Media & Marketing Emmet OliverWith the € 10 million sale of Drogheda-based radio station LMFM to UTV near completion, the interest in local radio shows no sign of waning.
While valuations have certainly fallen sharply, a group of new stations are starting to establish themselves, most notably KFM, which operates in Co Kildare.
The station has only been on air since February, but figures released by the station this week look promising with peak-time listening hitting 90,000 during week days.
This represents about 50 per cent of the potential audience in Co Kildare. The station originally targeted only 30 per cent of this audience.
Capitalised with a €1.4 million investment, KFM is doing well but is certainly not for sale in the short to medium term, said its chairman, Mr Billy Mulhern, this week.
He knows that KFM could expand its audience even further based on the population surge in Kildare and surrounding areas. Some estimates put the population of Kildare at about 200,000 within three years.
The station has a 12-member board and has deliberately tried to recruit people from all parts of the county. Among the larger shareholders are Mr Mulhern (10 per cent); radio executive Mr Padraig O'Dwyer (15 per cent); broadcaster Mr Noel Shannon (10 per cent); telecommunications executive Mr David Mongey (10 per cent) and sports broadcaster Mr Clem Ryan (10 per cent).
Northern Sound/ Shannonside has a 20 per cent stake. There are also various smaller shareholders.
One of the biggest problems has been the spillover of Dublin stations into the Kildare market. Mr Mulhern estimates about 18 stations are available each day to Kildare listeners.
But he firmly believes the station's blend of local news and sport is always going to trump these outside services.
Regional TV talk
While local and regional radio appear to be growing strongly, could regional television be next?
Regional television is virtually unheard of in Ireland and it took many years to even establish a national competitor to RTÉ in the shape of TV3.
But the BCI recently licenced a local television service for Waterford. It is owned by the local radio operator in the area, WLR FM.
It provides a weekly programme called Waterford @ 8 which it broadcasts on the NTL platform into Waterford city and into the Dungarvan area on another local platform. It is estimaed the service reaches about 21,000 homes. Dublin-based agency Saor Communications says these kind of regional services could become very important.
Amstel campaign
Heineken Ireland is to invest €5 million in a marketing campaign for Amstel. The campaign will include the first television commercial for the brand in Ireland. The advertisement will include a voiceover by football pundit Mr Mark Lawrenson.
Draught Amstel will be available in over 100 bars in Dublin from November onwards and will be priced in line with competitors like Carlsberg and Budweiser, said Heineken yesterday.
The agency behind the television commercial is Chemistry. The advertisement will be screened throughout November and December on RTE1, RTE2, TV3, TG4, E4, Sky One, Sky News, Sky Sports 1&2 and MTV.
NTL's new offering
NTL has added another Sky Sports channel to its digital television offering. Sky Sports Xtra, which broadcasts Champions' League football, American football, tennis and Spanish football, is now offered along with Sky Sports 1,2 and 3. NTL has decided not to levy an additional charge for the new channel.
NTL has heavily emphasised sports content since its digital service began in 2001. On top of the Sky Sports channels, NTL also offers Setanta Sports, Extreme Sports and Sports News. Manchester United TV (MUTV) and North American Sports Network are offered as additional channels.
Mr Mark Mohan, sales and marketing director of NTL Ireland said: "The introduction of Sky Sports Xtra is the second significant announcement, following Setanta Sports earlier this year."
As of September 30th, 2004, NTL had a total of 343,600 customers and digital television customers rising by 6,600 to reach approximately 88,800.
Gibney appointed
Ulster Bank Group has appointed Gibney Communications as its public relations consultants following a four-way pitch.
The role incorporates the whole Ulster Bank Group, including First Active plc. Ulster Bank Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland, the second largest bank in Europe and fifth largest bank in the world, based upon market capitalisation.
Emmet Oliver can be contacted at eoliver@irish-times.ie
