Beat 102-103 2 strangers and a wedding

mikeym

Cant believe it has'nt been discussed yet on the forum. The wedding is on tomorrow. Big publicity stunt for the south east radio station.

http://www.beattwostrangersandawedding.com/

SilverSparkle

Ill be working at it anyway!

L1011

Its clearly not a legal wedding as the decision on who was marrying who was far, far too close to the wedding date for the notificiation period to be done. So its a sham, basically.

SilverSparkle

What i have heard is that in three months time they are getting legally married

allie13

Well, has anyone any gossip from the wedding then so? come on someone must have some news.

deiseman21

beat 102-103 should be scrapped because of this and all the sh!!te they have been broadcasting for 5-6 years now,and bring back abc power 104

themont85

didn't 98fm do this or someone of that ilk a couple of years ago?

jkmanc1974

Not sure, know that BRMB in Birmingham did it a couple of years ago, think that the marriage lasted about a week lol!!!

Brgds
Johnny

robo

themont85 wrote: »

didn't 98fm do this or someone of that ilk a couple of years ago?

Yep about 5 years ago when Ruth Scott was doing the breakfast show. Anyone know if the couple stayed together. I think I remember they appeared on a TV show about a year later to show that it worked, but wonder if they are still together!

ibarelycare

jkmanc1974 wrote: »

Not sure, know that BRMB in Birmingham did it a couple of years ago, think that the marriage lasted about a week lol!!!

Brgds
Johnny

Jeremy Kyle was the presenter of that show....he later went on to marry the bride after her marriage to the stranger didn't work out!

SilverSparkle

allie13 wrote: »

Well, has anyone any gossip from the wedding then so? come on someone must have some news.

Yep!
Someone said something to the bride and she left the room crying.
She came back some time later.
The groom got loaded on cider and they slept on separate bedrooms.

Worst wedding ive ever seen. It was so awkward!
And ive never seen people so full of themselves as the beat girls. One ended up knocking a bowl of soup a waitress was carrying!!

racheypachey

i dont think they were pleased with each other. lol. neither was exactly "hot" were they?

djsupreme

SilverSparkle wrote: »

Yep!
Someone said something to the bride and she left the room crying.
She came back some time later.
The groom got loaded on cider and they slept on separate bedrooms.

Worst wedding ive ever seen. It was so awkward!
And ive never seen people so full of themselves as the beat girls. One ended up knocking a bowl of soup a waitress was carrying!!

I wasn't there last night, but did you really expect the bride to sleep with the groom last night? Wouldn't that be the equivalent of putting out on the first night with all of the national media watching?!!

And you're saying that a girl bumped into a waitress, therefore every girl who works for Beat FM is full of themselves.

You certainly have good powers of perception.

SilverSparkle

djsupreme wrote: »

I wasn't there last night, but did you really expect the bride to sleep with the groom last night? Wouldn't that be the equivalent of putting out on the first night with all of the national media watching?!!

And you're saying that a girl bumped into a waitress, therefore every girl who works for Beat FM is full of themselves.

You certainly have good powers of perception.

Somw people would put out on the first night. Just not these two, and in my opinnion it was the right thing to do.

The waitress said excuse me 4 times and the girl then knocked the soup over.

Im not saying every girl who works for BEAT is full of themselves... BUt the majority of them were snobby and snooty and rude

ibarelycare

SilverSparkle wrote: »

Somw people would put out on the first night. Just not these two, and in my opinnion it was the right thing to do.

The waitress said excuse me 4 times and the girl then knocked the soup over.

Im not saying every girl who works for BEAT is full of themselves... BUt the majority of them were snobby and snooty and rude

So you think these people SHOULD have slept together on the first night? Eh why? They're practically strangers.

SilverSparkle

ibarelycare wrote: »

So you think these people SHOULD have slept together on the first night? Eh why? They're practically strangers.

I said in my opinion not sleeping together was the right thing to do

mikeym

In my opinion it was a publicity stunt that has been tried and tested in other countries which leads to divorce. I like listening to most of the shows on beat fm but I reckon the whole arranged marriage idea was a sham :mad:

djsupreme

It doesn't lead to divorce though. As discussed above, the marriage isn't legal unless they choose to make it legal in three months.

Firetrap

It's a desperate attempt by a desperate radio station to drum up some publicity.

ibarelycare

SilverSparkle wrote: »

I said in my opinion not sleeping together was the right thing to do

Apologies, I took up what you said wrong!

Leaderbored

I just think the whole thing is a bit grim.

It's a queasy stunt straight out of the Jeremy Kyle school of lowest common denominator broadcasting.

SilverSparkle

ibarelycare wrote: »

Apologies, I took up what you said wrong!

No worries.
I read my post again and it could be read either way

allie13

hmm, i wonder what was said to her and why she ran off crying LOL this is all very quare altogether. but i love it. anyone any more gossip on the wedding, come on someone must have facts? i'm terrible nose arnt i

DMC

There was a big write-up about it in the Sunday World the other day.

DMC

ibarelycare wrote: »

Jeremy Kyle was the presenter of that show....he later went on to marry the bride after her marriage to the stranger didn't work out!

Did he? I thought Ulrika Johnsson was unique!

abouttobebanned

Beat 102-103 are in an awful lot of trouble, financially, at the moment. (what company isn't I suppose)

And I think this was a really bad promotion to try and kick start things again. The fugitive will not be heard tell of again because it was a disaster last year and I think radio stations like this one need to get a dose of reality. Over paddy's day they had the great idea of playing an irish song and getting it sponsored by a local company. ala..

"That was U2 there with One...sponsored by Pet Mania, your number one stop for all your pet requirements...." Or words to that effect. And they charge the company a thousand euro for that privilege. A grand for a request basically.

They need to start thinking outside the box and not always rely on silly sponsorship schemes to get by.

djsupreme

I don't get your point. Sponsorship is a major source of funding for every media organisation in the world.

Every major show on tv is sponsored now (Britain's Got Talent, the Simpsons, Hell's Kitchen to mention a few). Weather on Sky News and RTE TV is sponsored. So why would Beat FM be any different in using it as a source of revenue? Particularly if they're in the dire financial troubles you claim they are.

abouttobebanned

You miss my point. Sponsorship is fine...but you need to offer the customer something decent to sponsor.

Musicman2000

Have to agree with a lot of the comments here.

A complete shambles which would never work as proven before.

A stunt that back fired to get more listeners which they are loosing by the day.

A lot of media companies are in trouble when it comes to advertising revenue, not much can be done about that.

Girls being full of themselves, I wouldn’t say all of them, probably only kids that think working for a radio station is something to be up in the clouds about. I have worked for a much bigger station in the UK, and if anyone thought they were bigger than the station they were brought down a peg or two by the station manager. Or shown where the door is. I have seen some of the Beat staff that think they are something special, all I can say lads get a grip. Looks bad for the station and yourselves.

Only listen to Beat a very odd time when I’m home, but even music wise its months behind the Uk when it comes to music, I played in a night club, a few weeks back in Ireland, played a few new tracks that are big in the Uk, and the crowd didn’t have a clue.
As a mate of mine that’s a dj in Waterford said the Problem is Beat. Music selection is a disaster.

Bit of advice for Beats head of music have a look at TV’s playlist, BBC Radio One playlist, or either Galaxy Birmingham or Kiss 100, Might pick up on a few tracks. Might even get you a few more listeners than running a shambles of a fake wedding.

As some one said bring back Abc Power 104, couldn’t agree more.

unknown13

robo wrote: »

Yep about 5 years ago when Ruth Scott was doing the breakfast show. Anyone know if the couple stayed together. I think I remember they appeared on a TV show about a year later to show that it worked, but wonder if they are still together!

I think it was with current morning crew it was done under.

robo

Wedding 'strangers' split after one week

TWO strangers who tied the knot in a bizarre wedding experiment have split up after just one week together.

The couple, who exchanged vows just minutes after setting eyes on each other, split after a short honeymoon in Portugal.

Bebhinn O'Keeffe (25) and Alan Healy (31) arrived back in Waterford yesterday evening and went their very separate ways.

"I didn't see much of Alan on the holiday and I don't want to either," said Bebhinn.

"I suppose there was a lot of expectation on both our parts that didn't come to anything," said Bebhinn.

The pair got hitched at a non-binding ceremony for Beat 102/103's 'Two Strangers and a Wedding' competition which saw more than 85 men and women vying for the chance to get married live on air.

As part of their prize, Bebhinn and Alan were offered the use of a home in Wexford, rent-free for a year, if they decided to remain together after three months.

"I'm definitely not going to see him again," said Bebhinn, who said she enjoyed the holiday with the radio station reps but not with Alan.

"We just have very different outlooks on life," said Bebhinn.

Alan was unavailable for comment yesterday.

mknotaro

Well if publicity was what they were after, they really succeed. I think they got more newspaper coverage for it, then 98fm did for their one. The Irish Times I think even picked up on it - for what is essentiall a tabloid stunt, so the Beat press people are really doing a great job.

I don't agree with the competition, however, especially as it's old and dated. But i don't think beat have ever done anything really original. But then again, the "i10's whatever" aren't really ploughing great new ground either.

I think this country doesn't know how to do good youth radio. That good youth radio is deemed to be lowest common denominator stuff.

Then you get a station like Phantom that is the higher end with an inflated ego.

But if the national youth station is 2fm - can we really expect much?

As for this competition, it really is a mockery of marriage and what marriage means in society today. Doesn't marriage have a special place in the constitution? So is two strangers and a wedding unconstitutional?

djsupreme

Musicman2000 wrote: »

I played in a night club, a few weeks back in Ireland, played a few new tracks that are big in the Uk, and the crowd didn’t have a clue.
As a mate of mine that’s a dj in Waterford said the Problem is Beat.

So....you played a few tracks that bombed in a club, and that is Beat's fault?! You are funny. Maybe you're just not a great nightclub dj, and you can't read the crowd?

DMC

I can see that Musicman2000 has a point. Irish radio has nothing close to Pete Tong or the Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1.

djsupreme

DMC wrote: »

I can see that Musicman2000 has a point. Irish radio has nothing close to Pete Tong or the Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1.

Ironic though that you're both making that point about Beat - which has weekend shows from Roger Sanchez, Judge Jules, Hed Kandi - aswell as home produced dance shows from Darren Rice, Ray Colclough and Pete Windle.

DMC

I type corrected, but I am outside of Beat's catchment, my point should've been seen to be more general.

Maybe its that if this programming is on at the time when people are actually in pubs and going into clubs? Why have a dance show on air when the potential audience is not there??

djsupreme

That's an interesting point, but I'm not sure where you would place a dance show - as it is considered specialist programming. Whilst we all have fond memories of the 90s dance pirates, the reality is that dance programming wouldn't work on a mainstream station during peak hours as there is very little commercial dance music in the charts. It is all very genre-based now.

DMC

I think it would be well suited for a mid-week evening slot, and not just aired on a Friday or Saturday night after 10pm. It would give people the chance to hear and experience new stuff before they go to the clubs.

As much as I hate stranded or pigeon-holed music shows, its an outlet, just not utilized correctly, imo.

crushproof

DMC wrote: »

I type corrected, but I am outside of Beat's catchment, my point should've been seen to be more general.

Maybe its that if this programming is on at the time when people are actually in pubs and going into clubs? Why have a dance show on air when the potential audience is not there??

Arn't the BBC Radio1 dance shows on Friday and Saturday night......"when people are actually in pubs and going into clubs?"

Overall Irish radio is s**te when it comes to alternative and up to date music.
Try finding music that isn't mainstream between 9am and 9pm...it's a constant loop of top 40 over and over and over. And stations like Beat and Spin doesn't help matters.

DMC

BBC Radio 1 has consolidated their dance programming to Friday evenings. You have Scott Mills' Friday Floor Fillers from 6pm, then Pete Tong and the rest. Yes, they are not immune to having dance music stranded late at night, but it starts early in the evening at the tail end of the daytime schedule and have one of their daytime DJ's presenting it, making it a little bit more accessible; i.e. if you like Scott Mills, you might stick around.

Most of their R'n'B/Hip Hop output, thats not on 1xtra already is on Saturday nights.

Musicman2000

Dj Supreme, you are very defensive of Beat, sounds like you could be on of the jocks there, but you are telling me you never played a new track in a club that bombed as you call it. I am playing in clubs over ten years and worked for a lot bigger stations than Beat. I work in commercial clubs in the UK and Ireland, and both are a lot different, music wise. I don’t really listen to Beat to much but when I do, it’s the same old tracks on a rotation every 4 hours or so, which a lot of music driven stations do.

What I meant in the previous post. If you look at the Beat Playlist, and compare to another stations playlists such as BBC Radio one or Galaxy you will notice they are always a few weeks ahead when it comes to playing new music than most stations in Ireland. Even the Mtv playtlist are always bang up to date, and are normally good for fresh new tracks, I know they play a lot of S***t. Just find some stations very slow to pick up on this. And when I am playing in clubs, I like to drop a few fresh new tracks than playing the same old crap every weekend, keeps things fresh and different.

I agree with Dj Supreme about having a specialised show on at peak times, wouldn’t really work for a mainstream station. But having it on when people are out on a Saturday night doesn’t do the show justice, even off peak during the week might be better as I think they do with Spin in Dublin.

Regarding the shows from Sanchez, and Jules, I could be wrong, but these are pre recordings that are distributed to a lot more stations than just Beat.

Ireland and the south east really needs a Dance/Rnb station such as Kiss 100, cant understand why the BCI wont wake up to this, problem could be its run by people that don’t have a clue what people want. Keep the kids the 13 to 16 year olds to Beat. And I think we are going off the subject back to the stunt of a wedding that flopped:)

djsupreme

And a quick scan of your posting history shows you seem to have a particular gripe against Beat. Were you refused a job, or a licence?!

You talk of Beat losing listeners at a rapid pace. You obviously missed the last JNLR results when Beat got their highest ever figures. Are you also aware that Beat is the most successful independent youth or regional station in the country – with higher “listened yesterday” figures than Spin, Red, I etc?

A flop of a wedding? Perhaps for the couple. For the station… hundreds of thousands of euro worth of publicity that could not be bought if you tried; a lucrative sponsorship deal from Vodafone; and a huge increase in advertising and sponsorship since the thing started. As regards listeners, that won’t be known for months, but the signs are good judging from the amount of people (like you) talking about it.

So, I suppose it depends on your idea of a flop.

Sully

djsupreme wrote: »

And a quick scan of your posting history shows you seem to have a particular gripe against Beat. Were you refused a job, or a licence?!

You talk of Beat losing listeners at a rapid pace. You obviously missed the last JNLR results when Beat got their highest ever figures. Are you also aware that Beat is the most successful independent youth or regional station in the country – with higher “listened yesterday” figures than Spin, Red, I etc?

A flop of a wedding? Perhaps for the couple. For the station… hundreds of thousands of euro worth of publicity that could not be bought if you tried; a lucrative sponsorship deal from Vodafone; and a huge increase in advertising and sponsorship since the thing started. As regards listeners, that won’t be known for months, but the signs are good judging from the amount of people (like you) talking about it.

So, I suppose it depends on your idea of a flop.

Agreed. Beat got what they wanted as did the sponsors. The fact that the wedding flopped was probably an added advantage as it got more publicity. As the station said, their website and bebo page crashed due to the numbers hiting the site. They believe the listenership has jumped significantly and are using that to get in more advertisers.

While the idea might be a damp squid to the public, Beat got just what they wanted out of it.

ya-ba-da-ba-doo

bloody scam.. shouldnt be allowed do this sorta stuff its not right.
makes the idea of getting married seem so fake

Manimal

Musicman2000 wrote: »

Ireland and the south east really needs a Dance/Rnb station such as Kiss 100, cant understand why the BCI wont wake up to this, problem could be its run by people that don’t have a clue what people want. Keep the kids the 13 to 16 year olds to Beat. And I think we are going off the subject back to the stunt of a wedding that flopped:)

Ireland and the South East needs lots of things, but what makes you think that running a niche format under current BCI rules will be in any way profitable? I'm not having a go at Waterford but its not exactly Hoxton now is it? Kiss and MTV are more upfront are they? Well thats hardly surprising - they're both broadcasting from one of the most important cities on the planet! You'll be wanting an underground rail service for Tramore next

Firetrap

Well, they looked so miserable in the wedding photo I saw in the paper, I'm not surprised they didn't make it through the honeymoon.

Musicman2000

Never applied for a job with Beat and have no need to, But you are right I do have a gripe with Beat, over certain aspects on how their licence was acquired but wont go into the details, as I know it would be deleted by admin, and I never applied for a Licence, but if I did get the chance and had plenty of cash I would only love to get the chance. Some competition would be good, as the only other so called youth station in the region is 2fm which is a disaster.

I wouldn’t go as far as loosing listeners at a rapid pace, and the Jnlrs I don’t agree with how they do their surveys, for example you walk into a shop to buy a paper, and Beat is on in the back round, you’re classed as a listener, but not going into that.

With regarding being the top youth station in the country, It would want to be after being on the air for the past 5 or 6 years, the other stations you mentioned such as Spin South West and I Radio are only very new to the market, give them time to build listeners it doesn’t happen over night as I’m sure you are well aware of.

Anyway that me finished on this topic

Sully

Manimal wrote: »

You'll be wanting an underground rail service for Tramore next

Well to be fair, we used to have a railway service :P

Firetrap

I believe the bride gave an interview to the Mail on Sunday yesterday. Anyone have any idea what she said?

Bondvillain

Firetrap wrote: »

I believe the bride gave an interview to the Mail on Sunday yesterday. Anyone have any idea what she said?

Something along the lines of "I'll give you an interview if you give me some money", I'd imagine.

(And probably "if you want me to talk about his mickey, that'll cost extra")

You've gotta remember you're dealing with people of exceptionally high moral fibre here.

As for what she actually said in the interview, haven't a clue. I normally wouldn't buy the mail if it came with a free fiver stapled to the front cover, so I certainly wouldn't make an exception just to see what someone who enters a competition to marry a complete stranger has to say.