Would anyone really care if 2FM closed?

Onthe3rdDay

It's an honest question, would anyone really care if 2FM closed. Obviously those that work there would be bothered and there might be some that would be looking at part of their youth closing down, but in real terms would anyone actually care?

Most people don't seem to listen to it, you never hear it on in shops, taxis, or Tractors (Down the country it was sometimes the only station you could pick up) Young people are listening to everything but 2FM

However, I might be mistaken, maybe there are loads out there that listen every day to the various shows. Speak up and let your voice be heard.

Honestly a decent amount of money could be saved if it were shut in the morning that could be put into other services that need the cash.

Cork_chick_94

Will Leahy fans would.

Fresh Pots

I wouldn't be against shutting it down, but it would have to be replaced by a good independent station.

mackerski

Larry Gogan.

tayto lover

Rubbish station.

panic2014

I think bauer from the uk or another company taking it over and off rtes hands..

Flippyfloppy

Not really, it takes up wayyy too much space on the tuner

Zeek12

Is Fanning still on 2FM? He was about the only thing keeping it going....but who cares anyway, they could find room for him elsewhere in RTE.

2FM is abysmal and has been for years. The problem is they don't have an audience anymore and haven't had for years.
Get rid, it won't be missed. Harsh but true.

pa990

i havent listed to 2fm in a long long time, bit remember, some ppl live in areas with a very limited choice of local radio, and shíte internet connection (no streaming)

so, for many 2fm is a welcome option.

tunein ftw

Harry Angstrom

2FM started going downhill when they stopped doing the Beat on the Street.....

westmidlands

It's car crash stuff really at the moment isnt it. A lot of discussion on boards about how poorly it's doing and I'd have to agree with most of it. I listen to BBC Radio 1 a lot and I always imagined 2fm as supposed to be our version of that, obviously it doesn't come anywhere near that. Seems like it's aiming at a totally different demographic but I'm not sure who that is. In my opinion RTE should be providing a youth service on FM like BBC Radio 1. I can't see why it's such a problem, get the music output right. A proper clearout of a most of 2fm's presenters (which would probably save a lot of money!!) and set the music policy right and I'm sure it would do way better.

wnolan1992

In its current form? No.

As a service? Yes.

IMO, the state broadcaster has a responsibility to provide a decent music driven station. Promoting Irish bands, catering to niche audiences which independent commercial stations wouldn't touch. It could be argued that this is already done with 2XM and the like, but these are online only and, frankly, the internet infrastructure in this country just isn't up to making that a viable option for a lot of people.

So yeah, if they're going to keep going down this route of a mid-morning talk show, a talk based drive time show, a talk based sports show and a talk based night time show, pull down the shutters and consign it to history. If there's anyone out there who'll have the stones to carry out a wholesale clearout of the dead wood that's in place, keep it open and try to rebuild.

Cork_chick_94

The thing is though 2fm does have a very "youth" playlist now but that has turned listeners off. 2fm is much more youth focused now than 8-10 years ago when it's daytime schedule was Ryan Tubridy. Gerry Ryan, Larry Gogan, Gareth O'Callaghan, Dave Fanning who all played whatever they wanted to play. I remember Ryan Tubridy always playing 50s music on the breakfast show but his breakfast show was one of 2fm's most successful shows of all time.

Harry Palmr

2FM needs to be either a cutting edge station (only new music) which alienates 80% of current listeners and 100% of hair dressing salons or become a BBC radio 2 clone and keep about half the listeners and most snippers.

Right now its nothing of anything.

Harry Angstrom

Cork_chick_94 wrote: »

The thing is though 2fm does have a very "youth" playlist now but that has turned listeners off. 2fm is much more youth focused now than 8-10 years ago when it's daytime schedule was Ryan Tubridy. Gerry Ryan, Larry Gogan, Gareth O'Callaghan, Dave Fanning who all played whatever they wanted to play. I remember Ryan Tubridy always playing 50s music on the breakfast show but his breakfast show was one of 2fm's most successful shows of all time.

When I were a lad, the only way I could listen to chart music was to put on Larry Gogan's 'Ireland's Top Thirty' and do my best to stick the radio as close to my tape recorder as I could, and hoping all the while that Larry wouldn't mess it up by talking all over the song before it ended. The yoof of today don't need the radio anymore, what with the interweb and their iPod yokes. BBC Radio 2 has consistently higher audience figures than BBC Radio 1, and Radio 1 is very much a yoof orientated station. It's the way of the world.

ghostdancer

Cork_chick_94 wrote: »

The thing is though 2fm does have a very "youth" playlist now but that has turned listeners off.

no it doesn't.
it has a middle-of-the-road pop music for casual music listeners playlist.
it caters for people in their 20s and 30s who have little interest in music but know a few Beyonce, Script and Ed Sheeran songs.

look at BBC Radio 1. it plays some of that stuff, but a lot more exciting, varied and up to the minute music. everything from downtempo critically acclaimed acts like London Grammar and FKA Twigs, to straight up house/techno acts like Ten Walls and George Fitzgerald.

that's before getting to the cutting-edge night time shows like Benji B, Skream, Zane Lowe and the Essential Mix, which leave 2FM looking laughably out of touch.

2FM plays safe, boring pop music, and is certainly far too conservative for what many 16-25 year olds are into at least.

obviously it doesn't help when you have dinosaurs like Tubridy and Colm Hayes when you're supposed to be trying to attract younger listeners...

Cork_chick_94

ghostdancer wrote: »

no it doesn't.
it has a middle-of-the-road pop music for casual music listeners playlist.
it caters for people in their 20s and 30s who have little interest in music but know a few Beyonce, Script and Ed Sheeran songs.

look at BBC Radio 1. it plays some of that stuff, but a lot more exciting, varied and up to the minute music. everything from downtempo critically acclaimed acts like London Grammar and FKA Twigs, to straight up house/techno acts like Ten Walls and George Fitzgerald.

that's before getting to the cutting-edge night time shows like Benji B, Skream, Zane Lowe and the Essential Mix, which leave 2FM looking laughably out of touch.

2FM plays safe, boring pop music, and is certainly far too conservative for what many 16-25 year olds are into at least.

obviously it doesn't help when you have dinosaurs like Tubridy and Colm Hayes when you're supposed to be trying to attract younger listeners...

Well i mean its playing the music as iradio, Spin. Beat.

marno21

2fm's playlist is too narrow. Only big chart hits and the problem with the Irish charts is that they are very limited compared to the UK, to name a few tracks from Oliver Heldens, Zhu, Kiesza, Bakermat, MK (Always Route 94 Remix), Wankelmut, SecondCity, Kove (from a dance point of view) have all charted well in the UK due to playlisting from BBC Radio 1 and the bigger youth stations. As previously mentioned, they have also been the first to playlist the single release of Walking with Elephants by Ten Walls which will likely contribute to a high chart position. In Ireland, there's no national station that playlists these kind of "indie-dance" tracks and therefore the regional stations take the "safe approach" and don't give them a chance (in most cases, Zhu has been given a full playlist spot by Beat, as has the new Kiesza track, whilst Oliver Heldens and SecondCity were playlisted by Spin South West). If 2fm were playlisting these tracks when & before they come out (they have started playing Gecko now but it's out quite a bit) it might help introduce more variety to the Irish charts (looks like the only dance #1 in Ireland this summer will be from David Guetta ).

2FM really really really also need to completely overhaul their dance lineup. It's beyond outdated, too "niche" and all over the place.

Compare BBC Radio 1's Friday lineup and 2FM's. BBC Radio 1's starts at 6pm with a dance anthems show playing all the biggest dance songs in the chart, followed by Annie Mac and Pete Tong leading into more specialist dance with Skream, the acclaimed Essential Mix, Annie Nightingale and Rob da Bank. 2fm's Friday begins at 6 with an hour of Colm Hayes, an hour of sport, a chart show (Sunday evening lads), an alternative show, Corsten's Countdown, which was recently dropped by it's home station Slam FM in Ferry Corsten's native Netherlands, W&W's show, which is the only broadly appealing show on the lineup, followed from 2-5am with niche dance.

On Saturday BBC Radio 1 concentrate on Urban Music whereas 2fm start at 10pm with niche stuff, has anyone got listener figures for it?

All over the place is the best word to desrcibe 2fm really.

twinklerunner

Cork_chick_94 wrote: »

Well i mean its playing the music as iradio, Spin. Beat.

That wouldn't be anything to boast about.

Fresh Pots

Would love if 2fm done a access all areas month with head cams like bbc radio 1! Can ya imagine!

wnolan1992

2FM's playlist is way more limited than SPIN's. If I listen to SPIN for an hour, I'm more than likely going to hear at least one track I've never heard before that's brand new. I could listen to 2FM for the entire 7am-7pm window and hear the same Top 40 stuff over and over again for months.

end of the road

panic2014 wrote: »

I think bauer from the uk or another company taking it over and off rtes hands..

no, no, no, no, just no, absolutely not.

zoobizoo

I'd only care in Radio1 closed or Newstalk closed .. the rest have nothing I couldn't live without as they are much the same as each other.