Replacement for Dermot & Dave on 98FM

Radio Freak · 23-06-2014 6:34pm #1

Now that Dermot & Dave are heading to new pastures on Today FM later on this summer, who do you think will replace the boys on 98FM? Will they have to look elsewhere other than 98 or Spin to find a good replacement? No doubt Communicorp are going to have to have the cheque book out if they wish to poach good talent , period. I suspect they may try and get The Strawberry's over at FM104 aka Jim Jim Nugent and Mark Noble. They have great on air and off air chemistry. They may like a change to Drivetime on 98 fm if the money and conditions are right for them. However this all depends if both their contracts haven't all ready being renewed by UTV management already. Let's wait and see!

eiresandra · 23-06-2014 8:53pm

I don't think the Strawberries will be interested in moving, for any amount of money. They have the biggest breakfast show in Dublin. Jim Jim has already done the move and it didn't work out. I'd say he's happy where he is.

It's hard to think what 98 might do on Drive. There isn't a huge amount of talent out there similar to the personality-driven stuff D&D do. And given 98 has the two male double-header shows earlier in the day, I reckon they'll probably go for a music-driven shift. Maybe it's time Steve K hopped across the Malthouse? Proven audience winner, and experience at a slightly older Drive shift from his 104 days.

radiofreak · 23-06-2014 11:45pm

98 should give Damian Farrelly a call. Perfect replacement.

marno21 · 24-06-2014 12:38am

eiresandra wrote: »

I don't think the Strawberries will be interested in moving, for any amount of money. They have the biggest breakfast show in Dublin. Jim Jim has already done the move and it didn't work out. I'd say he's happy where he is.

It's hard to think what 98 might do on Drive. There isn't a huge amount of talent out there similar to the personality-driven stuff D&D do. And given 98 has the two male double-header shows earlier in the day, I reckon they'll probably go for a music-driven shift. Maybe it's time Steve K hopped across the Malthouse? Proven audience winner, and experience at a slightly older Drive shift from his 104 days.

Steve K recently changed his Twitter username from SteveKSPIN1038 to SteveKonair. Am I too observant for my own good?

Radio Freak · 24-06-2014 1:04am

Steve K is a good presenter, and he suits the spin format. That's just my opinion on him. 98fm cannot afford to have a weak presenter or presenters for this role in this important drivetime slot. Otherwise, their listenership will fall even further in general.

chilloutrelax · 24-06-2014 7:29am

Dermot and Dave were not ratings winners, their drive time JNLRs were poor and way behind other drive time shows in Dublin, particulary on the average quarter hour.
A new show was needed anyway and I suspect it will be music driven.

JeffDar · 24-06-2014 11:48am

Yeah in fairness their afternoon figures were poor and only continued to slowly dip. FM104 & Q102 remain ahead of them. Their move from 98 brekkie is one which has turned the station into a total mess. A music-heavy show is sorely needed to replace D&D. Who should present it is the big question. Steve K? Definitely ticks the 'little chat' requirement but listening to Steve, you never get even a glimpse into the guy's personality or life. He suits Spin to a tee though and would be too much of a loss for them. Communicorp needs to look at the competition again I think. Strawberry guys? No. Trying a breakfast show in the afternoon has already failed once. If I was PD there I'd be looking at Ben Murray in FM104 or Dave Harrington in Q102. 98 is way too 'chatty' from breakfast to lunchtime now and I suspect the 10-12 mid-morning talk show may not do the business they hope it will. It'll be interesting to see if the heads there make yet another decision that they'll later regret. It's sad because that place has a tonne of both heritage and potential.

hullaballoo · 24-06-2014 1:02pm

I don't understand why D&D's ratings were low/dipping by comparison to other shows in that time slot. I have been listening to them in the afternoons since they moved from breakfast and I love it. I find that it's better to have something light-hearted and humorous to pass the drive home as against the likes of The Last Word, which I find rankles me. It's hard enough sitting in heavy city traffic without being annoyed by some argument happening on the radio as well, even if TLW is an otherwise good show.

I totally switched over to 98fm a while ago because you had Aiden and Claire in the mornings, which I found good for that hour (albeit, I'm not a morning person). Generally, I wouldn't catch a whole lot of radio again until the drive home but on occasion that I was in the car during the day, I found Barry Dunne's show to be very good. He's not the most colourful presenter but he plays good music and his giveaways were always worthwhile.

Then D&D on the way home, pmsl all the way home instead of wanting to fight the idiot whose indicator has been flashing to turn left for the past 10 miles.

Ah well, over to Spin for the foreseeable future.

soc160 · 24-06-2014 6:42pm

JeffDar wrote: »

Yeah in fairness their afternoon figures were poor and only continued to slowly dip. FM104 & Q102 remain ahead of them. Their move from 98 brekkie is one which has turned the station into a total mess. A music-heavy show is sorely needed to replace D&D. Who should present it is the big question. Steve K? Definitely ticks the 'little chat' requirement but listening to Steve, you never get even a glimpse into the guy's personality or life. He suits Spin to a tee though and would be too much of a loss for them. Communicorp needs to look at the competition again I think. Strawberry guys? No. Trying a breakfast show in the afternoon has already failed once. If I was PD there I'd be looking at Ben Murray in FM104 or Dave Harrington in Q102. 98 is way too 'chatty' from breakfast to lunchtime now and I suspect the 10-12 mid-morning talk show may not do the business they hope it will. It'll be interesting to see if the heads there make yet another decision that they'll later regret. It's sad because that place has a tonne of both heritage and potential.

Would Ben murray or dave Harrington want to leave their shows for a show with less listeners? I think the Steve k link makes sense, Brian maher took away his spin name on twitter before he left.

soc160 · 24-06-2014 7:10pm

JeffDar wrote: »

Yeah in fairness their afternoon figures were poor and only continued to slowly dip. FM104 & Q102 remain ahead of them. Their move from 98 brekkie is one which has turned the station into a total mess. A music-heavy show is sorely needed to replace D&D. Who should present it is the big question. Steve K? Definitely ticks the 'little chat' requirement but listening to Steve, you never get even a glimpse into the guy's personality or life. He suits Spin to a tee though and would be too much of a loss for them. Communicorp needs to look at the competition again I think. Strawberry guys? No. Trying a breakfast show in the afternoon has already failed once. If I was PD there I'd be looking at Ben Murray in FM104 or Dave Harrington in Q102. 98 is way too 'chatty' from breakfast to lunchtime now and I suspect the 10-12 mid-morning talk show may not do the business they hope it will. It'll be interesting to see if the heads there make yet another decision that they'll later regret. It's sad because that place has a tonne of both heritage and potential.

Would Ben murray or dave Harrington want to leave their shows for a show with less listeners? I think the Steve k link makes sense, Brian maher took away his spin name on twitter before he left.

Radio Freak · 24-06-2014 8:09pm

soc160 wrote: »

Would Ben murray or dave Harrington want to leave their shows for a show with less listeners? I think the Steve k link makes sense, Brian maher took away his spin name on twitter before he left.

I should think that maybe those individuals that you mention would possibly like a new challenge and a new beginning on another radio station such as 98FM with less listeners for now. Surely they could grow their listenership base and maybe take some of their existing listeners from FM104 to 98FM. That possibility does exist. Anyway, we are all talking hypothetically at the moment. Ben Murray or Dave Harrington may not wish to take such a risk. Who knows!

chilloutrelax · 24-06-2014 9:30pm

soc160 wrote: »

Would Ben murray or dave Harrington want to leave their shows for a show with less listeners? I think the Steve k link makes sense, Brian maher took away his spin name on twitter before he left.

Exactly, Ben Murray has more than double the listeners than D&D.

soc160 · 25-06-2014 12:12am

Radio Freak wrote: »

I should think that maybe those individuals that you mention would possibly like a new challenge and a new beginning on another radio station such as 98FM with less listeners for now. Surely they could grow their listenership base and maybe take some of their existing listeners from FM104 to 98FM. That possibility does exist. Anyway, we are all talking hypothetically at the moment. Ben Murray or Dave Harrington may not wish to take such a risk. Who knows!

I'm not sure you're looking at it from the right perspective... 98 is like a sinking ship compared to the other two stations mentioned. There appeal is driven by music. I don't think either of the guys would bring an audience over with them like Dermot and Dave would or even Ray Foley might because their appeal is the humour and entertainment, it would make no sense to move and do the same show somewhere else with less of an audience, and if the only driving factor would be money I think 98 could save some by moving anyone into that slot, like if Claire Solan got it would be the same net result in my opinion. I would have liked to have seen Brian and Dara from Spin get it...But Brian left obviously. But this is the joy of radio, there are a few options and it seems 98 could benefit if they make a good move.

TheLonelyOne · 25-06-2014 4:30am

Radio Freak wrote: »

Now that Dermot & Dave are heading to new pastures on Today FM later on this summer, who do you think will replace the boys on 98FM? Will they have to look elsewhere other than 98 or Spin to find a good replacement? No doubt Communicorp are going to have to have the cheque book out if they wish to poach good talent , period. I suspect they may try and get The Strawberry's over at FM104 aka Jim Jim Nugent and Mark Noble. They have great on air and off air chemistry. They may like a change to Drivetime on 98 fm if the money and conditions are right for them. However this all depends if both their contracts haven't all ready being renewed by UTV management already. Let's wait and see!

If the rumour mills are anything to go by.... Nikki Hayes is a top contender apparently.

Captian Swashbuckle · 25-06-2014 7:26am

chilloutrelax wrote: »

Exactly, Ben Murray has more than double the listeners than D&D.

If that's the case, then i wouldn't say there is a snowballs chance Ben Murray would move. Although I do enjoy his show, he's there a long time so I'd imagine he would be part of the furniture around 104.

Why don't the powers that be in communicorp bring back somebody like Brian Walsh who used to do a very good job as a cover jock previously on 98fm??

Radio Freak · 25-06-2014 11:53am

TheLonelyOne wrote: »

If the rumour mills are anything to go by.... Nikki Hayes is a top contender apparently.

If Nikki Hayes does get this drivetime slot on 98fm, it can only be a good thing. She is a excellent presenter having listened to her both on spin and when she was on 2fm. She's bubbly without being cheesy if that makes sense. Her links are short without being too short and makes you want to listen to her. Hopefully she can stop the listenership slide on their drivetime show on 98 and bring them closer in listenership numbers to FM104 & Q102. It won't happen overnight it must be said.

iseegirls · 25-06-2014 12:15pm

D&D finishing up this week, according to the guys yesterday.
So I guess we'll have Claire Solan in for a few weeks while they decide on the full time presenter.

Really going to miss the guys - I only get to listen for a half an hour a day on my drive home, but it never fails to make me laugh. But all the best to them on their new move anyway.

TheLonelyOne · 25-06-2014 4:38pm

iseegirls wrote: »

D&D finishing up this week, according to the guys yesterday.
So I guess we'll have Claire Solan in for a few weeks while they decide on the full time presenter.

Really going to miss the guys - I only get to listen for a half an hour a day on my drive home, but it never fails to make me laugh. But all the best to them on their new move anyway.

Personally I don't think Claire Solan is even half strong enough to put on drive.

iseegirls · 25-06-2014 5:24pm

TheLonelyOne wrote: »

Personally I don't think Claire Solan is even half strong enough to put on drive.

Claire would sometimes host the show for nearly 2 weeks while D&D are on holidays. I think she will be used before the replacement starts.

Euphoria Intensifies · 26-06-2014 9:54am

TheLonelyOne wrote: »

If the rumour mills are anything to go by.... Nikki Hayes is a top contender apparently.

Think Nikki Hayes would be a good replacement for the lads. Obviously it'd be a very different style of show, but any time I have heard her on Spin or 2FM, I enjoyed it. I do think it's important that whoever gets the slot makes sure to inject a bit of fun and personality into the show.

Ryaner179 · 27-06-2014 7:14pm

I always thought Brian and Dara from the Zoo Crew on Spin would be good replacements for D&D but thats not going to happen now, still think it might be Steve K

Radio Freak · 27-06-2014 7:38pm

Ryaner179 wrote: »

I always thought Brian and Dara from the Zoo Crew on Spin would be good replacements for D&D but thats not going to happen now, still think it might be Steve K

As a previous poster already said, you don't get much insight into Steve k's personality on Spin. It's a very robotic style of presenting, saying three-word links most of the time and just playing music. Some listeners like that and that's fine. Steve k's style would not work on 98fm's drivetime. Most listeners like a fun intelligent and witty presenter on their radio that plays good music and has the occasional banter not anything less. Steve K does not fit the bill in my opinion. I've already suggested Nikki Hayes and I still believe she is a strong contender for that drivetime slot on 98fm.

radiofreak · 28-06-2014 12:48pm

Radio Freak wrote: »

As a previous poster already said, you don't get much insight into Steve k's personality on Spin. It's a very robotic style of presenting, saying three-word links most of the time and just playing music. Some listeners like that and that's fine. Steve k's style would not work on 98fm's drivetime.

Steve presented the Funny Farm and the afternoon show on FM 104 which were very successful shows so I do think he would also be a success if he was given the 98 Drive.

Bard · 28-06-2014 3:29pm

Ryaner179 wrote: »

I always thought Brian and Dara from the Zoo Crew on Spin would be good replacements for D&D but thats not going to happen now, still think it might be Steve K

It won't be Brian and Dara no,... but why not just Dara?

soc160 · 28-06-2014 8:49pm

Radio Freak wrote: »

As a previous poster already said, you don't get much insight into Steve k's personality on Spin. It's a very robotic style of presenting, saying three-word links most of the time and just playing music. Some listeners like that and that's fine. Steve k's style would not work on 98fm's drivetime. Most listeners like a fun intelligent and witty presenter on their radio that plays good music and has the occasional banter not anything less. Steve K does not fit the bill in my opinion. I've already suggested Nikki Hayes and I still believe she is a strong contender for that drivetime slot on 98fm.

I'd like to think 98 are hoping to improve the drivetime figures and add a new audience rather than worry about how best to please the current ones, as good as the lads where they figures never reflected that, so a change in approach might add new listeners.

Bard wrote: »

It won't be Brian and Dara no,... but why not just Dara?

They just got a new co-host for the Zoo Crew, if they were going to let Dara go they would have waited and hired two new people for the zoo crew.

chilloutrelax · 30-06-2014 5:21pm

Damien McCaul on today from 4 to 7

Banjoxed · 30-06-2014 5:29pm

1 kHz tone.

In reality, all of Ireland's commercial stations could be replaced with 1 kHz tone and it would be an improvement.

eiresandra · 03-07-2014 3:13pm

Tweeted by Brian Maher this afternoon: "DQ going to 98FM. My boy's all grown up!"

soc160 · 05-07-2014 3:06pm

soc160 wrote: »

They just got a new co-host for the Zoo Crew, if they were going to let Dara go they would have waited and hired two new people for the zoo crew.

That went well....

Replacement for Dermot & Dave on 98FM

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