CKR, Radio Kilkenny lose franchises

icdg

The BCI yesterday announced that Radio Kilkenny and Carlow Kildare Radio have lost their franchises to new boys KCLR and KFM.

The franchise areas had been redrawn from Carlow-Kildare and Kilkenny to Carlow-Kilkenny and Kildare. CKR had bid for both franchises, Radio Kilkenny for the Carlow-Kilkenny franchise only.

KCLR (Kilkenny Carlow Local Radio, I presume!) took the Carlow-Kilkenny franchise. KFM took the Kildare franchise. (Had CKR won this franchise it was also going to rename itself KFM).

Personally I thought that the BCI might have been (and indeed, it may have been the original idea) minded to give Radio Kilkenny the Carlow-Kilkenny franchise and CKR the Kildare franchise, but that would have meant giving a company from outside Kildare the franchise (CKR is based in Carlow). Having said that, KFM's backers are East Coast Radio and Shannonside Northern Sound who own 30% off the station between them, CKR's sports guru Clem Ryan is also a member of the consortium.

As KFM are going to be technically my "local" ILR I've been going through their application - they seem to be trying to be "new improved CKR" (an impression not helped by the fact that their sports department seems to be coming right out of CKR), not necessarily a good thing since CKR had one of the lowest ratings in its franchise area of any ILR, probably because the Dublin ILRs can be heard loud and clear throughout the franchise area...and are quite frankly, better. There's a morning talk show, evening love songs, and pop music most of the rest of the time planned.

KCLR are backed by Independent News and Media (yes, seems O'Reilly's getting his teeth into radio now), Setanta Media, and Irish Radio and Media Holdings. They seem to be going for the more traditional ILR fare with plenty of talk and MOR music.

Both had very well presented full colour applications - compare this with CKR which had simply Times Roman B/W applications with no pictures whatsover. Telling you that presentation is key when getting an ILR franchise!

CKR and Radio Kilkenny will join Limerick 95 and Tipparary Mid-West radio in the list of companies the BCI has kicked out of ILR next October. The new franchises have a years lead in time.

icdg

Oh, one further thing on KCLR - they plan to have seperate news programmes for Carlow and Kilkenny each day at 1pm and 6pm.

mike65

I never heard CKR but I have heard Radio Kilkenny, it barely changed from its pirate days, this would in most cases be considered a good thing except back then it was hoplessly 1950s and hick. Nothing changed.

Mike.

DMC

So how was the news of the stations demise announced??

Have they made big deal of it, getting a campaign going??

I can hear it now....

"The death has occured of CKR FM, Lismard House, Tullow Street, Carlow. Funeral arrangements later. No flowers please, donations if desired to our going away knees-up. "

Originally posted by DMC
"The death has occured of CKR FM, Lismard House, Tullow Street, Carlow. Funeral arrangements later. No flowers please, donations if desired to our going away knees-up. "

lol:D
CKR actually has a lot of listeners in west wicklow, something that East coast fm might not have been happy with-Well they have the last laugh now.

East coast boasts eight transmitters and can be heard over wide areas of laois,Carlow, Dublin , Meath, Kildare and Wexford.
Now thats regional radio, if ever I heard it.
I notice, they have a lot of advertisers from the Gorey and North Wexford area also out of their Franchise and a lot of listeners there too-South East Radio watch out:eek:
How do the BCI allow a county station to extend it's influence like that?

I'm not sorry to see the demise of Radio Kilkenny, we can pick that up here too and it's well not my cup of tea-too much talk.

mm