4FM hoping to take the over-40s away from RTÉ Radio 1

Media & Marketing Siobhan O'ConnellGood news if you're a fortysomething. Coming in October to a radio near some of you will be 4FM, a new station that is charged with serving up a pop music diet for listeners who grew up on the sounds of 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

The 4FM consortium, whose investors include The Irish Times Ltd, has been awarded the 10-year licence for a new multi-city radio station by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI), with the proviso that the station must serve the musical tastes of listeners aged over 45.

4FM will launch with a BCI-imposed handicap, which limits the broadcasting remit to listeners in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Clare.

The purpose of 4FM is to offer greying audiences an easy-listening music-based alternative to national and local talk radio and Lyric FM. But why exclude 50 per cent of the population who happen to reside in Waterford, Athlone, Sligo, Dundalk etc?

The rationale for this policy may be lost on advertisers, who are currently paying through the nose to reach a national audience on radio. Trading figures for Today FM for the year to March 2007 show a pre-tax profit of €7.4 million on turnover of €19.4 million. This profit margin of 40 per cent suggests that there is surfeit of advertiser demand for radio commercials with an all-Ireland reach. 4FM will give advertisers more options, but in only half the country.

The 4FM consortium, under the umbrella of Choice Broadcasting Ltd, was put together by radio veteran Martin Block, who was involved in the successful launch of Dublin easy listening station Lite FM, now rebranded as Q102 after being bought by UTV. Since Block exited, Q102 has struggled to grow market share in the capital. But Block has experience and his backers, who also include Thomas Crosbie Holdings, have deep pockets.

One reason for 4FM winning the BCI beauty parade was its detailed submission, which ran to 180 pages. 4FM's research confirmed what advertisers already know: as people grow older, they gravitate towards RTÉ Radio 1, other talk radio or classical music on Lyric.

Block and his partners believe that a large number of fortysomethings in particular will tune away from RTÉ when given the opportunity.

To achieve this, 4FM's licence pitch said the new station will be a cross between 2FM, with an older music mix, and Radio 1. The submission said a typical two-hour sequence could feature music from Steve Harley, Bobby Darin, Simply Red, Abba, Sting, Barry Manilow, Van Morrison, Walker Brothers, Beach Boys, Spandau Ballet, Elvis Presley and Thin Lizzy.

Recent hits will also be included. That means 4FM's playlist will feature Take That, Michael Buble, Corrine Bailey Rae and Amy Winehouse. By contrast, Denis O'Brien's losing Legend consortium said it would not play any song that was less than 25-years-old.

What do advertisers think about 4FM's prospects? In its application, the 4FM consortium was frank in this regard: "Agency people said yes, there was a gap, but with some reservations. The caveat is that any gap in the market would have to be prised open and developed over time.

"The reasons for this are the strength of Radio 1 and Lyric FM already serving this community, the brand loyalty of people over 45 and the perceived 'reluctance to change' of this demographic."

Advertisers are also expecting "a strong and clear declaration" of what 4FM is about, who it is for, where it is going and how it is going to be different from existing services. They also expect a "compelling line-up", including "established personalities".

These may be needed to make an impact with the station's flagship breakfast drivetime programme, where the speech-to-music ratio is promised at 75:25, and the programme mix will be "a blend of timeless music and comprehensive news, information and comment".

In other words, a head-on alternative to Radio 1's Morning Ireland and Newstalk's Breakfast Show, supplemented by golden oldies.

So, though 4FM has been licensed to provide music choice, it will stand or fall on the quality of its chat.

siobhan@businessplus.ie