Gold Radio - launching online 4 May 2020

AwaitYourReply · 10-05-2020 11:08PM

Maz2016 wrote: »

Their not living on a prayer any more

If the station already had it's official launch last week, then hopefully this is just a one-off blip as if it becomes a regular occurrence; it could really damage it's image as he tries to establish itself.

The website has an unfinished feel about it so; it's hard to know what's really going on behind the scenes.

I tuned in for a only a very brief period a few days ago so I'm not sure how this radio station intends to sustain itself going forward?

Does it carry any commercial advertising?

Tork · 10-05-2020 11:24PM

I think they're already in trouble, because of RTE Gold's stay of execution. It's obvious that the station was designed to step into the breach once that went off the air. Instead, RTE Gold is getting more exposure and listeners than it ever did before Covid-19 struck. If you go to google and type in Gold Radio, the first few entries are all referring to RTE Gold. It's hard to know whether now was a good or a bad time to launch - time will tell.

alzer100 · 10-05-2020 11:40PM

It is a bit concerning considering that it did get it's official launch last week with a full presenter schedule and then went back to automated music only mid week.
I do think the presenters voices were pre-recorded though as there was a glitch during the Chris Barry afternoon show in which his audio byte was repeated leading me to believe that the shows are voice tracked.
Hopefully they can get their technical problems sorted.

AwaitYourReply · 10-05-2020 11:44PM

Tork wrote: »

I think they're already in trouble, because of RTE Gold's stay of execution. It's obvious that the station was designed to step into the breach once that went off the air. Instead, RTE Gold is getting more exposure and listeners than it ever did before Covid-19 struck. If you go to google and type in Gold Radio, the first few entries are all referring to RTE Gold. It's hard to know whether now was a good or a bad time to launch - time will tell.

Very true.
Hmmm - I reckon GoldRadio.ie should have kept their powder dry as RTÉ closing down any service has often been dogged by controversy. Officially launching last week in this way at a time when RTÉ Gold is on every Sat/Sun afternoon on RTÉ Radio 1 was probably the wrong move at the wrong time.

alzer100 · 10-05-2020 11:49PM

Tork wrote: »

I think they're already in trouble, because of RTE Gold's stay of execution. It's obvious that the station was designed to step into the breach once that went off the air. Instead, RTE Gold is getting more exposure and listeners than it ever did before Covid-19 struck. If you go to google and type in Gold Radio, the first few entries are all referring to RTE Gold. It's hard to know whether now was a good or a bad time to launch - time will tell.

I still believe Woods is adamant on getting rid of RTE Gold, the jump in listenership figures for online stations has just delayed her plans - for now.

Mickey Mike · 11-05-2020 09:15AM

Here at 10am Monday morning and Gold Radio is still silent, I don't think its looking good, maybe it was all up in the air with them and now its off the air. If RTE close DAB I hope they keep RTE Gold and Pulse on saorview and online.

Declan A Walsh · 11-05-2020 09:32AM

When I click on Gold Radio under Dublin stations on the Radio Garden app, this message is displayed in red: station is unreachable.

AwaitYourReply · 11-05-2020 09:58AM

Just checked if any updates were posted on Twitter for GoldRadio.ie in case the station wanted to inform listeners of a glitch/technical problem but last post came from someone congratulating the station on it's recent launch on 5th May. Not a good sign to have this complete silence. The website is still stuck displaying "Gold Evenings with Mike Moloney" which was the same late last night! This looks doomed before it ever established itself properly which is such a shame as it did not last a whole week since it's official launch.

I hope it does not deter others from following suit especially if RTÉ Gold is still to close down later in the year.

Ireland needs a nationwide GOLD type music formula available in various formats including FM without all the hourly news bulletins, sports content, traffic updates etc; (i.e.) when the "new normality" eventually emerges on a phased basis.

Declan A Walsh · 11-05-2020 10:30AM

So, which of the presenters in its line up have actually made it on air so far? I know of two who did: Mike Maloney and Chris Barry.

Infoanon · 11-05-2020 11:13AM

AwaitYourReply wrote: »

Ireland needs a nationwide GOLD type music formula available in various formats including FM without all the hourly news bulletins, sports content, traffic updates etc; (i.e.) when the "new normality" eventually emerges on a phased basis.

Gold radio is an Irish based online radio station joining an already saturated market. It's USP should be it's on air personalities and exploiting their knowledge of Irish airplay hits.
Gold radio appears similar to the UK station United DJS - however Gold do not / will not have the option to expand on to DAB in the future.

The station suggested by awaityour reply will never happen on FM - BAI regulations,the 20% rule AND listener's to 'Gold ' type stations want news / sport / traffic - gold format listeners want more than a 'jukebox'.

alzer100 · 11-05-2020 11:17AM

Declan A Walsh wrote: »

So, which of the presenters in its line up have actually made it on air so far? I know of two who did: Mike Maloney and Chris Barry.

Every one of the weekday presenters made it on air as far as I am aware up until Thursday..

Mickey Mike · 11-05-2020 12:34PM

Its gone, its gone gone gone gone, and without any explanation as to what happened, I just wondered if the retention of RTE Gold have had an impact on it? or will it wait till RTE Gold close. I hope Dee Fobes DG keep RTE Pulse and RTE Gold on saorview and online. I'm only repeating myself at this stage.

Infoanon · 11-05-2020 12:45PM

I do not have any facts about the situation but I did think that Bon Jovi Living on a prayer on rotation was not accidental and imho having two stations with Gold in the name was potentially asking for trouble and an exchange of letters would be imminent.
This has happened in the past.

alzer100 · 11-05-2020 12:49PM

Mickey Mike wrote: »

Its gone, its gone gone gone gone, and without any explanation as to what happened, I just wondered if the retention of RTE Gold have had an impact on it? or will it wait till RTE Gold close. I hope Dee Fobes DG keep RTE Pulse and RTE Gold on saorview and online. I'm only repeating myself at this stage.

If it's gone, well that's embarrassing for the people involved and a shame as it would of been better to have had some sort of replacement for RTE Gold if or when kit gets pulled.
I keep referring to Dee Forbes as Dee Woods (sorry).
I was one of the people who e-mailed her personally about RTE Gold (and I did email Dee Forbes!)
I know there is a petition but those who listen to and appreciate RTE Gold should contact her and make her fully aware. Just 30 people doing just that was reported on Journal.ie and The Irish Independent. With more people now listening to RTE Gold it may put the pressure on.

Tork · 11-05-2020 03:05PM

alzer100 wrote: »

If it's gone, well that's embarrassing for the people involved and a shame as it would of (sic) been better to have had some sort of replacement for RTE Gold if or when it gets pulled.

Maybe they thought they'd plough ahead and launch it anyway. With so many people at home at the moment, online radio stations are probably getting getting more listeners than they ever did. They had a lot of presenters on their rota though and that may have made it unfeasable. I presume that's partly why RTE Gold's future is (still?) doomed. It probably doesn't cost the earth to run an online radio station when they're just playlists. Once you start bringing presenters on board, you have to pay them.

AwaitYourReply · 12-05-2020 12:11AM

Infoanon wrote: »

Gold radio is an Irish based online radio station joining an already saturated market. It's USP should be it's on air personalities and exploiting their knowledge of Irish airplay hits.
Gold radio appears similar to the UK station United DJS - however Gold do not / will not have the option to expand on to DAB in the future.

The station suggested by awaityour reply will never happen on FM - BAI regulations,the 20% rule AND listener's to 'Gold ' type stations want news / sport / traffic - gold format listeners want more than a 'jukebox'.

The BAI evolved out of various bodies. The first one to regulate Ireland's independent commercial radio and television sector was the IRTC (Independent Radio & Television Commission). In the early years of independent commercial radio & tv in Ireland originally had no direct remit over RTÉ Radio & Television output which fell under the control of the RTÉ Authority from what I recall although; this changed in subsequent years and the BAI now controls both private & public sector. That 20% rule goes back to the IRTC days of the late 1980's and should be reviewed as long since outdated.

I do not wanna listen to News & Sport & Traffic if I'm tuning into classic pop/rock as I can easily change station for hourly news on RTÉ Radio 1, NewsTalk 106-108, Cork's 96fm, Cork's RedFM and so on.

I tuned in to RTÉ lyric fm just to get a break from Coronavirus only to hear Marty going on about it followed by a news bulletin also covering the same dreaded content which is NOT what that station should be doing as it had a clever campaign about listeners getting away from the stresses of daily life only a few years ago by switching to Lyric fm but if it's gonna air listener views on the Covid-19 and broadcast the same RTÉ News, it defeats what this niche station should be about! - Same would apply with a station like Gold - listeners want music not news/current affairs when they tune into it.

I realise that when the Department of Communications/IRTC came up with the minimum 20% news & current affairs content rule (RTÉ probably insisted as this was first time they had legal competition from the independent commercial sector) it was all intended to prevent wall to wall pop music like many of the pirate radio stations but the BAI now need to be more imaginative in this day and age as listeners probably also prefer to know which stations are news-free.

As for a Gold station broadcasting on FM, I think the hugely positive reaction of new listeners to RTÉ Gold on RTÉ Radio 1 each Saturday+Sunday afternoons only confirms to me that it would probably perform really well on FM full time as a large cohort of this audience would generally tend to be more traditional in terms of accessing such a service in my opinion. DAB is not available in many parts of Ireland and I'm sure listeners would enjoy the ability of hearing the station on the move even where broadband internet connectivity is non-existent or well below par. GoldRadio.ie still off-air as I type this post which does not bode well for a station that only had it's official launch last week which is a shame for all involved. Menawhile, RTÉ Gold as a station will struggle even if it gets another reprieve to remain on air unless it gets more exposure on FM beyond the current sports drought which will not last forever. I would listen to a station like RTÉ Gold in the car once back in regular commuting mode or heading up/down the country and I'm fairly sure that I'm not alone. I'd close 2FM or move it Online as it's younger audience demographic would not be as reliant on FM nowadays.

Infoanon · 12-05-2020 10:53AM

The 20% rule was not influenced by RTE.

The 20% rule was allegedly Ray Burke , the then ministers idea - it was a way of ensuring the 'FF message ' was communicated allegedly.
When Capital 104 initially launched it had an exemption from the 20% rule - Burke wanted the first commercial station to be Dublin based - however on hearing Capital carrying an interview with a political opponent he revoked the exemption and Capital had to put together a 2 hour chat show there and then on their first day on air.
Burke allegedly said words to the effect that we did not give you a licence to carry left wingers.

Burke used the wall to wall music pirates as a cover for the real reasons for the 20% rule.

The 20% rule remains today (with a few exceptions ) more as a barrier to entry into the market then anything else.

While the notion of putting RTE Gold onto FM with no news etc sounds like a good idea It needs to be pointed out that the relay on Radio One is topped and tailed by news and globally commercial Gold formats carry news / sport etc even in markets where it is not a requirement (eg USA )

Tork · 12-05-2020 11:49AM

That 20% rule makes even less sense these days. Newstalk plays very little music and is wall to wall talk. With the exception of Ronan Collins at lunchtime, Radio 1 is all talk until the evening time. I wonder how many local radio stations would be in favour of dropping their daily news/magazine programmes at this stage. They seem to give the stations their own identity and engage with their listeners.

Personally, I like RTE Gold's format. It harks back to "classic" 2FM when you'd get some chat from the DJs but it was mostly about the music. The current craze for "content creation" isn't for me and I'd rather listen to music than presenters yammering on about what some airhead from Love Island did on Instagram today. News bulletins (if kept short) don't bother me because it adds to the feeling that there are humans in the building. If it or other stations revert back to just automated playlists with no presenters, what's the point? I might as well use Spotify.

alzer100 · 12-05-2020 12:04PM

FM radio was ruined in this country by the 1988 wireless and telegraphy act.

The super pirate operators were dismissed by the IRTC when it came to obtaining licences. Licences were offered to a select club essentially high powered business people who saw the radio market in Ireland as a way to print money. They had no interest in radio as an entertainment outlet.

As far as I can remember Radio 2000 (98FM) did not even present any sort of a real plan in its presentation to the IRTC with respect to how the radio station would sound. The IRTC only took an interest on how the station was funded and who was financially backing it. Enter Denis O Brien, exit Irish independent FM radio.

Irish FM radio has been absolutely ruined since the end of December 1988. Personally I have lost faith in FM radio as it's too over regulated. The only way anyone can escape from the blandness of it is digital, whether that is online streaming or DAB

From a technology perspective, most people have mobile phones with high consumption data plans and Bluetooth capability. They are also driving cars in which they can pair the phone to the audio system in the car. They can open up the RTE Gold app and stream the station on the go and the coverage is actually really very good.

I don't really care and it's probably better if RTE Gold was to never go to FM as the toxicity of the FM management culture would only contaminate it to the point that it would probably turn into a clone of 4 FM or Sunshine 106.8. Sooner or later people will turn away from FM if they are offered better alternatives. For that reason I think it's important for RTE to maintain Gold even just as a streaming service.

Unfortunately when you strip everything back the problem that exists at the moment is that someone or some people in RTE want to discontinue a service that costs very little to run just to make a statement irrespective of the effect of their actions. Again, if services like RTE Gold have been effective during the COVID19 lockdown and they have contributed positively with respect to the state of a lot of people's general well-being then Dee Forbes and Richard Bruton should be made aware of this and held accountable accordingly.

Shame about goldradio.ie. Better to have the choice (whether you like the format, the station or not) than to not have it.

Infoanon · 12-05-2020 03:51PM

alzer100 wrote: »

FM radio was ruined in this country by the 1988 wireless and telegraphy act.

The super pirate operators were dismissed by the IRTC when it came to obtaining licences. Licences were offered to a select club essentially high powered business people who saw the radio market in Ireland as a way to print money. They had no interest in radio as an entertainment outlet..

A select club is one way of putting it - the awarding of licences is worthy of a separate thread and it's interesting to note how many stations where on the verge of collapse within a year or two of the licence awards.

The 20% rule is often highlighted but another issue about any station going on FM is the strict formatting rules applied by the BAI - any Gold station would have rules prescibing the % of artists pre 60s / Irish artists / Genre etc etc etc
This is also applied to temporary licences - for Gold Radio that makes online the only option - joining thousands of other stations.

Mickey Mike · 14-05-2020 04:43PM

Whatever about the 1988 wireless and telegraph act, it must be noted that the FM band is still the main carrier where people can access their information, FM will remain the main platform for radio broadcasting, only way of changing this is to push for FM switch off.

Mickey Mike · 14-05-2020 04:52PM

Poor aul Gold Radio had cot death, wonder if it made it to be baptized, RIP.

Tork · 14-05-2020 04:57PM

Jesus. I hope nobody who has lost a child sees that tasteless comment.

Maz2016 · 14-05-2020 05:20PM

I’m still curious to know how it went so wrong.

alzer100 · 14-05-2020 06:02PM

Maz2016 wrote: »

I’m still curious to know how it went so wrong.

I would say the extension of RTE Gold may have something to with it, but then again until there is some sort of statement to the press or someone gets some insider information and posts it on this forum we'll may never know.

Max Headroom · 14-05-2020 06:47PM

Tork wrote: »

Jesus. I hope nobody who has lost a child sees that tasteless comment.

Fcuk sake....hope no atheist sees that tasteless comment................:p

Tork · 14-05-2020 06:49PM

Hilarious

Bard · 14-05-2020 07:20PM

Tork wrote: »

Hilarious

What's hilarious? Someone else tried to do something and it didn't work out for them? Better to try and fail than to not bother your arse trying... making fun of them is just poor form.

If indeed they have failed and that's the end of it, that's disappointing - a couple of the guys due to be on air with them are friends/former colleagues of mine.

alzer100 · 14-05-2020 07:26PM

Has goldradio gone off the air indefinitely?

Tork · 14-05-2020 08:45PM

Bard wrote: »

What's hilarious? Someone else tried to do something and it didn't work out for them? Better to try and fail than to not bother your arse trying... making fun of them is just poor form.

If indeed they have failed and that's the end of it, that's disappointing - a couple of the guys due to be on air with them are friends/former colleagues of mine.

No, the comment wasn't about the failure of Gold Radio but about the athiest retort. I was appalled by the sick comment made earlier which compared the demise of this radio station to a cot death. Anyway, let's not derail the thread. One person's hilarity is a kick in the gut to another (my cousin's baby was a cot death who didn't make it to her Christening so it is not one bit funny to me

)

Anyway, back on comment. I think it's a real shame too. It's nice to have the option of listening to an Irish radio station which caters for an older audience. I'd love to know what happened too. It has the feel of a radio station which launched before it was ready to go, then crashed and burned before it even got started. It seems to have been beset with technical problems, lack of advertising and maybe, ultimately, lack of money.

Gold Radio - launching online 4 May 2020

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