4fm's licence should be Revoked

Mitch epitag

4fm was meant to be radio station for listeners aged 45+. 4fm got their licence by promising a wide range of music from the 1940s to present and high quaility speech programs. What we have ended up with is a mess of a station that plays the black eyed peas, jessie jay and kid rock just like every youth station on the FM band, and its speech programs are nothing but a place for trolls who couldn't get past the liveline researchers.

Jason Todd

Never heard of it. Is it an RTE station?

Declan A Walsh

Jason Todd wrote: »

Never heard of it. Is it an RTE station?

No : 4FM has a multi-city licence and has been broadcasting since February 2009. There are plenty of posts and threads on 4FM on this forum if you do a search or go back a few pages. They are also referred to in the thread about JNLR on this page or page 2.

The licence covers Dublin, Galway, Cork, Limerick and Co. Clare officially, but also seems to include Co. Kildare. The main frequency in Dublin is 94.9 and is also on 94.6 as you travel towards Kildare.

I hope you are not in their area of coverage, because, if you are, that might explain why they are not getting much listeners, especially in Dublin!

Its current presenters include amongst others Gareth O'Callaghan, Dave Harvey, Jim McCabe, Enda Murphy and Niall Boylan. There is a thread on this page or page 2 devoted to Niall Boylan's show if you have a look! Previous presenters included Jimmy Grealey, Brian McColl, Derek Davis and Tom McGuirk.... as well as the recently deceased Noel McCaul.

In Dublin in particular, the competition is pretty hectic for the over 45s with
Q102, Sunshine 106.8 and Radio Nova as well as the national stations.

Technocentral

Nothing beats BBC6 music imo, great presenters and choice of older and (just as importantly) new music for people with slightly non mainstream tastes, categorising radio stations (or anything else) rigidly by age is largely nonsensical though, what matters is your taste, I'm in my mid 40s and I love "Classic Hits" fodder like Sinatra, Pink Floyd, Paul Simon and Steely Dan but I also love Hot Chip, Grizzly Bear, Django Django and Lykie Li. The "classic hits" format of the likes of 4FM is a safe and stale format, peoples listening habits need to be challenged as much as reinforced, plus that David Harvey show is appalling tabloid thrash, in the gutter with the likes of Adrian Kennedy.

Infoanon

Mitch epitag wrote: »

4fm was meant to be radio station for listeners aged 45+. 4fm got their licence by promising a wide range of music from the 1940s to present and high quaility speech programs. What we have ended up with is a mess of a station that plays the black eyed peas, jessie jay and kid rock just like every youth station on the FM band, and its speech programs are nothing but a place for trolls who couldn't get past the liveline researchers.

and FM104 promised a daily soap opera.......

4FM licence will not be revoked - they will get a telling off if they start popping up in the younger audience survey figures a la Q102 a few years ago.

Travismccoy

Love their talk at night. Niall Boylan should be on national radio.

Oracle

This 4FM is for people over 40? ... I've never heard of it either. I mean I've heard the name but assumed it was yet another poptastic "yoof" station.

I don't listen to commercial/independent radio. I just can't take any more radio adverts than RTE already have on air. I (maybe wrongly) assume all the commercial stations will have even more.

More Music

Jason Todd wrote: »

Never heard of it. Is it an RTE station?

Strange post, are you sure you're not having a dig at them?

In the time it took you to log in here, post a comment and wait for a reply you could have just Googled it.

mike65

Jason is not having a pop, he like me lives in Waterford so has never heard it, and as its profile is lower than that of a sheet of paper its not that surprising its slipped his attention. He might have wondered if it was a DAB channel. which we also don't have (or do we now, I'm not that interested in it)

real rocker

Mitch epitag wrote: »

4fm was meant to be radio station for listeners aged 45+. 4fm got their licence by promising a wide range of music from the 1940s to present and high quaility speech programs. What we have ended up with is a mess of a station that plays the black eyed peas, jessie jay and kid rock just like every youth station on the FM band, and its speech programs are nothing but a place for trolls who couldn't get past the liveline researchers.

While the above is all true I would be certain that the BAI agreed all the amendments that have occured since 4FM launched. As another poster says competition is very strong in Dublin and I presume that all the changes are hoping that a formula to attract Dublin particularly will emerge at some stage.
It is disappointing that the range of music and promised quality talk no longer exist though.

donaghs

They're also aiming for the Irish radio "sweet spot". Best personified by 98FM/FM104s playlists.

I guess stricter guidelines are needed. And some means and the will to enforce them.

hufpc8w3adnk65

I think 4fm is a breath of fresh air in Cork!Gareth in the afternoon is brilliant radio!

TBP

The only station with talk shows (Dave Harvey & Niall Boylan @ Night) that cover the topics that every other station is afraid to touch.

4fm are a breath of fresh air when it comes to Irish radio.

chilloutrelax

TBP wrote: »

The only station with talk shows (Dave Harvey & Niall Boylan @ Night) that cover the topics that every other station is afraid to touch.

4fm are a breath of fresh air when it comes to Irish radio.

It's new and different for people outside Dublin... These "edgy" topics have been repeated at nauseum on most Dublin stations since the 90s. Certainly not a breath of fresh air.

Mitch epitag

Does the David Harvey show discuss any other topics except non nationals and the dole ?

TBP

Mitch epitag wrote: »

Does the David Harvey show discuss any other topics except non nationals and the dole ?

Like I said topics that no other station would touch because it wouldn't fit in with their or their presenters agenda's.

It's all down to what a listener is interested in though, some might like listening to or discussing topics like the ones mentioned above others might like to listen to 'fiver friday' and Brush Shiels and co singing and joking about Bertie Ahern and yesteryear.

L1011

TBP wrote: »

Like I said topics that no other station would touch because it wouldn't fit in with their or their presenters agenda's.

As another poster said, already done to death in the 1990s in Dublin. Its effectively like listening to Chris Barry on 98.

soc160

They keep growing as a station though. I don't think its fair for others to say what the listeners like, if the demographic who are listening are over 40 then I can't see the problem. BAI won't take the license away from a station who are pulling in a decent listenership.

Loafing Oaf

donaghs wrote: »

They're also aiming for the Irish radio "sweet spot". Best personified by 98FM/FM104s playlists.

I guess stricter guidelines are needed. And some means and the will to enforce them.

Fintan O'Toole said a few years ago the regulations are such a farce you might as well be honest and have a free for fall because that's effectively what's happening anyway.

TBP

MYOB wrote: »

As another poster said, already done to death in the 1990s in Dublin. Its effectively like listening to Chris Barry on 98.

And whats your point? Ireland isn't just Dublin. Them type talk shows are relatively new to many parts of Ireland and going by the fact 4FM is growing as a station appear to be popular enough. That Niall Boylan @ Night show seems to growing and getting more popular by the night.

woysworld

Mitch epitag wrote: »

Does the David Harvey show discuss any other topics except non nationals and the dole ?

You forgot the Travelers.... His "fav" Non national's to have a go @ seem to be the Nigerians with the Polish a VERY close second.....

L1011

TBP wrote: »

And whats your point? Ireland isn't just Dublin. Them type talk shows are relatively new to many parts of Ireland and going by the fact 4FM is growing as a station appear to be popular enough. That Niall Boylan @ Night show seems to growing and getting more popular by the night.

I would imagine the rest of the country would prefer not to be rehashing 15 year old ideas.

RoundyMooney

They've gone through a fair few incarnations at this point.

Harvey, and especially Niall Boylan are doing great in their respective shows-it's tabloid radio and doesn't pretend to be anything but, and it can be quite entertaining.

But, my beef is with their playlists. Wall to wall cheese. Mediocre stuff that was mediocre when Larry Gogan was playing it on vinyl. Stuff that met with moderate or little success in the Eighties and early Nineties.

Gareth O' Callaghan, nice and all as he is, is a prime case in point. The musical highlight of his show is when the office workers get to play a couple of tracks at the outset, and then it's back to the usual inane middle of the chart white noise. Even Tony Fenton, with his famously repetitive choices, has far better musical taste, if that's what you fancy in the afternoon, than what 4fm is serving up musically, most of the time.

Terence Trent D'arby was never cool, nor are most of the other songs they feature, which at one time we remembered to forget.

It is better at weekends, slightly. Especially in the evening slots.

TBP

MYOB wrote: »

I would imagine the rest of the country would prefer not to be rehashing 15 year old ideas.

They're growing in popularity with those talk shows around the rest of the country though so you're imagining wrong and out of interest what radio show is an original idea these days anyways?

hufpc8w3adnk65

RoundyMooney wrote: »

They've gone through a fair few incarnations at this point.

Harvey, and especially Niall Boylan are doing great in their respective shows-it's tabloid radio and doesn't pretend to be anything but, and it can be quite entertaining.

But, my beef is with their playlists. Wall to wall cheese. Mediocre stuff that was mediocre when Larry Gogan was playing it on vinyl. Stuff that met with moderate or little success in the Eighties and early Nineties.

Gareth O' Callaghan, nice and all as he is, is a prime case in point. The musical highlight of his show is when the office workers get to play a couple of tracks at the outset, and then it's back to the usual inane middle of the chart white noise. Even Tony Fenton, with his famously repetitive choices, has far better musical taste, if that's what you fancy in the afternoon, than what 4fm is serving up musically, most of the time.

Terence Trent D'arby was never cool, nor are most of the other songs they feature, which at one time we remembered to forget.

It is better at weekends, slightly. Especially in the evening slots.

I like Gareth but the one thing that really annoys me is how he makes out that he brought in a record with him that day cuz he forgot how great it sounded or something and its up next when its clear that the music is pre picked!

RoundyMooney

MrMac84 wrote: »

I like Gareth but the one thing that really annoys me is how he makes out that he brought in a record with him that day cuz he forgot how great it sounded or something and its up next when its clear that the music is pre picked!

Gareth's show sounds very...contrived, I suppose is the word I'm looking for. I get the impression he actually thoroughly enjoys the music he plays, which is either a vindication of his editorial control over the content, or his acting skill.

The canned applause is cringeworthy as well. G, it wasn't cool when Steve Wright was doing it before you did, and it isn't cool now!

MS_

4fm is now down market trash, the sun on the radio.