150KTubs - future career in Virgin Radio and other soulful pursuits **Mod: Read OP**

Ash.J.Williams

Another rt fan thread closed 😂😂 crazy bunch 😂😂

yagan

Any thoughts on how long he'll last in the gig?

I won't be surprised if he's gone by the months end. The Paddy Power deal might be funding his position for now, but it's of little use to overall advertising revenue if his current Ireland focused show has the main British listeners tuning out.

When I lived in England I simply listened to Irish channels via the internet, so there's no unfulfilled demand to be mined.

alzer100

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575184#Comment_121575184

It may take some time until Virgin Radio receives accurate data on listenership figures. The thinking behind the Q102 simulcast is that at worst case scenario if his show bombs in the UK it will continue in Dublin.

NIMAN

Gone so soon?

Not a chance.

alzer100

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575016#Comment_121575016

Star Trek: Shields are down Captain and we now just running on impulse.

yagan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575223#Comment_121575223

All it takes is another well known Brit celeb type with an existing brand to build on and tubs will be gone.

If he was retained to just broadcast to Irish listeners then they'd have to drastically cut the current wage to match the market.

Remember, he's on a 10th of his 2011 salary broadcasting to a country 10x the population of Ireland.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575213#Comment_121575213

It will be interesting to see if it goes the other way, where Q102 see audience drop and decide to quite drop the show.

Radio research is slow, unless he burns out, the show willl be on the air for the next year, IMO.

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121574988#Comment_121574988

Haven’t seen anything yet- just did a quick look there - the telegraph have a dedicated section to radio reviews but nothing yet

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/reviews/

Guardian is even more quiet in terms of recent radio review articles

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/radio

I’m wondering would the show even feature? Being 3 hours long and morning time slot id imagine some news outlet will review it over the coming month or so

Pintman Paddy Losty

With the contacts Noel Kelly has I'd imagine we will be seeing reviews as well as stories appearing in the British red tops. Probably a few stories of Ryan and Bonk painting the town red in London. Or maybe a dinner date in The Berkeley with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle when they next visit.

FattyBolger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575294#Comment_121575294

I wouldn’t have thought Ryan Tubridy was on over 1million euros a year in 2011.

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575441#Comment_121575441

€723,000 But who knows if this is the true amount. Did he also have a car allowance? Use of a car?

yagan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575466#Comment_121575466

We still don't know what his current salary is, it could well be less than a tenth of that €723k.

I feel a bit numb thinking back on 2011 as that's when we had to emigrate for work and that lad was on that wedge, for what?

tobefrank321

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575184#Comment_121575184

Hopefully he lasts a long time and the Brits love him and want him forever. I really don't understand why Irish people would want him to fail over there and return here?

Regards his salary, we may never know what it is, as unlike in RTE, they don't have to publish the salaries. So far its just speculation. I doubt its in the 80k bracket though. After tax he'd be lucky to clear 4.5k a month, which is peanuts for the lifestyle he's accustomed to and he'd probably be making a loss, with the cost of renting and living in London. At a guess, its well over 100k, possibly 150k.

FattyBolger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575552#Comment_121575552

Yeah I definitely doubt he’s on anything less than 100k.

Loafing Oaf

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575341#Comment_121575341

Best bet might be 'London' papers like the Evening Standard and the Metro. Although I doubt they devote much space to 'media reviews'...

alzer100

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575334#Comment_121575334

I would think it's going to take the best part of a year before they have the right data for both Virgin Radio and Q102. If it bombs in Dublin and is successful in the UK? I'm sure Virgin will keep him on.

yagan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575670#Comment_121575670

Who's doing who the favour?

He's desperate and virgin radio get a disc jockey time filler without having to invest a penny in him with paddy power covering the cost.

A lot of favours were called in to get this gig, and there was a real belief in him they'd have had him seated months ago.

The whole gig reeks of desperation, but I can imagine his agent flogg his pony to the last drop, why wouldn't he, who would want that agent?

RoTelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575747#Comment_121575747

While I agree ... I am just not sure ... I'd say he's on over 100k ... I know Virgin Radio is a small time station in the UK it still is a national service and your presenters would command high earnings... also he is now free of people know what he is on ... if he's on £1m fair play to him.

alzer100

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575552#Comment_121575552

Apparently he has moved into a small flat in St John's Wood, his take over presenter Jayne Middlemiss commented on this the other day and said they were neighbours and that he is living just down the road from her. It's quite possible that Virgin could have a deal for their presenters in terms of accommodation. Property is definitely not cheap in that area but I still believe starting off with Virgin that he is earning less than 100K sterling.

EmmetSpiceland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575723#Comment_121575723

But, sure, if Virgin radio is some minnow outlier in the UK radio market it would be a bit weird anyone doing a story on them.

Morgans

Noel and Niamh will soon sort that out.

Oscar_Madison

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575829#Comment_121575829

It’s still relatively very small money whether it’s 80k 100k or even 200k

You have to start somewhere I guess if you want to dent this market- I think his age will go against him eventually though - there’s nothing “marketable” about him- he doesn’t really come with any bells or whistles that would attract a major audience - 3 hours a day 5 days a week and a weekend show won’t necessarily bring him much closer to “breaking” into the UK market - he may or may not maintain a healthy audience where he is right now but can’t help thinking if he left in a year, would anyone really notice given the format of the show? It’s not a show that particularly shines a light on the host - everything- the host the adds the music is all just background noise

yagan

Plus for virgin they also they took him with a risk that Ryan's partygate style backhanders might get dragged up at any time.

If he were someone who already had a UK profile there could be a redemption angle to play with, but the fact he's in London because no one in Ireland would touch him makes him extremely expendable and I would not be surprised if there was hallo money going to the radio station.

The whole point of getting back on air anywhere is to get him back to Ireland. If he planned a UK career he wouldn't have spent as much of his air time on Ireland.

His agent might spam UK press to raise the profile, but what good will that do when he's not playing to a UK audience.

The investment is this London gig is to get him back to Ireland, this last week confirmed it.

FattyBolger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575829#Comment_121575829

Yeah maybe he’s sharing a room in a hostel with Chris Evans and Mr Blobby.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575888#Comment_121575888

Exactly, he could well have taken the gig to keep himself in the limelight with the eye on the prize - a cushy gig back in Ireland.

The money being paid by VM isn't going to match that, he didn't take the gig for the money but because it was a gig. So his salary could well be the reported low figure of under 100k.

GSF

Wonder if he’s going to be impacted by next weeks Tube strike.

TAFKAlawhec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575855#Comment_121575855

First off, I don't have any particular skin in the "Tubridy game" - I've never really ever listened to him, but if he does well with where he is now then good luck to him.

Now, the problem is that while the Virgin Radio station is perhaps the No. 2 station behind Talk Sport in the Wireless Group's list of flagships, the Wireless Group itself is third place in what is oft described as a two horse race in commercial radio in the UK between Bauer & Global. It's also the case that Virgin is hampered by the DAB ensemble it's on, with only ~70% UK population coverage added by being on a few local ensembles that the national one doesn't cover. As much as they might try to otherwise imply (even with having Chris Evans & Graham Norton) the station doesn't have the same national awareness or profile as the likes of Capital, Kiss, Greatest Hits, Absolute etc. or even Smooth. As I see it, Turbidy is starting from around the lower middle third of the UK radio presenter ladder and given his dealing that saw him leave RTÉ under a cloud, it was probably the best he could get in the UK under the circumstances - TalkSport would have seen him land very well feet first in the UK radio market but Turbidy doesn't strike me as a presenter that can lead (mostly) soccer shows and I think he knows that himself, so is happy with the Virgin gig in the meantime. I suspect that Classic FM, Smooth or Magic would have been more suited to him, but he's now having to climb the ladder in the UK now & maybe if things work out well for him on Virgin, that could increase his chances of getting good employment with the big two in the future.

Bobson Dugnutt

Doubt he moved over to London for less than 120k a year. Like it’s extremely easy make north of 150k in Dublin if you’ve your head screwed on right. Probably on some sort of bonus structure as well. The idea he is paying them is complete nonsense. Pie in the sky stuff.

Hyperbollix

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121575888#Comment_121575888

"The whole point of getting back on air anywhere is to get him back to Ireland. If he planned a UK career he wouldn't have spent as much of his air time on Ireland."

That's my thinking as well. We'll never fully know how the numbers are stacking up here or what Virgin are actually spending vs making but you'd have to think NK knows Tubs has a short window here to appear on a "major" UK radio station beside noted luminaries like Evans and Norton. The idea is surely to make the deal as palatable as possible for Virgin and try to retain SOME of Evan's morning audience. If Tubs can effectively run an Irish radio station focused on an Irish audience for a certain period of time, the name of the game is to then return home triumphant and command some kind of very respectable salary back in Irish radio. Preferably RTE of course.

The major problem I see with that plan is timing. Surely, he would need to put in a stint of at least a year in London before making noises about missing home comforts. Anything less would seem a failure. But if audience figures have any importance to Virgin here, I really can't see him being given anything like a year in this post. That's no comment on Tubs ability or lack thereof, the English audience will simply tire of the Irish blarney in short order. As many others have said, Irishness was one string among many, on the likes of Terry Wogan's bow. Like many successful emigrants to the UK, my own elderly family members among them, Wogan was more english than the english themselves but with an exotic flavour of Ireland which was like catnip to the British listenership. Tubs possesses none of that allure. So I can't see it working out long enough for him to see out his and Noel's cunning plan to fruition!

yagan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121576040#Comment_121576040

Look at the situation, no one touching him in Ireland, no sponsors jumped behind his home studio broadcasts, he's been off air for since May I think, all because his brand is a smoking pile of hubris.

The last week was not a fresh start, it was him attempting to continue his rte persona because he has no personal gravitas.

He made zero attempt to adjust his rapid speaking rate to adjust to an unfamiliar audience, that tells me that Virgin aren't investing in him. For them his hiring is not a coup.

They actually called him "the king of the mid-mornings" in Alan Partridge style. At best he's a seat filler and I bet with the cloud he left Ireland under they have him on a month by month contract.