THE BOARD of Dublin-based local radio station 4fm, which is part-owned by The Irish Times Ltd, has terminated the employment of its chief executive Martin Block.
Dave Hammond, 4fm’s sales and marketing director, has taken temporary charge over the day-to- day running of the station.
In a statement, the board of 4FM thanked Mr Block for “his efforts, commitment and energy in getting the station on air during the start-up phase”.
Mr Block will remain as a director and a shareholder of the company. Mr Block and his brother Howard, who stepped down as 4fm’s finance head earlier this year and is also a director, own 22.25 per cent of the station between them through their investment vehicle, Fox Radio.
Staff were informed of the news yesterday afternoon. No reason for the departure of Mr Block was given.
His exit from the company came as a surprise within the radio industry given both the size of his shareholding in the company and the fact that he was a driving force behind its licence application.
4fm went on air in February, with a line up of presenters that included Tom McGurk, Derek Davis, Jimmy Greeley and Gareth O’Callaghan. The station offers an easy-listening format for over-45s in Dublin and its commuter belt, Cork, Clare, Galway and Limerick.
Born in England, Mr Block is a former chief executive of Lite FM (now Q102), a Dublin local station that was sold some years back to UTV for €15 million.
In the latest JNLR radio listenership figures, published by the outgoing Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, which covered the period from July 2008 to June of this year, 4FM achieved a weekday reach of 2 per cent and a market share of 1 per cent.
This was the station’s first listenership figure since going on air in February.
4fm’s shareholders include Vienna Investments, which is headed by Dermot Hanrahan; Thomas Crosbie Holdings, publisher of the Irish Examiner newspaper; and Bay Broadcasting, which is owned by businessmen Mike Ormond, Kevin Branigan and Thomas Anderson.
The Irish Times Ltd owns 10 per cent of the station.
