Media & Marketing: With several radio stations struggling to turn a profit, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) is asking the industry to define what makes a viable radio franchise area.
In a document circulated yesterday, the regulator says that traditionally a population base of about 75,000 was sufficient to make a local radio service viable.
But the Ox Report, published last year by the former Minister for Communications, Dermot Ahern, suggested about 100,000 potential listeners were necessary to make a service viable.
The BCI recently invited media companies to submit expressions of interest proposing new radio services. While the BCI document does not automatically rule out services serving franchise areas below 75,000, it seems likely that larger areas will become the norm.
The document talks about stations combining in future, rather than operating alone. This suggests that bigger operators are likely to emerge, although there will always be room for special interest services.
The document states: "There is also potential for additional services in situations where stations create networks and other synergies - such as the sharing of certain facilities." While the BCI refuses to be prescriptive at this point, there is enough evidence to suggest that bigger radio groups will be highly prominent in the Irish radio market of the future.
Already three large blocks control a large segment of the market: UTV, Scottish Radio Holdings and Denis O'Brien's Communicorp.
'Proof' for RTÉ
RTÉ will be more than happy with its decision to run a second series of the programme Proof. While Proof 2 has so far failed to match the ratings of the first series, it is nevertheless getting a reasonable audience share in its Monday night prime-time slot.
According to figures this week from AFA O'Meara, the show attracted an average of 387,000 adult viewers on April 4th; about 310,000 adult viewers tuned in on April 11th and on April 18th it notched up 313,000 viewers.
'Tribune' losses
With a new editor and managing director in place, the Sunday Tribune is once again trying to reposition itself in the highly competitive Sunday newspaper market. While still a loss-making title, the paper has strong support from one of its largest shareholders, Independent News & Media.
However, new information from the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI) will not cheer up the commercial department at the Tribune.
According to the IAPI figures, the Tribune's advertising revenue for first two months of the year was € 3.2 million, down by 11 per cent from the same period last year. The figures were disclosed this week by Saor Communications, which pointed out that advertising revenue had risen at other Sunday newspapers.
However, the agency acknowledged the Tribune had increased its readership in the second six months of 2004.
Bulmers in news
Bulmers is to sponsor sports bulletins on Sky News Ireland. The value of the sponsorship has not been revealed. The cider maker will sponsor the bulletins at 7.20pm and 10.20pm Monday to Friday. Smart Telecom sponsors the Sky News Ireland weather bulletins.
Beat venture
Beat 102, the regional radio station based in the southeast, has signed a joint venture with Chrysalis, the UK's fourth largest radio group. Under the deal, Chrysalis will provide ring tones to 71,000 listeners who contact Beat FM.
Beat yesterday denied the link-up with Chrysalis had implications for the station's ownership. The mobile division of the Chrysalis Group, which is called Chrysalis Mobile, is a distributor of ring tones and other mobile music content.
Outdoor is in
A new report from Initiative Media is very confident that outdoor media, including posters, is set to benefit from our commuter-based society.
The report, which examines international and Irish trends, forecasts strong growth for outdoor operators, which will come as good news for companies like Viacom and JC Decaux. However, the same companies will have to provide a little extra to cash in on the growth, states Initiative.
"In a society that is fed up with advertising messages being thrown in their faces, advertisers will need to be seen to offer something back to their consumers by offering practical installations such as state-of-the art bus shelters and park benches," says the report.
Ogilvy wins out
Earlier this week most of the largest advertising agencies in Dublin attended this years outdoor advertising awards. The big winner was agency Ogilvy and Mather, which won the grand prix and the people's awards. Most of the main players in the industry attended a lavish ceremony in the Mansion House and later at Ron Black's Bar. Some 14 trophies were presented to various agencies.
Emmet Oliver can be contacted at eoliver@irish-times.ie
