Changes?

[gizajob]

i believe all is not well in the red camp at present and a schedule change is on the way tomorrow. 6am philip burke. 10am magic matt. 12pm martina donoghue. 4pm keith c. 9pm charlie talks to cork. apparently richie oshea is off air from tomorrow.

[Rig For Sale]

That doesn't look too good then?

Will another one bite the dust?

Might it be Dublins Country in Cork?

[VO Guy]

Nah...they are kickin' ass in Cork!

[Richie O'Shea]

Maybe a read of The Sunday Times from 17th Nov would a plan.

[Radio Presenter]

Why don't you just tell us what it was about?!

[Richie O'Shea]

The Sunday Times
17th November 2002

Marketing: Red races to lead radio newcomers



THREE new radio stations have taken to Dublin’s airwaves over the past year, but none has been as successful as Cork’s RedFM. NewsTalk 106, Spin 103.8 and Country 106.8 entered a market already supporting FM104, 98FM, RTE and Today FM. Only RedFM can claim that 20% of adults listened yesterday, compared with 2-3% for the other neophytes.
Each of the new entrants, launched at a cost of €1.2m- €2.5m, is determined to take its share of the €100m spent annually on radio advertising. It is the country's media buyers, however, who will determine what size their share will be.
Spin was launched last April to offer the lucrative youth market to advertisers. The dance station is reaching 9% of its main market — the 15-34-year age group — according to Naomi Maguire, the chief executive. “We’re bang on target and are very pleased with our results so far,” she says.
While declining to reveal advertising revenue to date, she says the figure is “right where we want it to be”.
Media buyers are more restrained about the station’s performance. “Spin has its work cut out for it still,” says Paul Moran, managing director of Mediaworks. Its dance music format is highly specific to the 15-20-year age group, he says. Advertisers, however, typically like to catch the broader 15-35 age group when devising a campaign. “When we analyse Spin’s relevance to our clients’ targets, it is difficult for Spin to prove itself as cost-effective as 98FM or FM104.”
Listenership levels are low so Spin has a long way to go, according to Ciaran Cunningham, director of All Ireland Media (AIM).
“Spin hasn’t set the world alight,” he says. “Moreover, it is competing with FM104, which has had a very successful year.”
For Maguire, however, the aim is not to eat into FM104’s listenership as much as it is to expand the overall youth audience. Spin expects to take audiences from all stations, including the pirates. “We are also bringing new people to radio,’’ says Maguire. “When we launched, research showed that 79% of 20-24-year olds listened to any radio each day and that was a figure which had held for a long time. Now that figure is 85%.”
Shareholders in Spin include the Ministry of Sound, the British operator, Denis O’Brien’s Radio 2000, Ossie Kilkenny, the accountant, and Michael Sherry, the haulier. It cost €2m to get the station on air, and its year-one marketing budget is €600,000. The station expects to break even within three to five years, says Maguire.
NewsTalk, which is squarely aimed at news junkies, has a listenership of 2% in the Dublin area. For advertisers, while its audience is small, it is perfectly formed. About 80% of them are AB1, according to Aidan Dunne, the chief executive.
He is content with the progress of the station so far. “Getting people to switch their talk choice happens more slowly than with a music mix format,” he says. “But most people see the space for it. Prior to our launch, people had only one talk button on their radio, a situation which was unacceptable to many.”
NewsTalk was launched at a cost of €2m but its investors, which include 98FM, FM104 and Setanta Media, may be waiting a while before they see a return. “The investors all knew when they bought this ticket that it was for a long-haul flight. Talk radio costs more and takes longer to develop but once established, talk listeners are more loyal.”
Media buyers are interested in the NewsTalk offering. “It is a good proposition for advertisers,” says Paul Moran. “You could argue that because it is a talk-show format, the audience will pay greater attention to the advertising on it.
“It has a small (audience) base at present but I would be confident that it is here for the long haul and should show moderate to good growth over a long period of time.”
NewsTalk has to contend with much higher operating costs than many of its competitors. Backing up each presenter are the researchers and news gatherers on whom current affairs programming depends.
Dunne did not want to reveal the cost of running the station, but one industry source puts it at about €350,000 a month. Whatever its real expenditure, the amount being spent on advertising is not for publication either. “When RTE shows me theirs, I’ll show them mine,” Dunne says.
The third station to come on air this year is Dave Harvey’s Country FM. In terms of music, it offers listeners exactly what it says on the tin. What it offers advertisers is less clear cut.
“The audience in country is not closely defined,” says Moran. “Is it the 15-34-year-olds? Is it the business audience? Is it housekeepers with young children? “It’s not easy to come up with a definition for advertisers and I would not be optimistic about its future viability if it maintains its current format. The station is not marketing itself to any adequate degree. Listenership figures are minimal and they don’t seem to be doing anything to redress that.”
Harvey holds his hands up and has just one response — Scottish Media Holdings. Up until three weeks ago, Harvey believed the station was to be bought by the acquisitive media group. That deal, which was at due diligence stage, collapsed unexpectedly after six months of negotiations, he says. The station is putting together a new team of investors and Harvey says he is in it for the long haul.
Its launch cost, at €1.2m, was significantly less than that of other entrants, and its marketing budget amounted to just €200,000. The station has 2-3% of the Dublin market, proving there is a market in Dublin for country music, Harvey says.
“We have a job of work to do. We have learned a very difficult and costly lesson. You have to remember that since May we thought we were being taken over. We’ve been treading water since then.” It did, however, concentrate his mind on the bottom line.
Staff numbers have been trimmed back from 25 to 10 and running costs are down to €40,000 a month. Harvey remains convinced that Country is a contender. “Once you are not trying to be a 25 per cent player, there is a market for every kind of music. We’ve been the whipping boy in radio for long enough.”
If Country has been taking such punishment, the station with the whip hand has to be RedFM. Loved by media buyers and listeners alike, since its launch in January it has surpassed the incumbent 96FM in the battle for Munster’s youth market.
Shareholders in RedFM include Thomas Crosbie Holdings, FM104 and Henry Condon, the station’s chief executive. Launched at a cost of €2.5m, it has spent €500,000 on advertising. This has seen it win 41% of all 15-34-year-old listeners in the franchise area.
“It is not a surprise to us that RedFM is the success it is,” says Moran. “It is in a very lucrative franchise area, with a growing population that has the right demographic breakdown in terms of age profile.
“Another key thing it has done is to promote itself with good advertising campaigns in the local area. That is crucial to the success of any new station. It has a good healthy marketing budget to promote itself and keep it ‘top of mind’.”
Ad revenue at RedFM is beginning to build in tandem with its audience and by 2004 the station expects to start bringing home some bacon for its investors, according to Condon.

[Wheatus]

Well done Red!

Of course, it helps if you have no competition!

[DeargDoom]

Yeah - they should do what all the other stations are doing and hire a poor mans Chris Moyles....


...nah, fair play to Red FM - they've remembered that ITS ABOUT THE MUSIC.