| Broadcast area | Dublin |
|---|---|
| Slogan | Now Is Good |
| Frequency | 98.1 MHz UPC Ireland Channel 931 |
| First air date | November 10, 1989 |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| Owner | Communicorp |
| Website | www.98fm.com |
98FM is an independent local radio station in Dublin, Ireland, operated by Radio Two Thousand Limited, a subsidiary of Denis O'Brien's Communicorp Limited, under a sound broadcasting contract from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland. The station broadcasts on the 98.1 MHz FM frequency. 98FM's broadcast antenna is located on Three Rock Mountain, County Dublin at 5 kW, and can be heard in Dublin and neighbouring counties. The station slogan is "Now Is Good".
98FM is "Dublins Best Music Mix". The station broadcasts mainly popular music, aimed at 25-44 year olds. Its flagship programme is The Morning Crew, broadcast from 06:00-10:00. Other programmes include the Workforce and Drive. The station broadcasts hourly news (half-hourly at peak times) along with sports, and traffic and weather reports.
The station's first broadcast was in 1989, as a rock station called Classic Hits—98FM and quickly overtook rival Capital Radio 104.4 (now FM104), sometimes attributed to the Morning Crew show, originally presented by Pat Courtnay and Elaine Geraghty, and to its evening talk show presented by Fr. Michael Cleary. Changes led FM104 to overtake 98FM in the Joint National Listenership Research survey. This led to a crisis at 98FM, with the station changing aspects of its programme mix—firstly dropping Pat and Elaine for the "Dawn Patrol", a short-lived attempt to compete with The Strawberry Alarm Clock (the "Morning Crew" name was later revived, but with a new presenting team). The station name was changed (dropping "Classic Hits"), as was the slogan, and Chris Barry was recruited from FM104 (causing a legal wrangle). The station eventually settled down to competing with FM104, and the two stations continue to compete.
In a MRBI/JNLR survey (August 2009), Dublin's 98 was the most listened to breakfast show in Dublin; it also had the highest audience during Barry Dunne's show (10:00-13:00), 98's Inbox has the second highest audience in the capital between 19:00-21:30, and the station has the biggest audiences in Dublin on Saturdays and Sundays. In 2003, 98FM introduced Late Night Talk with Tom O'Brannigan and producer John "Roz" O'Donovan and Lisa Gernon. In March 2007, Late Night Talk (rival of the Adrian Kennedy Phone Show) was ended after a presenter's departure. Two weeks later, a new show, reformatted and rescheduled to 20:00-22:00, The Inbox, began with hosts Alison O'Reilly and Paul Connolly. In 2008, Alison left 98FM. In early 2011, Paul left 98FM. On 12 June 2008, the station was re-named Dublin's 98. The slogan "Smile" was backed by the song Smile by The Supernaturals. On 3 April 2009, the station released a new logo with the slogan "Dublin's Best Music Mix". On 10 October 2008, at the PPI Radio Awards, Dublin's 98 was named PPI Music Station of the Year for 2008. It had previously won PPI awards for Newsroom of the Year and Best Breakfast show. As of April 2011, a new show, The Joan Lea show now airs from 9 pm-midnight. 98FM's Classic Hits, presented by Darragh O'Dea now is on between 7 pm and 9 pm. 98FM put huge emphasis on their "showbiz gossip" with Siobhan O'Connor with showbiz updates at 7.40, 8.40, 9.40, 11.40, 13.40 and 16.40 include the Showbiz show on a Saturday morning, repeated on a Sunday Morning. 98FM run hourly news, sport and weather bulletins from the Dublin News Centre between 6 am and 11 pm. The news is read half-hourly during breakfast and drivetime shows (6 am-10 am and 4 pm-7 pm). On 31 May 2010, the station was renamed back to 98FM. In 2010, 98FM advertisements were shown on television with a seal and the current station slogan is "Now Is Good".
98FM presents a comedy sketch each morning called The Toll Trolls. The two characters' names are "M" and "50" (named after the M50 motorway which encircles outer Dublin). The trolls live under a toll bridge in Dublin. They make fun of Irish celebrities, including RTÉ daytime show Seoige and O'Shea.
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