Friday, April 13, 2007

Ireland to launch new radio station for over 45's

The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has today placed an advertisement in the national and local press seeking applications for a sound broadcasting service to operate a multi-city service for the 45+ age group. The service, which is primarily music-driven, will be available in Dublin City, County and commuter belt, Cork City and County, Galway City and County, Limerick City and County and County Clare. The service will offer one or a combination of the following music formats: classic gold, easy listening or smooth music.
The advertisement of the multi-city service is one of a range of new radio services planned for in the BCI’s three-year licensing plan, announced in September 2005. This plan will see the roll-out of a total of nine additional services by the end of 2008.

Andy Sennitt comments: This is an interesting development, in the light of the problems experienced in the Netherlands by Radio 10 Gold, whose listeners are predominantly in the 45+ age group. It will be interesting to see who applies for this licence, what formats they propose, and ultimately whether the service is commercially sustainable.
(Source: R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)