FM104

FM104
Broadcast area Dublin
Frequency 104.4 MHz
UPC Ireland Channel 930
Online
First air date July 20th 1989, as Capital 104.4FM
Format Contemporary and Rock
Owner UTV Radio
Website www.fm104.ie

FM104 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcast across Dublin, Ireland, on the frequency 104.4 MHz. It is operated by Capital Radio Productions Limited (unconnected with, and not to be confused with, Capital Radio plc), and is a subsidiary of UTV Radio. The station broadcasts under a sound broadcasting contract from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland. FM104 broadcasts from Macken House in Dublin's Docklands. The radio station is frequently advertised on parent company UTV Media's UTV TV channel along with other subsidiaries, such as UTV Internet, UTV Talk and U105.

History

Capital Radio, as the station was originally called, was the first Independent Local Radio contractor to take to the air in 20 July 1989. The station was owned by a consortium of Irish media and entertainment figures and managed by Mike Hogan. Although initially moderately successful, following the launch of rival 98FM, the station consistently trailed in the ratings. In May 1991, the station relaunched as Rock 104, however this was unsuccessful and in late 1991 it underwent a restructuring under new CEO Dermot Hanrahan, who relaunched the station in April 1992 as Dublin's FM104, using the tag-line "Superstars of the 80s and 90s". This format was moderately successful allowing the station to reach financial stability. However, the station still lagged behind its competitor 98FM. A change in programming direction in 1995, together with the introduction of the highly successful Strawberry Alarm-clock saw it finally overtake 98FM, though 98FM would itself undergo a (less radical) relaunch, dropping the "Classic Hits" moniker, and poaching Chris Barry for a time.In April 1996 FM104 moved into the Number 1 slot in the Dublin market for the first time. Since then, FM104 and 98FM have been keen rivals, however in the JNLR survey published in October 2012, FM104 has almost double the daily listeners and market share of 98FM.

In 2004 the original shareholders sold the station to Scottish Radio Holdings for €30m, in the first of a sequence of ownership changes. SRH were subsequently sold to EMAP, who in turn sold the station in 2007.

On 16 July 2007 it was announced that Denis O'Brien's Communicorp had agreed to purchase FM104, along with national station Today FM and Donegal station Highland Radio. The sale was subject to both Competition Authority and Broadcasting Commission of Ireland approval. Should the sale be approved, both FM104 and 98FM would be owned by the same company.[1][2]

On 8 October 2007, it was announced by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland that it would not agree to the sale of FM104 to Communicorp, although it granted approval for the acquisition of Today FM and Highland Radio. . On 19 December 2007 it was announced that UTV Media had agreed to purchase FM104, subject to approval from the BCI and the Competition Authority. Under the structure of the agreement Communicorp acquired FM104 but sold it immediately to UTV Media, thus keeping to the spirit of the earlier BCI ruling and allowing it to acquire the other EMAP stations. The sale of FM104 to UTV Media was completed on 10 April 2008.

List of current FM104 presenters

List of former Capital Radio/Rock104/FM104 presenters

Many people have gone through this station over the years. Most are still involved in radio – either in presentation or in management – while some have moved on to other careers.

FM104 News

FM104 News better known on air as FM104 Live underwent a revamp in 2011. New background music was introduced and the intro of the updates was modified to reference the various ways of accessing FM104 (FM, Online, iPhone). The news focus has remained the same throughout this time and the bulletins continue to vary in duration from three to four minutes, depending on the time of the broadcast.

FM104 News Team

FM104 sports presenters

FM104 podcasts

Podcasts are available on the FM104 website of FM104's The Strawberry Alarm Clock, FM104's Phoneshow, FM104's Open Mic and FM104's The Juice.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "O'Brien's company buys Irish radio stations". RTÉ. 16 July 2007.
  2. ↑ "Sale of Republic of Ireland radio stations". EMAP. 16 July 2007.

External links