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.

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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.

This week in Radio 23/3/2024 (Bauer buy beat)

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

Here’s What Happened

Beat 102 103 in the south east is set to be acquired by Bauer, following The Irish Times agreeing to sell their 75% slice of the business.

The Irish Times took a stake in the business 6 years ago when they Bought Landmark Media Group. They also hold a majority stake in WLR, which isn’t included in the Bauer deal.

The playbook is well established by now. Assuming no pushback from the CCPC, Beat will be integrated into the GoLoud network, and will then begin participating in the Cash Machine. Outside of that however there are still questions.

After the deal, Bauer will be the operator of every significant youth music service. Unless they went after Wireless group they have no other players to acquire. Talk of brand consolidation started quickly after the announcement, as now it makes sense for Bauer to start bringing their portfolio together.

98FM and Red FM recently got joined up branding, so IRadio and beat will be outliers. Some have suggested the Hits Radio brand may enter the Irish Market, but it’s also very possible that Bauer will simply expand the spin brand.

It’s a wild time for radio, but realistically it’s now the plans can be put in place for the inevitable big rebranding.

After the deal closes, Bauer will own Today FM, Newstalk, Spin 1038, Spin South West, Iradio, 98FM, Red FM, Beat 102 103, Off The Ball, GoLoud, Rayo, Media Central, and Audio XI. Through Media Central they assist Classic Hits Radio with advertising, and they also supply the news wire to all independent radio stations. Crazy stuff.

Do you think we’ll see Spin Southeast soon? Let us know on our Instagram story. Just search Radio Land Ireland.

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Raidió Rí-Rá was on air over the bank holiday weekend, in an attempt to prove that they’re ready to provide a full national service.

The station aired chart shows, talk shows and alternative music shows, and they seem to feel ready to take on the challenge of becoming a full service broadcaster.

This would be a huge move as we haven’t had a new broadcaster hit the air full time in years. Raidió Rí-Rá currently has 3 full time staff which would obviously need to expand, but they are heading in the right direction.

Exciting times ahead for sure. Maybe Bauer will have bought them by the time the year is out., time will tell. Text airgead to 57557 for your chance to win big on the Rí-Rá Cash Machine? I dare not think such thoughts.

Read the story here

Finally for now, the Today FM big busk for Focus Ireland is back.

The event will take place around the country on Friday the 12th of April, buskers are being encouraged to sign up and help raise funds to support the Focus Ireland fight against homelessness.

“We are so excited for The Big Busk for Focus Ireland; it’s going to be the best one yet! All of us in Today FM have a big circle around Big Busk date on April 12th on our calendars, and we want you to mark off this date as well!”

Louise Cantillon

I love when radio is used for good like this, so well done to everyone involved.

Read the story here

Quick Bits

Radio Nova are making Spotify playlists now. Interesting for a radio station

Ray Darcy has a new contract

The Indo Daily is up for 2 awards in New York

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

This week in radio 16/3/2024 (The Irish government are paying Bauer now!!!)

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

Here’s What Happened

Bauer Media Audio Ireland are to be paid €55,000 to enhance their coverage of geopolitical events.

The funding comes from the department of foreign affairs through their Global Ireland Media Challenge Fund, and three other media outlets are also receiving some cash.

The Business Post, Reach PLC who own the Irish Mirror as well as the local Live and Beo Sites, and The Irish Examiner are all getting €100,000, meaning the total amount handed out hits €355,000.

The department of foreign affairs said “assignment of reporting tasks and allocation of responsibilities are matters for individual media organisations”.

In the past RTE, TheJournal and Virgin Media Television got grants, but there was no money awarded to them on this occasion.

Bauer provide news to most of Irelands local radio stations, so if the money is spent right it could definitely have an impact. Let’s hope a journalist gets a job or something with this money as that’s ultimately what makes a difference.

Read the story here

Broadcaster John Keane is leaving his show on KCLR 96FM after 20 years for a new gig in the Waterford radio market.

John spoke fondly of his time at KCLR, and discussed the importance of local radio. He referenced his connection with his listeners in Carlow and Kilkenny, calling the region a home away from home.

It’s a massive move to switch jobs after 20 years,, but with time also comes experience.

Best of luck to John on his new role from us at Radio Land.

Read the story here

Broadcaster Charlie Bird sadly passed away this week following a long battle with motor neurone disease.

Charlie had a long career at RTE News as their chief news corespondent, before retiring from the national broadcaster in 2012.

Charlie had a well publicised fight with motor neuron disease, a fight that eventually resulted in him using the assistance of voice banking technology to keep his voice. He raised €3.6million through the climb with Charlie campaign and brought considerable awareness to the condition through social media posts and appearances on The Late Late Show.

It’s a sad story, but he’s certainly left a legacy. May he rest in peace.

Read the story here

Quick Bits

The Irish audio awards took place this week

Cork City Community Radio is back on air at weekends

Today FM are giving away a trip to Tallahassee

RTE’s short story competition is open for entries

A new series called We Only Want the Earth is airing on Lyric FM

This week in Radio 9/3/2024 (get ready for some advertising)

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

Here’s what Happened

We touched on it in Quick Bits last week, but it’s one worth looking at a bit more. RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta is running ads.

This is the first time in its 50 year history that advertising will be heard on the Irish language service, with the station set to generate much needed revenue for RTE.

I listened to one or two shows on the station and haven’t heard an ad break yet, but when they do air all ads will be in the Irish language. Under recently introduced rules government agencies must spend 5% of their ad budgets on Irish language media, so RnaG will join TG4 in taking some of that cash.

Because the RnaG audience is comparatively small, this may provide a lower bar to entry to brands wanting to get into some radio advertising. I could certainly see large TG4 spenders like Ros Na Run sponsor XL Ireland buying a few ads to test the waters.

I wouldn’t expect this to be a massive revenue generator straight away, but it is good news in many respects. Every little bit of extra cash is of help to Rte right now, and this new small income may lead to RTE paying a bit more attention to RnaG, giving it a little more TLC.

It would be cool to see RTE Gold get the same treatment, as there really is no reason for RTE not to monetise their services. We are one step closer to a more sustainable RTE, so I think this is definitely a move in the right direction.

Read the story here

In an interesting move, a number of Bauer owned Irish stations broadcast the brit Awards as part of a licensing deal across Europe.

Today FM, SPIN south west, Spin 1038, 98FM, Red FM, iRadio, and Newstalk joined stations from a number of other European markets to broadcast coverage of the event across their platforms, showing the huge reach Bauer can bring.

This probably wouldn’t make sense for the Irish stations on their own, but having the European broadcasters offers a level of scale that simply can’t be competed with.

Between wireless Group and Bauer, it’s becoming a tough market for independent players, which is a really interesting situation to see. Multinationals buying up event and sports rights is an interesting prospect, and something we’ll probably see more in the next few years.

Read the story here

Finally for now, Former BBC and Rte presenter Nick Sheridan has passed away.

He was only 32, and died following a short illness. Nick had worked on a number of shows on BBC Scotland, but from an Irish context he was best known for hosting News2Day, an rTE news programme for kids.

Many people have paid respects to Nick in both Ireland and the UK, including the Scottish first minister, and many people from the world of broadcasting.

It’s a sad story, but Nick certainly achieved a lot with the time he had. May he rest in peace.

Read the story here

Quick bits

A 2004 jingle from Ocean FM became a Jingle of The Day this week

Eamon Fitzpatrick is the new group commercial director at Bauer

The final episode of RTE’s runaway Joe has been published

Jessie Maher is the new digital content producer at Beat

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.

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