RTE Radio One's new campaign to attract a younger audience will involve more music, less emphasis on news and current affairs, and lighter presentation.
Pat Kenny's new programme from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the autumn schedule - to be called Today With Fat Kenny - will, offer a very much lighter mix than Morning Ireland. It will be precluded from using current affairs and news material in the first half of the programme in order to give the listener a rest after the news and Morning Ireland. But after 10 a.m., it will include more current affairs and news items.
The Gay Byrne Show will be much lighter than recent years, and comes on air at 11 a.m. Gay Byrne will present it on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Gareth O'Callaghan will occupy the same time slot on Monday and Tuesday.
Some elements of the existing schedule will remain, including Live Line and the Arts Show on three afternoons a week. There was some criticism over changing the Arts Show from its evening slot, but the move increased its audience four fold.
Three evenings a week the station will transmit a life styles programme, which will probably be presented by Pat O'Mahony and Gemma Hill, although a final decision has yet to be made.
The specialist music programmes will begin at 7.15 p.m., which may include guest presenters from the music industry presenting their own music and their favourite music by other artists.
A new programme for RTE will be Vincent Browne between 16 and 11 p.m. This is based on the successful programme he hosted on the independent commercial station 98 FM.
Research for the station by the market research company, MRBI, told RTE's management that listeners rated Radio One as old and tired, with a certain "sameness" throughout the day.
The research was undertaken during the early summer using focus groups which told RTE what many already knew - that the station was losing a younger audience.
Radio Ireland, the new national station, which is due on air, probably in March, has already announced that it will be targeting the 24 to 45 age group, which is Radio One's natural audience.
Among the changes which reflect the impact of the research is the starting time of Morning Ireland. It will not revert to its presummer 7.30 a.m. start, but will continue at its summer timing of 8 a.m. This will give early risers an extra half hour of music and chat on Risin' Time.
Richard Crowley, who has been presenting Morning Edition, the music, news and current affairs mix that replaced The Gay Byrne Show for the summer, is to return to Morning Ireland in September.
However, it is planned that the programme will retain its three presenters, Ms Aine Lawlor, Mr David Hanley and Mr Crowley, which was increased from two when the longer programme was introduced.
The autumn schedule had to go to the RTE Authority for approval. The head of Radio, Mr Kevin Healy, known to have opposed the extension of Morning Ireland's time, was able to approach the Authority armed with research, and was able to convince them to agree to the lighter format, with a greater emphasis on music.
As one senior RTE source put it, a major story could be covered on Morning Ireland and the early morning news. Joe Duffy might follow up on The Gay Byrne Show, with Pat Kenny following another angle. The lunchtime news would follow up the story, and then listeners would phone Marian Finucane on Live Line.
In the meantime, it is believed that Radio Ireland has reached agreement with RTE in relation to transmission, and will reach well over 80 per cent of the country on the first day of broadcasting.