The Cork radio market

marno21

Anyone think the Cork radio market is extremely stale and in need of a shake up?

The current two stations targeting the younger scale of the market have pretty much identical playlists for new music and there is no Spin/Beat station in the city.

For all the stations in the city you would think there'd be market for a proper youth driven station

wnolan1992

marno21 wrote: »

Anyone think the Cork radio market is extremely stale and in need of a shake up?

The current two stations targeting the younger scale of the market have pretty much identical playlists for new music and there is no Spin/Beat station in the city.

For all the stations in the city you would think there'd be market for a proper youth driven station

RED seemed to serve that market pretty well a few years back when they had KC, Stevie G and Victor Barry, then KC moved to Today FM, Stevie moved on and Victor moved to mornings, and overnight RED morphed into a wannabe Today FM/C103/96 clone, "Oh look, we have a mid-morning chat show too! Aren't we so original?!".

I would agree with you though, very stale indeed.

Mr Sea Wolf

marno21 wrote: »

For all the stations in the city you would think there'd be market for a proper youth driven station

Red tried that for the first decade or so but never made a cent of profit.

AwaitYourReply

marno21 wrote: »

Anyone think the Cork radio market is extremely stale and in need of a shake up?

The current two stations targeting the younger scale of the market have pretty much identical playlists for new music and there is no Spin/Beat station in the city.

For all the stations in the city you would think there'd be market for a proper youth driven station

Definitely very stale, predictable and boring
In fact, ever since Radio South became Cork's 96FM way back in 1990, the station schedule has remained virtually the same with few exceptions. The Opinion Line would still have Neil Prendeville only for RedFm offering him better terms but you still have Ken Tobin, Rob Allen, Wayne Hilton, Steve Haze, Emmet Kennedy, Derry O'Callaghan and so on.

The standard of the main weekday morning talk shows on both 96FM and Redfm is average at best most of the time. There seems to be little or no serious research done by the on-air anchor presenters who seem to generalise or rely on everyone else's experience for the most part. The standard of local news and current affairs output from the former RTÉ Cork Local Radio is sadly missing in the country's second city but it was axed around 2001/2002 period probably to make way for RTÉ lyric fm which came out of the old FM3 Music opt-out!

I used enjoy 4FM but this too has completely dumbed down in recent years!

It will be interesting to see what will replace "The Right Hook" when George Hook retires next October! Will Communicorp move Matt Cooper's "The Last Word" from 100-102 Todayfm over to NewsTalk 106-108 as Cooper has been losing listeners while Hook has been gaining more & more! Both radio stations are based at Marconi House in Dublin and are owned by Denis O'Brien.

vince

Seems red made the correct move signing Niel hes interveiw whit Enda has been veiwed 121000 times in the last 30 hours as opposed to pj s on 96fm wnich is at 26000. The 2 seem to be making many vidio clips latly to promote themselves. I think redfm sounds better than any of the Dublin locals. Wow 141000 veiws of Niels vidio this sunday morning.

chilloutrelax

vince wrote: »

I think redfm sounds better than any of the Dublin locals.

Maybe some of them, not all.. By any stretch of the imagination.

Also, the Dublin and Cork markets are totally different, it's difficult to draw comparisons.

smallfridge

I find Red fm far superior now. People can say what they like but the numbers don't lie. And it's great that they are number 1 because it has shaken things up a bit.

With regard to morning talk shows, maybe it's because he's relatively new at red fm still but Neil prendeville is sounding better than he ever has. They've broken some great stories in recent months and got a PPI award to boot.

Should be interesting year ahead though seeing as 96 are no. 2 for the first ever

thejuggler

Interesting to see that the Chief Executive of 96FM is still claiming that the opinion line is Corks most listened to talk show source JNLR Jul-Dec 2015.

Not sure how he's working out that from the last book. He's fond of quoting combined figures for 96fm and C103 too

thejuggler

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

Definitely very stale, predictable and boring
In fact, ever since Radio South became Cork's 96FM way back in 1990, the station schedule has remained virtually the same with few exceptions. The Opinion Line would still have Neil Prendeville only for RedFm offering him better terms but you still have Ken Tobin, Rob Allen, Wayne Hilton, Steve Haze, Emmet Kennedy, Derry O'Callaghan and so on.

Y'ou're right for the most part although Steve Haze joined in 1999 and Emmet Kennedy about ten years ago (following Mike O'Sullivan's departure)
Joe Reilly (RIP) was the original presenter of oldies and Irish in the radio south days. I think Derry took over in the early 90s'.

Wayne used to do news and overnights in the 90s before moving into swing jock mode. He's only gotten his own weekday daytime show in the last 6 months.

vince

Red fm deserve their good fortune they seemed to be working hard and for me its never sounded better. Neil has worked hard and seems to be taking to doing outside stuff comps etc working hard to regain hes numbr one position in hes first year id say he only took a few days off. Seems to be taking normal breaks in year 2. Wonder how long before red get a traffic plane for breakfast traffic is this what is keeping nick richards No 1.

Mr Sea Wolf

vince wrote: »

Red fm deserve their good fortune they seemed to be working hard and for me its never sounded better. Neil has worked hard and seems to be taking to doing outside stuff comps etc working hard to regain hes numbr one position in hes first year id say he only took a few days off. Seems to be taking normal breaks in year 2. Wonder how long before red get a traffic plane for breakfast traffic is this what is keeping nick richards No 1.

Thing is tho, Red Fm are licensed by the bai to serve the youth market, Is Neil a youth presenter ? and what's with all the 80s music on a Sunday ?

AwaitYourReply

thejuggler wrote: »

Y'ou're right for the most part although Steve Haze joined in 1999 and Emmet Kennedy about ten years ago (following Mike O'Sullivan's departure)
Joe Reilly (RIP) was the original presenter of oldies and Irish in the radio south days. I think Derry took over in the early 90s'.

Wayne used to do news and overnights in the 90s before moving into swing jock mode. He's only gotten his own weekday daytime show in the last 6 months.

True - I think the late Joe Reilly had moved on in the early days of 96FM to Radio Kerry with the "Oldies 'n Irish" format for a few years before he passed away.

Incidentally, I think the late Geri McLoughlain was also at 96FM for a time possibly in the drive-time seat just before Steve Haze's arrival. I think Geri did various stints on RTÉ Radio Cork/Cork 89FM prior to it's demise, County Sound/C103 & Radio Kerry also in her radio broadcasting career.

Remember, Cork's BIG Breakfast with Mick Mulcahy featuring his popular wind-ups and don't forget Wayne Hilton used often deputise for Mick on the breakfast show in those days. Then you had Saturday early evenings with The Man Ezeke and his Jamaica laid-back style back around 2000-2003 period.

If memory serves me correct I think Derry O'Callaghan used work on one of the Cork pirate radio stations: either South Coast Radio or ERI although he probably used a different DJ name as most did in those days for obvious reasons.

Other Djs like Alan Jones (Cork's own Radio Caroline in the 1980's) is said to be Gerry Newman who has fronted CUH FM's Rhythm Driven Drivetime for a number of years! I also have fond memories of some hilarious late night chat from the likes of DJ "Romano" on "Central Radio" back around 1987! lol

AwaitYourReply

thejuggler wrote: »

Interesting to see that the Chief Executive of 96FM is still claiming that the opinion line is Corks most listened to talk show source JNLR Jul-Dec 2015.

Not sure how he's working out that from the last book. He's fond of quoting combined figures for 96fm and C103 too

You will always find that media organisations and their PR agencies try very hard to find some angle (no matter how narrow or obscure the claim is) when the latest audience/readership/listenership/viewership are published by the official body concerned in the latest JNLR/JNRS/Neilson-TAM ratings and so on. The media outlet in question must be able to stand behind their claim or they risk being publicly wrapped and embarrassed if their claims are unfounded or invalid based on the official figures verified and published independently.

Sky TV plc in the UK have often been accused of releasing figures for the organisation as a whole rather than giving a separate breakdown for Sky Ireland advertising opt-out channels.

marno21

Anyone know why Steve Haze was moved from drive to 7pm in recent months?

AwaitYourReply

marno21 wrote: »

Anyone know why Steve Haze was moved from drive to 7pm in recent months?

I've no idea - I was never a fan of the show to be honest

AwaitYourReply

Mr Sea Wolf wrote: »

Think is tho, Red Fm are licensed by the bai to serve the youth market, Is Neil a youth presenter ? and what's with all the 80s music on a Sunday ?

I suppose RTÉ 2FM Radio would have been guilty of the same crime when they claimed in past times to be chasing the youth market too with older/veteran age presenters such as: Larry Gogan, John Clarke (now gone) Dave Fanning, Colm Hayes, Rick O'Shea. Their solution was push them over to weekend broadcasting instead of weekdays! If the late Gerry Ryan had not passed away unexpectedly in 2010 he would still be presenting his daily show from 9am-12 noon on that station as well whether they were chasing a young or older audience segment in my view.

vince

Neil deals whit many youth issues and has many young contributors

end of the road

Mr Sea Wolf wrote: »

Thing is tho, Red Fm are licensed by the bai to serve the youth market, Is Neil a youth presenter ? and what's with all the 80s music on a Sunday ?

well, if they weren't making a proffit when they targeted the youth audience in full (which you stated earlier) then surely it makes sense to target a more broader audience?

Mr Sea Wolf

end of the road wrote: »

well, if they weren't making a proffit when they targeted the youth audience in full (which you stated earlier) then surely it makes sense to target a more broader audience?

It just goes to show what a farce that bai licencing system is. They give a station a licence to provide a service to a particular audience, yet there is never any consequences when a station decides they want to serve a different audience. why not just disband the bai and allow everyone broadcast on the FM band like in Italy ?

vince

Mr Sea Wolf wrote: »

It just goes to show what a farce that bai licencing system is. They give a station a licence to provide a service to a particular audience, yet there is never any consequences when a station decides they want to serve a different audience. why not just disband the bai and allow everyone broadcast on the FM band like in Italy ?

New jingle package on red fm

flangemeistro

vince wrote: »

New jingle package on red fm

It's absolutely horrendous, so amateur. It's like they've gone backward.
It's something I'd expect to hear on c103 or radio Kerry.
I keep waiting for the mart report or the local deaths to follow it.

smallfridge

flangemeistro wrote: »

It's absolutely horrendous, so amateur. It's like they've gone backward.
It's something I'd expect to hear on c103 or radio Kerry.
I keep waiting for the mart report or the local deaths to follow it.

I love the dig at C103 or radio Kerry you'd swear these were bad stations and that the mart report or local deaths as you call it weren't important. Those are huge money makers for any station. Havin said that I do take ur point and it isn't very Chr sounding.

vince

Yea not to impressed so far its s mix of old and new very strange. The news jingle sound as if its a childs synthesiser. If it aint broke dont fix it.

rogue-entity

Mr Sea Wolf wrote: »

Thing is tho, Red Fm are licensed by the bai to serve the youth market, Is Neil a youth presenter ? and what's with all the 80s music on a Sunday ?

One might be lead to think the BAI are fearful of a station closing by forcing them to stick to their original remit. Track record with 4FM and others kind of lends to this view.

Mr Sea Wolf wrote: »

It just goes to show what a farce that bai licensing system is. They give a station a licence to provide a service to a particular audience, yet there is never any consequences when a station decides they want to serve a different audience. why not just disband the bai and allow everyone broadcast on the FM band like in Italy ?

The BAI follow a very, creative, interpretation of the Broadcasting Act 2009 but there are more than a few vested interests that want the status quo to remain in place so don't expect this "farce" to change.
Be fortunate we're not quite as bad as the UK, although, getting a licence to broadcast there is far easier than it is here - unless you have political connections.

Look at how 4FM's licensing was done: Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Clare because of unavoidable overspill anyway and Galway. Waterford gets ignored completely. If Radio Nova ever goes "national" the same will happen.


Cork's radio market is less stale than the various places where you're stuck with RTE + TodayFM + (maybe) Newstalk + the ILR + the "youth" station. It's made better by the presence of DAB but in general the country's radio market is held to ransom by vested interests and an ineffective regulator.

marno21

The pirate Klub FM on 87.5 seems to get a good following judging by their Facebook page. Very good signal too, well receivable up the M8 as far as Mitchelstown.

It's a pity Cork doesn't have a well run Spin/Beat.

end of the road

marno21 wrote: »

The pirate Klub FM on 87.5 seems to get a good following judging by their Facebook page. Very good signal too, well receivable up the M8 as far as Mitchelstown.

It's a pity Cork doesn't have a well run Spin/Beat.

they don't broadcast online though i don't think, which is a shame. agree cork needs something targeting that market but it's not going to happen.

marno21

end of the road wrote: »

they don't broadcast online though i don't think, which is a shame. agree cork needs something targeting that market but it's not going to happen.

Could be worse - we could have networked rubbish like they do across the water.

end of the road

marno21 wrote: »

Could be worse - we could have networked rubbish like they do across the water.

oh jesus, absolutely.

radioguru02

Coming from a youth, I would vote klub any day before red and that. DHR is good as well if you're into that sort of thing. Pirate radio is doing the same thing again it was started for 50 year ago the way I see it, playing the music licenced stations won't play. Klub play music people want to hear but that the other stations won't play, plus throw in some underground. good, decent format. I'm so sick of other "youth" stations talking about nothing and laughing at themselves for money, and our own local station wlr fm in Waterford keeping everything positive and uplifting by telling everyone who's dead in a monosyllable and playing more ads than tv3. Can pick up klub 87.5 up here in the car with no rds and best thing on the dial.