’s the whole package

Overall I like the pack. It’s got a nice sound without being too punchy. I’m generaly a fan of sung jingles so the variety of lines for everything from breakfast to Christmas is right up my street.

At times I think there’s a bit of a disconnect between the sonic Logo of the station name and the rest of the jingle, but in general it’s a good package. Let’s look now at some specific jingles, starting with my favourite from the bunch.

Breakfast jingle

This breakfast jingle has a nice upbeat feel and I can hear exactly how it would fit into a breakfast show. I like how they have included two distinctive sung lines in the jingle but maintained a cohesive sound. Using a solo vocalist for the “good morning Tipperary” line really works, but at the same time if you had a version without that, a good presenter and desk operator could fit a nice good morning line of their own in that space. I don’t know if Tipp FM have that, but even if they don’t it’s a lovely sounding jingle that gives good flexibility to a capable presenter . Solid 8 out of 10.

Country Jingle

I mean look, it doesn’t exactly scream country, but it’s still a good jingle. Maybe a bit long at 13 seconds, but they use the time well. It feels like it could have been two seperate jingles for the tagline and show name, but I do still like it. 6.5 out of 10

General Jingle

I’m not really sure why, but this one doesn’t do it for me. It feels like it lacks cohesion somewhat. It feels like a resing where nobody was sure how best to use the time. it’s not awful by any means, but i think I’d get sick of it quickly. I’m not sure if it is a resing but that’s how it sounds, 5 out of 10

Christmas Jingle

Finally let’s get festive. This jingle has a great sound, but I have two small gripes. Firstly, half of deck the halls is missing, listen closely, the first two notes are like batteries in a dancing Santy, that’s to say they’re not included. Secondly, the station name feels like it was just tagged on the end with little regard for the other sung lines. In fairness I am being a bit of a grinch at this point, the singing in this jingle is great, and the idea to include Deck The Halls, well, half of Deck The Halls, fits the style brilliantly. It’s a good jingle with some small baubles out of place, so I give it 5.75 out of 10.

I generaly like the package so well done to everyone involved in creating it. I hope the team at Tipp FM enjoy using these over the next few months and years.

Read the story here

Marty standing holding a Lyric FM sign with a Spry Finance staff member

Lyric FM has a new partner for breakfast as Spry Finance have signed a deal to sponsor Marty in the Morning.

The sponsorship will last 6 months, with the brand getting 7 stings per show at 10 seconds each. Financial terms of the deal haven’t been announced, but RTÉ were previously looking for €35,000 for the 6 month tie up.

“Spry Finance is delighted to sponsor Marty in the Morning on RTÉ lyric FM as we feel it is the perfect fit for our brand and our customers. Our customers believe in living a greater life in later life and Marty brings the joie de vivre that we know is so important to our customers who enjoy the blend of news and travel updates from Marty.”
Ailish McGlew, Head of Marketing at Spry Finance

It’s great to see brands supporting radio in this way so hopefully the deal will go well for Spry Finance.

Read the story here

Quick Bits

Nobby is leaving the Strawberry Alarm clock on FM104

RTE are launching Kidcast, a new magazine show for kids

BBC Breakfast journalist Kate Varley is returning to Ireland for a job with RTÉ

Applications for the Irish media Literacy Awards have now closed

LiveLine was the most complained about show of 2022 on Irish Radio

And that’s the summary for this week. Come back to radio land next week for more radio news📻 and be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for extra stories.

This Week In Radio 4/2/2023 (more spin off stations)

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

Here’s what happened

Are you a fan of rock music? Today FM have launched a new rock show and rock station.

Ed Smith will host the show every Sunday from 10pm through to midnight, while the Today FM Rocks channel is available 24/7 on the GoLoud app.

Outside of the main station, Today FM now has 6 spin off channels. Today FM 80s, 90s, ,00s, Irish, Block Rockin Beats, and rocks. It would be cool to know if these spin offs make much money, or how are they viewed as part of the business.

It certainly seems to be a trend to have spin off brands, and they are being pushed more and more. We recently had Classic Hits 80s on FM, so perhaps this is an area the industry plans to develop over the next few years. We’ll need to wait and see.

An interesting space and perhaps an area worth keeping an eye on.

Read the story here

2FM Breakfast presenter Carl Mullen has spoken about how he feels nervous ahead of the JNLR’s. The next book is just 2 weeks away, so the breakfast show will be hoping to continue its streak of strong performances.

It’s always interesting to see the jNLR’s as it can be tough to predict a shows performance. we spoke last week about the advertising spend in radio, but it’s the numbers that decide how that money gets spent.

So, with new numbers just around the corner, this week we’re asking those of you in the industry what’s more stressful. The JNLR’s or the leaving cert? Vote over on our Instagram story now.

Read the story here

Finally this week, the Lineup for RadioDays Ireland has been announced. the event takes place at the Gibson Hotel on the 16th and 17th of February.

The events main sponsors are Learning Waves and the IBI, but other partners include the BAI, Skillnet, and IMRO.

So, who’s speaking at the event? Here are just a few of the speakers.

Pat Kenny, Newstalk, Patricia Messenger, C103, Fionnuala Corbett, iRadio, Brian Redmond, KCLR 96FM, Celene Craig, BAI, and Dan Healy, RTE 2FM, will present a panel on the resilience of radio.
Niall Power from Beat 102 103 will speak about the worlds 10 best radio promotions.
There will be a presentation on how you can monetize podcasts from Liam Thompson, The Smart 7 Podcast, Georgie Crawford, The Good Glow Podcast, Kiela Brodigan, Director of Digital, Bauer Media
There will also be loads of other presentations on how to better target and monetize listeners, as well as speakers on different topics from the USA and UK.

The event seems to be focused more on the business side of radio, so if that’s your thing you might enjoy it. It also serves as a networking opportunity which is always good.

Check out the details here

Quick Bits

Radio Land’s Twitter surpassed 100 followers this week. Thanks for the support🎉

Today With Claire Byrne has secured an 11 month sponsorship deal with Allcare Pharmacy

The Irish Times have a review of an Irish horror podcast

RTE celebrates Brendan Behan’s 100th birthday

Bauer are having a weekend of winning accross their network of stations. it’s a premium rate text competition

And that’s the summary for this week. Come back to radio land next week for more radio news📻 and be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for extra stories.