What will Bauer do with SPIN, iRadio, Red and Beat?

its_steve116

Could these five stations become one network sometime in the not-too-distant future?

chilloutrelax

I think about this also.
It makes business sense for both Spin stations, Beat and iRadio to share the same brand and network shows.

I think Red might be different as it more locally focused.

radiotrickster

I would presume by this time next year, they’ll all be the one station

L1011

If the proposed gambling legislation neuters/kills the cash cow competition, I suspect there'll be some offering of a single local show and local peak-time news/traffic but otherwise networked.

PixelCrafter

I'd be of the view they should lose the licences if they roll them into effectively one station. It's no longer the definition of either independent or local radio.

Pauliedragon

A lot of Cork people love Red FM. It would be silly to merge that station. It's completely different to those other stations.

Jim Herring

Is yer man Prenderville still on Red FM?

Pauliedragon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122993813#Comment_122993813

He sure is. I always have a chuckle when he talks about anything airline related.

Jim Herring

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122993819#Comment_122993819

I guess he avoids discussing onanism?

Pauliedragon

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122993824#Comment_122993824

He never seems to mention it funnily enough🤣

BENDYBINN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122993827#Comment_122993827

holyier than thou comes to mind

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122990329#Comment_122990329

I would think iRadio, Spin SW, Beat 102-103 would make sense to become a same brand, with Red being more locally focused on Cork, but part of it. They probably could become one brand, but still all have a regional focus with the same footprint they have today? Spin 103.8 would probably remain Dublin focused, and more different, to tackle the Dublin market?

chilloutrelax

They might as well give them a national licence if all this happens

bmc58

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122993819#Comment_122993819

Yes,I had to smile myself when you mentioned planes.

end of the road

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122995834#Comment_122995834

no need, the licenses for each station will just get renewed each time as i doubt anyone else will bid, and an all networked beat/spin/i radio will effectively be a national station anyway.

reapplying for licenses is buttons for companies like bauer, so giving them a national license for these, especially when they already have 2 genuine national licenses would just be pointless work for a non-issue that doesn't need sorting.

radiotrickster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122995310#Comment_122995310

Red has the same imaging as 98 fm so it would make sense to keep that either completely separate or merge it with 98 fm and have presenters record localised links the way Spin do to keep it feeling ‘Cork.’

Spin, iRadio and Beat carry some of the same weekend shows, don’t they? Marty Gulfoyle’s show? So it would seem Bauer see those as having the same audience and could merge the three.

ford fiesta

that would result in a lot of job losses, many presenters will probably never work in radio again with the loss of essentially 3/4 radio stations.

end of the road

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122996698#Comment_122996698

sadly yes, but unfortunately consolidation and large scale job losses are coming.

where fm is concerned keep the transmitters on air at all costs is the motto so this will be allowed to happen.

tinytobe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122996698#Comment_122996698

The FM transmission cost, the aging population and the fact that analogue radio is more and more an "older generational" thing will lead to a lot of changes, job losses and several stations becoming more one single entity and a general trend of consolidation.

They generation below 30 turns to smartphones and maybe DAB in other countries.

chilloutrelax

Looks like 2025 could be a year of significant change in the market, with more networking, consolidation and mergers. For Bauer stations and Wireless (discussed in the Q102 thread).

PixelCrafter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122996437#Comment_122996437

I think tbh, if you did that RedFM would just wither and die and so too would your advertising market. Also, in a situation like there there's no particular reason why 98FM wouldn't end up being presented more so out of RedFM if it were more cost effective.

I think in both cases, the cities have VERY strong local identities. If you merged them it would likely just kill both stations with corporate blandness and accelerate the death of FM radio in the urban markets.

The big urban stations still generate decent income and are least at risk. Some of the smaller market share ones i.e. rural stations, some of the regional ones and some of the later arrivals are far more likely to be far more at risk of ending up being heavily automated and networked.

If the BAI just lets those big groups merge stations, it'll really be the death of local radio in Ireland. We've already got a hugely over-centralised media, and it would likely just become worse. They should be doing more to support local radio's transition to being online and digital and they really have just spent the last 20 years throwing bureaucratic hurdles in the road, placing big cost burdens on broadcasters, all the while simultaneously not doing anything about the over-concentration of ownership, which has just seen the growing dominance of Bauer and Murdock/News UK aka Wireless.

fogeke78

Any idea how much money would Bauer have paid for the regional youth stations? Considering that the Irish times are always looking for new business opportunities like their recent takeover of rip.ie, I wonder why they didn't see Beat & Red as worth holding on to?

Lewis_Benson

Bring back i105-107 from 2009.

Rock music on a Monday night.

end of the road

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123006326#Comment_123006326

the broadcast regulator's only interest is to keep transmitters on air at any and all cost and take the broadcasting levy, nothing else.

not fostering or promoting choice or local radio or anything else.

they will allow consolidation and all else as long as transmitters remain on air.

marno21

Global in the UK have dropped all local drive time shows on Capital, Smooth and Heart from Feb 24th with only one show per nation continuing. Quite the difference from local breakfast and drive just 6 years ago.

It really is quite something the level of local radio that remains in Ireland. When you consider that cities as big as Manchester and Birmingham are fully networked, Irelands lack of networking in the regional stations is remarkable.

PixelCrafter

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123039404#Comment_123039404

Quite a different market though when you consider they're up against regional BBC stations which are far more resourced than any ILR here and entirely non-commerical.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123020838#Comment_123020838

i105-107 was always a bit nuts schedule wise. As soon as it was announced the studios for it would be in Athlone - and actually in the i102-104 service area - it was obvious they'd try merge them.

i102-104 picked up a captive audience extremely quickly; to this day I'd say iRadio is the main station you hear in retail environments in that service area; but i105-107 was fighting against vast Dublin overspill and less aggressively late middle aged ILRs. Terrain played a part there - Dublin stations all being on Three Rock and spilling out over fairly flat land to the west/north/northwest which make up the core i105-107 population centres.

squonk

there are a few big holders in the local space here. I know Radio Kerry owns Clare FM and, I think, Tipp FM. It could be the case Chen the line that sober of these groups will network some content maybe but, as a Clare person, if I was listening to what I perceived to be Kerry people presenting on Clare FM, they could F**k right off. The point I’m making is that there are quite strong identities attached to counties here so attempting a one show for all regions will just kill your listenership.

smallfridge

Clare fm owns Tipp fm and they have many shared resources and programming already. Radio Kerry doesn’t have anything to do with either. There had been a bid some years back but it went no where. The Radio Kerry group is made up of 3 stations including Shannonside fm and Northern Sound Radio. Both of this also share some programming.

jimmyriddle

One can only assume further networking will take place with Bauer now in control of all youth brands. Did I read iRadio have lost their CEO/PD recently too? What they do next there will really show their longterm intentions.

lohiwek852

The DJs/staff working in all the regional youth stations must be worried sick that any day now word will come that there is going to be a massive cull/merger/Networking