Phantom FM no more

WoollyRedHat · 20-03-2014 2:12am

Shame really and odd hearing just hearing the 105.2 now...

I'll really miss shows like The Weekender, and hope somethign similiar like that continues on the new station.

It really is amazing how they're keeping on Keith and Joe, surely the Breakfast Show couldn't have indicated good enough listening figures to keep them on?! Then again, it's probably a case of the blind leading the blind.
They should of kept the likes of Charlotte on. Keeping Cadell on board gives me some hope of some sort of viability for tue future of the station, but not a whole lot, I don't think TX will last all that long.

Declan A Walsh · 20-03-2014 9:01am

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Shame really and odd hearing just hearing the 105.2 now...

I'll really miss shows like The Weekender, and hope somethign similiar like that continues on the new station.

It really is amazing how they're keeping on Keith and Joe, surely the Breakfast Show couldn't have indicated good enough listening figures to keep them on?! Then again, it's probably a case of the blind leading the blind.
They should of kept the likes of Charlotte on. Keeping Cadell on board gives me some hope of some sort of viability for tue future of the station, but not a whole lot, I don't think TX will last all that long.

It's well documented on this forum that Keith Walsh went to 2FM some time ago. He is one of the presenters of 2FM's Breakfast Republic (see that thread). He left Phantom during December. Have you been away?

ghostdancer · 20-03-2014 2:33pm

marwelie wrote: »

Your one now doing the morning show sounds like she's about ten and over indulging on helium. On at least occasions in the last two mornings she's incorrectly introduced songs too. Added to the fact that the delays in pressing buttons for adverts etc. It gives the impression of someone on work experience. The music is still good but bring back Joe and Charlotte Flood (I could listen to Floody reading the telephone directory. I hope she finds an outlet for her dulcet tones sooner rather than later.....)

i'll agree with the first part. she sounds like a kid full of sugar. needs to relax a bit. I see she is (was?) a presenter on Spin, and it shows to be honest. Only listened for 30mins yesterday and today, but if I had to listen much longer i'd probably get annoyed with the enthusiasm.

as for the 2nd part, i'd rather have no presenter than Joe back on the air.

in truth, i'd prefer if the only words out of a presenter's mouth in the mornings were "that was Band A - Song X here on 105.2, here is Band B with Song Y".

yosser hughes · 20-03-2014 2:46pm

thalia_13 wrote: »

I don't know if its just an effect of the fear after last night's drinking, but I got very tearful listening to that clip. I missed the last few hours, heard a bit of John Caddell, but as much as I could never stand Joe, I will miss the breakfast show in the morning. The last stadium rock put a lump in my throat, and the 2 Richies no longer on radio is hard to fathom!!
I can't begin to imagine what radio I will listen to now Phantom is gone!!

BBC Radio 6.No need to listen to Irish radio.

StaticNoise · 20-03-2014 4:13pm

BBC 6 Music is the absolute dogs bollocks. Brilliant station.

I thought that all presenters were taken off 105.2 until the rebrand? I totally turned off until then.

Declan A Walsh · 20-03-2014 6:52pm

StaticNoise wrote: »

BBC 6 Music is the absolute dogs bollocks. Brilliant station.

I thought that all presenters were taken off 105.2 until the rebrand? I totally turned off until then.

No, there have been presenters. At least two: Claire O'Dowd in the morning and Paul Donegan in the evening. I don't know about in between.

StaticNoise · 20-03-2014 6:53pm

Then why all the hoo-haa about the closure? They just call it 105.2? Ads? Etc.?

Declan A Walsh · 20-03-2014 9:27pm

StaticNoise wrote: »

Then why all the hoo-haa about the closure? They just call it 105.2? Ads? Etc.?

There are a few reasons. Firstly, it is the end of the Phantom brand which has been around since 1997 as a pirate. It has been around fully licensed since 2006. Secondly, most of the staff (broadcasting and others) have been let go. Between these two factors, it is like the end of something.... the spirit of Phantom you might say.

Of course, there are some who have mistakenly and very understandably thought the station as such had completely closed down. There are others like yourself surprised to discover that there are people presenting on 105.2 during this bizarre transition before the re-launch as TX FM.

bbability · 20-03-2014 9:36pm

What happened to Phantom? It had such vibe and energy when it appeared. It reintroduced me to music I thought I would never listen to. Artisits such as Ian Brown spring to mind in recent years with his solo album but that seemed to fade. Was the music too alternative for the listener?

end of the road · 20-03-2014 10:13pm

bbability wrote: »

What happened to Phantom? It had such vibe and energy when it appeared. It reintroduced me to music I thought I would never listen to. Artisits such as Ian Brown spring to mind in recent years with his solo album but that seemed to fade. Was the music too alternative for the listener?

my take on it is, the music was to alternative for the advertisers, not enough advertisers for the particular market, other advertisers wouldn't advertise because they felt the listenership wasn't big enough, so station goes more mainstream to try to apeal to a bigger audience to get more advertising, it failed/backfired (whatever way one wants to put it) and they lost listeners, original investers got out and new invester (communicorp) kept to the same strategy of trying to apeal to a bigger more mainstream audience, by the sounds of it it has failed and now they have gotten rid of the majority of the staff and are rebranding, probably in the hope that the cross promotion between it and today fm will help it stay afloat, whether it will or not is anyones guess, its a game of wait and see.

StaticNoise · 21-03-2014 1:38am

Declan A Walsh wrote: »

There are a few reasons. Firstly, it is the end of the Phantom brand which has been around since 1997 as a pirate. It has been around fully licensed since 2006. Secondly, most of the staff (broadcasting and others) have been let go. Between these two factors, it is like the end of something.... the spirit of Phantom you might say.

Of course, there are some who have mistakenly and very understandably thought the station as such had completely closed down. There are others like yourself surprised to discover that there are people presenting on 105.2 during this bizarre transition before the re-launch as TX FM.

Firstly, I completely understand the legacy that has been left, and how symbolic it was. I remember the early days, when it formed into Phantom, when it got the weekend licences, along with the optimism, enthusiasm, and dedication. I remember the dropping off of the licence application to the BCI on the Ghost Bus. I remember the lovely, but at times sad, introduction to the station when they went live at midnight on Halloween. I remember it all. Heck, I've even the big printed copy of the licence in the cupboard next to me. The spirit has been removed.

However, I assumed that there would be no presenters between now and the relaunch. It's a strange period where listeners won't understand where they are. The advertisers will be confused. A station without a name, playing music with the odd presenter. A website that is outdated. Streaming which only works from aforementioned out of date website. It's a bizarre scenario. Handled badly, mind you. They're doing the wrong thing keeping presenters going at the moment. I'm totally against the loss of the staff's jobs (there was some real talent in the organisation, and particularly in the past), but it's crazy to have people covering a radio station without a name, radio bulletins for a station which have already been pardoned by the BAI, and to listeners who miss the old ways.

CiDeRmAn · 21-03-2014 7:48am

Phantom kept me company for so long, discovering then as a pirate, getting behind them as they went for a legal frequency, riding the rollercoaster until they got it, then the great years of music after that, and now gone.
Today Fm is like the babyfood of broadcasting, easy to digest, no effort radio, and now we're to be treated to a "yooff" version, gods help us all.
I expect Tom Dunne to move from Newstalk back to a daytime show now on the new station though, and I have to agree Joe Donnelly is not half as amusing as he thinks he is.

marwelie · 21-03-2014 12:48pm

I heard Richie McCormacks voice on an ad on 105.2FM this morning and it completely freaked me out. Seems a bit unfair to use it because if his person is no longer required for the station surely his voice would be too....

Birneybau · 21-03-2014 1:43pm

marwelie wrote: »

I heard Richie McCormacks voice on an ad on 105.2FM this morning and it completely freaked me out. Seems a bit unfair to use it because if his person is no longer required for the station surely his voice would be too....

Well, the Herald pay for ads and throw a few bob towards Richie. He can't exactly dictate what stations to play it on...

Five Lamps · 22-03-2014 1:49pm

Gossip on the street is that the new PD is from Today FM and that they are hiring presenters so it seems they will be more than the 3 presenters that survived the culling and perhaps robojock will not be kicking in at 7pm each night and the weekends.

I presume the BAI wouldn't (rightly) allow them go back to back music for 2 weeks and hence the caretaker jocks.

Seren_ · 22-03-2014 2:03pm

Unbelievable that they're hiring new staff just after sacking pretty much everyone.

Black Lighter · 22-03-2014 2:37pm

Gimp Colm O'sullivan is pd of TXFM

Dan_Solo · 22-03-2014 2:43pm

TBH I stopped listening shortly after they got licensed. If the music managed to go even more mainstream recently than it became when that happened it must have been real chart fodder.
Pity, they were the first FM station I ever actually liked.

swampy353 · 22-03-2014 5:10pm

Black Lighter wrote: »

Gimp Colm O'sullivan is pd of TXFM

Colm O Sullivan was just appointed assistant PD for Today FM, I dont see why they would announce and not mention anything about TXFM

padd b1975 · 22-03-2014 7:37pm

former legend wrote: »

I don't think Phantom was ever like that. I'm guessing you didn't listen.

No-one would argue with that, it's a commercial enterprise. I think what most people objected to was the fact that, when audience figures weren't good enough, they changed the format. But when figures kept falling, they just ploughed on in the same vein and digging themselves deeper into the same hole. So they lost their loyal listeners and gained no new ones. If you ever heard the Joe & Keith breakfast show, you'd know exactly what I'm talking about.

Only an occasional listener to be honest.

The 'forced hipsterism' vibe did not really mix with my 'young fogie' vibe.

FledNanders · 26-03-2014 6:18pm

This 105.2 semi-ghost station seems awfully weird and unsettling. No interaction with listeners, presenters only in for certain periods yet they still have news (the odd time) and ads. It's like being in radio purgatory.

Also, the playlist seems to only have about 20 songs on it - mostly Muse and LCD Soundsystem.

26-03-2014 8:44pm

FledNanders wrote: »

This 105.2 semi-ghost station seems awfully weird and unsettling. No interaction with listeners, presenters only in for certain periods yet they still have news (the odd time) and ads. It's like being in radio purgatory.

Also, the playlist seems to only have about 20 songs on it - mostly Muse and LCD Soundsystem.

We only have to wait until Monday morning.

https://twitter.com/TXFMDublin

L1011 · 27-03-2014 3:26pm

That logo looks terrible. Well, I suppose there is no budget, but still...

loveisdivine · 27-03-2014 4:12pm

Anyone else having trouble with the live player on the pantom website? It was working on Tuesday, but nothing yesterday and today.

former legend · 27-03-2014 4:45pm

loveisdivine wrote: »

Anyone else having trouble with the live player on the pantom website? It was working on Tuesday, but nothing yesterday and today.

Stream is gone from TuneIn radio app too.

Phantom FM no more

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