SLAM!FM

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SLAM!FM is a radio station in the Netherlands, playing pop and dance music. They can be picked up on FM in a large part of the country.

[edit] History

The radio station started in the 1990s as New Dance Radio, a cable radio station. Dutch entertainment company ID&T acquired the station in the late nineties, transforming it into Slam FM (named after one of ID&T's dance & lifestyle magazines at the time, Slam). Within a year, the name was changed into ID&T Radio, reflecting ID&T's strategy at the time to bundle all activities under one brand name, i.e. ID&T).

ID&T Radio successfully bid for a nationwide FM frequency in Spring 2003 and changed its format to a more mainstream Top 40 genre, at least in its daytime programming schedule. Afterwards ID&T was accused and partially successfully sued by some competitors to have failed to meet its license requirements (including a playlist maximum of 7.5% current hits and a maximum of 50% hits older than one year).

In February 2005, the name was changed to SLAM!FM again (This time with an exclamation mark in its name and logo, and written in all capitals; no further connections with the heretofore mentioned lifestyle magazine which ID&T had discontinued in the meantime). The music programming became even more commercially and mainstream focussed.

In October 2005, investment company 2H Media (led by former Veronica and Radio 538 director Lex Harding, broadcaster Ruud Hendriks, and Marcel Dijkhuizen) acquired 67% of SLAM!FM.

On June 30, 2005, ID&T sold its remaining 33% share in SLAM!FM to 2HM Media for EUR 2.5 Million, allegedly due to irreconcilable differences regarding managing the radio station and the effective price to be paid for the initial sale of the 67% share.

The performance of the radio station did not improve significantly, resulting in a market share of approximately 1,5% by the end of 2006.