Today FM Megathread Mod warning post #1 / #1401

johnire

Very well put...I agree totally with everything you've said.

wnolan1992 wrote: »

Guys, seriously, just look at Ian and Matt's figures. They're consistently down over the past few years. They're also becoming increasingly at odds with the rest of the schedule. It's like your Dad presenting Breakfast, your Uncle presenting Drive and then the college kids presenting everywhere else. This is exactly what ultimately crippled 2FM, no consistency.

I like Ian and Matt. I do. I'm not saying they'll go tomorrow morning, but I think the people on this thread are going to have to realise that, more than likely, their time in those slots is coming to an end. I could easily see Iano moving to weekend breakfast or a Sunday afternoon slot, or Matt taking over talk show on a Sunday morning.

pjohnson

"Youthful" does not mean good.....

heybaby

wnolan1992 wrote: »

Guys, seriously, just look at Ian and Matt's figures. They're consistently down over the past few years. They're also becoming increasingly at odds with the rest of the schedule. It's like your Dad presenting Breakfast, your Uncle presenting Drive and then the college kids presenting everywhere else. This is exactly what ultimately crippled 2FM, no consistency.

I like Ian and Matt. I do. I'm not saying they'll go tomorrow morning, but I think the people on this thread are going to have to realise that, more than likely, their time in those slots is coming to an end. I could easily see Iano moving to weekend breakfast or a Sunday afternoon slot, or Matt taking over talk show on a Sunday morning.

I'd absolutely agree that Dempsey and Cooper jar completely with the rest of the youth schedule now on Today Fm, but the station has dropped listeners all across the 7-7 schedule in recent years, not just during breakfast and drive.

My guess is they must have a certain proportion of news / current affairs / talk content so the Last word fulfils that requirement.

Getting rid of both would make sense if you're looking for younger listeners BUT why would Today Fm want younger listeners? 2FM started to go down that route four years ago when Dan Healy came on board and flooded the station with former iradio staff and a youth oriented play list and imaging , it's been an unmitigated disaster. 2FM should have attempted to appeal to the young listener a decade sooner, so for Today FM to attempt it in 2017 when young listeners are leaving radio in their droves is daft.

The likelihood if Dempsey and Cooper left is that both breakfast and drive would lose even more listeners because you can't replace experienced pros and not suffer some loss. Today Fm should instead focus on the 25-45 demographic because at least that age group recognise and value good radio and are more loyal, courting the kids is a race to the bottom.

gimmick

MrMac84 wrote: »

Al Porter! Instant channel changer for me

Was at a family affair the other day with a good few in their early 20s. They love Al Porters show. I think a few even said they find Darcy to be good too.

colinod0806

pjohnson wrote: »

"Youthful" does not mean good.....

It doesn't mean bad either.

wnolan1992

heybaby wrote: »

I'd absolutely agree that Dempsey and Cooper jar completely with the rest of the youth schedule now on Today Fm, but the station has dropped listeners all across the 7-7 schedule in recent years, not just during breakfast and drive.

My guess is they must have a certain proportion of news / current affairs / talk content so the Last word fulfils that requirement.

Getting rid of both would make sense if you're looking for younger listeners BUT why would Today Fm want younger listeners? 2FM started to go down that route four years ago when Dan Healy came on board and flooded the station with former iradio staff and a youth oriented play list and imaging , it's been an unmitigated disaster. 2FM should have attempted to appeal to the young listener a decade sooner, so for Today FM to attempt it in 2017 when young listeners are leaving radio in their droves is daft.

The likelihood if Dempsey and Cooper left is that both breakfast and drive would lose even more listeners because you can't replace experienced pros and not suffer some loss. Today Fm should instead focus on the 25-45 demographic because at least that age group recognise and value good radio and are more loyal, courting the kids is a race to the bottom.

I'd agree with everything you said here. However, if you look at the recent JNLRs, Dempsey and Cooper are declining. Dempsey took a big hit in the last book IIRC. The argument for keeping them on board last year was they were the stable ones that were boosting all the other shows around them. But they're not stable anymore.

I would argue, the longer the jarring effect between the youth oriented 9-4:30 schedule and the drivetime shows shows remains, the harder it's going to be to build an audience. Essentially, they're half-arsing a revamp now, and not pleasing anyone. The Dempsey listeners most likely won't want to listen to Porter and D'Arcy, the Porter and D'Arcy listeners most likely won't want to listen to The Last Word.

Like, to take the 2FM example. I argued many a time that 2FM needed to just wholesale change their schedule. Instead, they did it in dribs and drabs, leaving people like Colm Hayes on lunchtime and drivetime for far too long, alienating huge parts of their audiences. Now that the full schedule has been redone, there are signs of improvement. Granted, minor signs, but they seemed to have bottomed out and could potentially grow from here. As you say, if they'd done that 10 years ago who know where they'd be now.

If they were to get rid of Cooper and bring in someone like Gavan Reilly, and get rid of Dempsey and bring in someone to launch a new, fresh breakfast show, it might just be the injection of life the station needs IMO. They'd take losses short term definitely, the backlash from long-term listeners would be pretty vicious. But just like the backlash after Anton left, give it 6 months, people will move on and if the new presenters are good enough, they'll win back people.


And look, take all of that with a massive pinch of salt. I don't know the demographics Porter and D'Arcy get versus Dempsey and Cooper. I'm going off my own perception of them.

The Parish Priest.

I would suggest Una Mullally as the new presenter of the last word, her ability to rub people up the wrong way would make the show "talked about" again like the Dunphy days

heybaby

wnolan1992 wrote: »

I'd agree with everything you said here. However, if you look at the recent JNLRs, Dempsey and Cooper are declining. Dempsey took a big hit in the last book IIRC. The argument for keeping them on board last year was they were the stable ones that were boosting all the other shows around them. But they're not stable anymore.

I would argue, the longer the jarring effect between the youth oriented 9-4:30 schedule and the drivetime shows shows remains, the harder it's going to be to build an audience. Essentially, they're half-arsing a revamp now, and not pleasing anyone. The Dempsey listeners most likely won't want to listen to Porter and D'Arcy, the Porter and D'Arcy listeners most likely won't want to listen to The Last Word.

Like, to take the 2FM example. I argued many a time that 2FM needed to just wholesale change their schedule. Instead, they did it in dribs and drabs, leaving people like Colm Hayes on lunchtime and drivetime for far too long, alienating huge parts of their audiences. Now that the full schedule has been redone, there are signs of improvement. Granted, minor signs, but they seemed to have bottomed out and could potentially grow from here. As you say, if they'd done that 10 years ago who know where they'd be now.

If they were to get rid of Cooper and bring in someone like Gavan Reilly, and get rid of Dempsey and bring in someone to launch a new, fresh breakfast show, it might just be the injection of life the station needs IMO. They'd take losses short term definitely, the backlash from long-term listeners would be pretty vicious. But just like the backlash after Anton left, give it 6 months, people will move on and if the new presenters are good enough, they'll win back people.


And look, take all of that with a massive pinch of salt. I don't know the demographics Porter and D'Arcy get versus Dempsey and Cooper. I'm going off my own perception of them.

I'd certainly agree with Gavan Reilly being a very natural successor to Cooper. Yes if you are going to make schedule changes they all need to be done simultaneously, but I'd contend that the heady days where Today FM enjoyed 180k on breakfast and above 150k for lunch and drive are gone for good. No matter who is on the schedule I think the numbers will continue to fall especially if the intent is to chase the younger listeners. The question is whether the pace of decline in numbers would be slower by replacing dempsey and Cooper?

2fm might have bottomed out in places across the schedule but that would have to be qualified by an admission that 2fm are largely irrelevant especially when you consider they are a national station and their desired audience. They simply came to the party too late and at this stage if they simply maintain their audience it would be miraculous stuff.

For Today Fm to emulate 2fm on a lower budget and at a time dominated by YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, deezer is pure folly. Radio is changing right before our ears.

The Parish Priest.

The Parish Priest. wrote: »

I would suggest Una Mullally as the new presenter of the last word, her ability to rub people up the wrong way would make the show "talked about" again like the Dunphy days

Ya everyday of I hate men, why is there no women involved in or headlining this event, im oppressed over trivial issues or is the word mankind sexist....and Louise o Neill a regular panellist on "rape culture"

pjohnson

Esme Faithful Locomotive wrote: »

Ya everyday of I hate men, why is there no women involved in or headlining this event, im oppressed over trivial issues or is the word mankind sexist....and Louise o Neill a regular panellist on "rape culture"

Theres an audience for that stuff.

everlast75

Heard PMcS this morning on what was ages ago AM Kelly slot. She wasn't half as bad as I thought she'd be having heard how much you all like her

whatlliwear

everlast75 wrote: »

Heard PMcS this morning on what was ages ago AM Kelly slot. She wasn't half as bad as I thought she'd be having heard how much you all like her

I'd prefer her to Muireann. I must say I have enjoyed Kelly Ann Byrne anytime she's on air.

zoobizoo

If foley hasn't burnt his bridges with Today fm, it wouldn't be a bad option to have him and muirean take over from iano

The Parish Priest.

zoobizoo wrote: »

If foley hasn't burnt his bridges with Today fm, it wouldn't be a bad option to have him and muirean take over from iano

Errr have you been living under a rock ? There is as much chance of Gerry Ryan returning to 2fm as there is of Foley returning to today fm

I like D&D a fair bit, but I tune out pretty much instantly when they start doing tired old voices pretending they're someone else. Impressions etc. i dont mind but this thing of spending an extended time pretending to be someone and re-using the same catchphrase every 3 seconds is just grating.


I don't mind Al Porter too much, but he does always seem to be scrambling for info/paper/names etc. so comes off as a very unprepared person (maybe thats a gimmick or such he has? but it seems very amateur for a national station). I do find some of his lines funny though (dunno what day it was this week he was giving out that the other shows are giving away loads of money and all he has is a 'party pack and tickets to my own stand up show' and started joking about how he was told he'd be the big new star if he signed with Today FM etc. so i do find him funny in general).

I find Fergal D'arcy to be very funny at times. More often than not I think he's pretty good and i'd listen to him. Very rarely would I turn him off.


Paula Mac Sweeney? Is she the baby obsessed Canadian? I find her to be absolutely dire. Single worst presenter I've ever heard.


I still miss Anton

colinod0806

Also Muireann isn't very good, so there's that.

Trebor176

Deleted User wrote: »

I like D&D a fair bit, but I tune out pretty much instantly when they start doing tired old voices pretending they're someone else. Impressions etc. i dont mind but this thing of spending an extended time pretending to be someone and re-using the same catchphrase every 3 seconds is just grating.


I don't mind Al Porter too much, but he does always seem to be scrambling for info/paper/names etc. so comes off as a very unprepared person (maybe thats a gimmick or such he has? but it seems very amateur for a national station). I do find some of his lines funny though (dunno what day it was this week he was giving out that the other shows are giving away loads of money and all he has is a 'party pack and tickets to my own stand up show' and started joking about how he was told he'd be the big new star if he signed with Today FM etc. so i do find him funny in general).

I find Fergal D'arcy to be very funny at times. More often than not I think he's pretty good and i'd listen to him. Very rarely would I turn him off.


Paula Mac Sweeney? Is she the baby obsessed Canadian? I find her to be absolutely dire. Single worst presenter I've ever heard.


I still miss Anton

The baby obsessed one is Alison Curtis, normally heard on a weekend, and rarely any other time. Paula is on 5-7am on weekdays.

From 9am in work, I like D&D, can't take to Al at all, and Fergal is grand. I do like Muireann, being honest. Though, is it me, or has she had some technical issues? I've noticed some dead air the odd time when she's been filling in, as in maybe a track isn't lined up or whatever.

I do miss the earlier days of Today FM, but I tuned in more on weekends, when possible, due to the likes of Friday Night 90s, Saturday Hits, and now The Beat Goes On. Ray D'Arcy was great in the earlier days, then we had the late, great Tony Fenton, etc. The music was diverse and great, and was aimed at a bigger audience. Now, it's all changed.

Actually, speaking of the breakfast show, how do you think Shauna O'Reilly and Eoghan O'Doherty would suit the slot? I know Shauna works on the show, or did, so she'd be used to the early mornings. They worked very well on Friday Night 90s.

zoobizoo

The Parish Priest. wrote: »

Errr have you been living under a rock ? There is as much chance of Gerry Ryan returning to 2fm as there is of Foley returning to today fm

I know there were issues but with so many changes, and the two presenters doing a good job on the Six o'clock show on TV3, ya never know....

hufpc8w3adnk65

Pamela Blake was excellent this morning great music... Phil Cawley music has been good aswell to be fair

Ursus Horribilis

zoobizoo wrote: »

I know there were issues but with so many changes, and the two presenters doing a good job on the Six o'clock show on TV3, ya never know....

It's a thought.

An example which springs to mind is Marty Whelan. For anyone too young to remember, he was one of 2FM's biggest names. Then when Century Radio came along in 1989, he moved to that station. It was made clear at the time that if anyone dared to jump ship from RTE, there would be no coming back..

When management changes in organisations, you'd be surprised what could happen. As has already been mentioned here, 2FM attempted to lure Ian Dempsey back some years after he'd left the station under a cloud.

[Deleted User]

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I like D&D a fair bit, but I tune out pretty much instantly when they start doing tired old voices pretending they're someone else. Impressions etc. i dont mind but this thing of spending an extended time pretending to be someone and re-using the same catchphrase every 3 seconds is just grating.


I don't mind Al Porter too much, but he does always seem to be scrambling for info/paper/names etc. so comes off as a very unprepared person (maybe thats a gimmick or such he has? but it seems very amateur for a national station). I do find some of his lines funny though (dunno what day it was this week he was giving out that the other shows are giving away loads of money and all he has is a 'party pack and tickets to my own stand up show' and started joking about how he was told he'd be the big new star if he signed with Today FM etc. so i do find him funny in general).

I find Fergal D'arcy to be very funny at times. More often than not I think he's pretty good and i'd listen to him. Very rarely would I turn him off.


Paula Mac Sweeney? Is she the baby obsessed Canadian? I find her to be absolutely dire. Single worst presenter I've ever heard.


I still miss Anton

Paula is the loud annoying one who goes on about her fiance

SQ2

John Late Camera wrote:

Pamela Blake was excellent this morning great music... Phil Cawley music has been good aswell to be fair

Best story about herding cattle you'll have heard on the radio all day!

pjohnson

SQ2 wrote: »

Best story about herding cattle you'll have heard on the radio all day!

Did you miss Brian Kerr talking about catching mice in a lab after Premier League Live?

Owryan

Had the misfortune of listening to al porter during the week. God but it's tough. At one stage he was suggesting ww2 was down to the draft/conscription and without it things would've turned out better.

Bout all i listen to now is the last word and even that is a pain, esp the way they do the news. Matt seems to be taking the hysterical view on some topics even when common sense suggests otherwise.

The other day he was going on about the Apple money and how it could help the country even though he has previously challenged groups over saying just that.

Jobs OXO

Esme Faithful Locomotive wrote: »

Paula is the loud annoying one who goes on about her fiance

Yeah exactly. We know you're getting pummelled lass....no need to keep on about it

Buford T. Justice XIX

Owryan wrote: »

Had the misfortune of listening to al porter during the week. God but it's tough. At one stage he was suggesting ww2 was down to the draft/conscription and without it things would've turned out better.

Bout all i listen to now is the last word and even that is a pain, esp the way they do the news. Matt seems to be taking the hysterical view on some topics even when common sense suggests otherwise.

The other day he was going on about the Apple money and how it could help the country even though he has previously challenged groups over saying just that.

Looking at the bright side, though, negative equity seems to be a thing of the past so there's two or three hours a week available for other items these days:)

neris

Deleted User wrote: »

Paula Mac Sweeney? Is she the baby obsessed Canadian? I find her to be absolutely dire. Single worst presenter I've ever heard.

no thats alison curtis, a right pain in the hoop

AnthonyCny

Dermot and Dave discussing the French election.

They don't want to discuss and the new listeners don't want to hear about it.

_Brian

I hated Al Porter when he was appointed, I did wonder was it just that he wasn't Anton so after a few weeks of channel hopping I thought I'd stick it out land listen in.
Well I'm assured now that I really hate this guy. For me he has no attraction as a presenter at all, I hate his wit, it really is the lowest form of wit, comedy for idiots one of my friends described it as and I'm inclined to agree.

Dermot and Dave have settled well into their earlier slot and I like them. Ian and May are great and the rest of the line up is good, just that twat Al Porter

threein99

Just listened to Niamh Fitzpatrick on Neil Delamare talking about her sister who died when Rescue 116 crashed last month. Very tough listen, shes a strong strong woman.