| Broadcast area | County Kildare |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 9.76 & 9.73 MHz |
| First air date | 2004 |
| Format | Contemporary |
| Website | www.kfmradio.com |
Kfm is an Irish radio station based in Naas, serving County Kildare, Ireland.[1] It began broadcasting in 2004, having won a ten-year franchise for the county from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland. Kildare had previously been part of a combined franchise with County Carlow and was served by CKR FM, who did not get their licence renewed.
Kfm use on a transmitter based outside their franchise area - on Red Gap in County Dublin - to serve the north of Kildare. Kfm's broadcast area is the most station saturated in the Republic of Ireland, primarily due to the close proximity to Dublin City. A large number of Dublin City based stations as well as two of the "super regional" youth stations can be received in the Kildare area, which impacts heavily on Kfm's listenership and reach.
For the period from 2004 to June 2006, Kfm had the lowest listenership percentage and reach of any station based outside of a city in Ireland, although it finally managed to leave this position in the July 2006 JNLR[1] figures. However, it eventually returned to the bottom. Currently (May 2009 figures), the station has 23% weekday reach (lowest in the country), and 16.5% share (also lowest). 7 day reach figures rise to 48%, second from bottom. The Kfm schedule is as follows, Breakfast - Stephen Keogh, Mornings - Clem Ryan, Lunch - John Dunne and Drive - presented by Paul Power.
In November 2011, Fine Gael Mayor of Naas Darren Scully spoke to Clem Ryan on KFM's Kildare Today after Scully said he would refuse to represent constituents of African origin due to what he described as the "aggressive attitude" he has experienced when representations were made to him by "black Africans". The matter was reported to gardaí and Scully resigned.[2]
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