Was Ray Foley Leaving TodayFM A Good Move?

ImZara

Discuss?

jkell061

I can't comment in terms of his new show on 98fm because I haven't heard it yet but I've heard his replacements a few times on today fm and they're absolute sickners!! Then comes Tony fenton, hate that guy

ImZara

jkell061 wrote: »

I can't comment in terms of his new show on 98fm because I haven't heard it yet but I've heard his replacements a few times on today fm and they're absolute sickners!! Then comes Tony fenton, hate that guy

I have to agree. I don't see the appeal with Foleys replacements. I'm trying to judge it as a stand alone show & not draw comparisons too much.
As a show "on it's own" it's all trying a little too hard.

jkell061

Yeh on its own they're trying too hard.

And in comparison they're trying too hard to act like who they're replacing.

That second part could be wrng but that's the impression I got the couple times I heard them

ImZara

jkell061 wrote: »

Yeh on its own they're trying too hard.

And in comparison they're trying too hard to act like who they're replacing.

That second part could be wrng but that's the impression I got the couple times I heard them

I 100% agree with you.

I wonder if Foley listens to the show :rolleyes:

wnolan1992

I think it was a positive move for Foley. He's spoken on the podcast about how, as much as they loved working at Today FM, they were kind of stagnating. This gives them the opportunity to try something new, and early impressions are that they fit the Breakfast show format very well indeed.

It's too early to tell how it will work out for 98FM. Foley has a very loyal fan-base, but unfortunately they are scattered throughout the country, and his JNLR figures were never impressive in Dublin. Personally, I think he should mop up listeners in Dublin now, having listened to the alternatives and not being too impressed.

I think it's also a positive move for Today FM. Foley had more or less peaked in the lunchtime slot. He's a great DJ, but he's far too divisive. In KC, they have a top notch replacement, who is improving weekly on lunchtimes. Slowly but surely he's taking over that slot, and I think he has the potential to be a real ratings winner, bringing back in those who loathed Foley, and keeping enough of Foley's old listenership to be successful.

Further to that, for Today FM, they get to see how Foley handles handles a breakfast show. They'll know within a year or two whether or not they have a ready replacement if Ian Dempsey decides to retire.


My one reservation is that Foley, who can be egotistical, may get frustrated with his listenership figures early on, but if he can overcome that, I think he'll be alright.

WaltKowalski

I miss the bit of fun for my lunch time but I love KC.
The shows are very different and shouldn't be compared.

ImZara

WaltKowalski wrote: »

I miss the bit of fun for my lunch time but I love KC.
The shows are very different and shouldn't be compared.

One cant help but compare, Foley was replaced with KC it's only fitting that we compare (i think).

Jason Todd

ImZara wrote: »

One cant help but compare, Foley was replaced with KC it's only fitting that we compare (i think).

Have you read the Ray Foley Thread from when he moved? You'll get a better picture of how people feel about the move.

Bard

wnolan1992 wrote: »

My one reservation is that Foley, who can be egotistical, may get frustrated with his listenership figures early on, but if he can overcome that, I think he'll be alright.

I think his 'egotistical' side is all for show really and is only part of his on-air persona. He's a really nice guy off-air/in person.

98FM are now the 5th most listened to station (3rd most listened to local station) in Dublin url=http://www.ilevel.ie/media-blog/radio/102438-jnlr-2012-4-dublin-radio-listenership]source[/url so lower listener figures will be a potential issue for him, yes - although he's really building from scratch here, following on from Aidan and Claire. I wouldn't say he'd be paying much (or any) attention to the new JNLR book (from yesterday) and will be waiting for the next one (end of April/beginning of May) to get a real picture of how he's doing there.

wnolan1992

Bard wrote: »

I think his 'egotistical' side is all for show really and is only part of his on-air persona. He's a really nice guy off-air/in person.

Oh yeah I completely agree, a lot of it's for show. But particularly on the podcasts when they get negative iTunes reviews or an email from someone complaining about an aspect of the show, Foley does seem to get genuinely pissed off.

soc160

wnolan1992 wrote: »

It's too early to tell how it will work out for 98FM. Foley has a very loyal fan-base, but unfortunately they are scattered throughout the country, and his JNLR figures were never impressive in Dublin. Personally, I think he should mop up listeners in Dublin now, having listened to the alternatives and not being too impressed.

I think that's a bit of a rash thing to say. Just because you are not impressed with him doesn't mean he is going to win the ratings war. FM104 had 101,000 listeners in the morning, compared to 50,000 for 98FM. So he is already in a bad starting position. We can't just disregard Newstalk, Today Fm or RTE who also eat up a chunk of the breakfast market. If he manages to overturn FM104 and get to 80,000 or so listeners it will be some feat but it's going to take something special, not just 98 getting better but 104 geting worse and considering they improve each quarter is not likely in the near future.

Ken.

Best thing that ever happened. Can't get 98fm in Newbridge so no chance of hearing the useless pr!ck

stop animal cruelty

always loved KC, Foleys bit of a gobsh*te

NIMAN

It was for me, I don't have to listen to the torture now.

gavindowd

Keep to the thread guys...

The JNLR book that just came out is of no relevance to Foley.

The next one will give an idea of his figures, leave it a year and we'll know where he stands.

LeakyGee

ImZara wrote: »

One cant help but compare, Foley was replaced with KC it's only fitting that we compare (i think).

I don't think it's 'fitting to compare'

Foley and KC are very close mates but are very different presenters.

When KC took over people were expecting the Foley show to continue with a different presenter, this would have being one of the worst things KC could have done.

It's taken a few months for the dust to settle on Today FM, but if you compare when KC took over to the show now - it's totally different. Very relaxed, likeable and engaging. It's only getting better week by week. I think he comes from the school of doing the simple stuff really well and not lingering on links.Their listener engagement bits are really clever. Ann Gleeson is coming back to the show (according to other posts) maybe that will make it sound more familiar to people.

Foley's show on 98FM is up against it,but ... at one point the Strawberry alarm clock was being hammered by 98fm ( Pat & Elaine days) then Colm & Jim found a formula stuck to it & it worked. Foley need's more room to be a maverick, more space for banter but breakfast clocks won't allow this (room to put stuff is limited)

The show's success will be largley down to how much marketing and promo 98fm put into it.

Remember: Not alot of people know what 98FM is about. Yeah, it plays music but "Who's on breakfast now - What are they called? are they Dublins 98 or 98FM ? They used to have a blue coloured logo... but now it's red ? or is that Q102 i'm thinking of" ??? These are some questions people might ask about the station because of the amount of times they messed with the brand & not to mention the amount of schedule changes.

Breakfast shows take 5 years to build - then when you build it you have to stick with it. This is where I think 98FM will find themselves in trouble.I'd imagine Foley is not going be on that show for 10 years which is the commitment you need to make it work.


Back to the question : Was it a good move? Yes it was. He had taken afternoons as far as he could.

Jason Todd

^^^ Great post.

soc160

Maybe 98FM should head back down that Dublins 98 route....that awful awful route...

http://techtv101.com/WPTechtv101/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Dublins98logo.jpg