Classic Hits 4FM Thread

NOVA7

As far as I am aware the 3 names submitted to the bai were Atlantic,Smooth and Magic FM,though I think this is all irrelevant now as I would say they are sticking with Classic Hits 4FM and even if they are playing jessie j and dance music on a saturday night is it right to say that over 45s dont listen to modern music as well the station needed to change to survive thats the bottom line.

DarkJager

GSF wrote: »

Why does Dublin need yet another late night talk show? I know it might be a novelty in Cork or Limerick but Q102 should be the big winners in Dublin, although I suppose nobody in Dublin was listening to Marian Farrell anyway.

4fm isn't centered around Dublin at all so I don't see your point. Personally, I just heard Niall Moylan? talk show last night and was quite impressed. He got a few great digs in at that Ben guy from the WBC. Don't know where Marian is gone but don't really care either, music was a snoozefest most of the time anyway.

GSF

DarkJager wrote: »

4fm isn't centered around Dublin at all so I don't see your point.

Its by far their biggest available audience so if they ignore Dublin they will be fishing out of a much smaller pool of listeners and advertisers

DarkJager

GSF wrote: »

Its by far their biggest available audience so if they ignore Dublin they will be fishing out of a much smaller pool of listeners and advertisers

Its not really though, considering it covers Cork, Limerick, Galway etc. Dublin isn't the be all and end all for 4fm, in fact I'd say the majority of their listeners don't even live in Dublin.

radiofreak

NOVA7 wrote: »

any chance of a job?

Nova, I hope you have Much better luck than I had. I got 2 emails from Martin Block, The 1st boss At The Station promising me an interview.
I am still waiting for that interview over two years later. Very professional.

Fuzzy Clam

radiofreak wrote: »

Nova, I hope you have Much better luck than I had. I got 2 emails from Martin Block, The 1st boss At The Station promising me an interview.
I am still waiting for that interview over two years later. Very professional.

I think he may have been looking for a job himself.......;)

Liam Byrne

GSF wrote: »

Its by far their biggest available audience so if they ignore Dublin they will be fishing out of a much smaller pool of listeners and advertisers

Dublin has numerous choices, the rest of the country - ridiculously - doesn't.

So it makes sense to stand out where there are more potential listeners, ones who won't assume that the country only has one O'Connell St.

Tapes

Gareth o'callaghan is returning to afternoon radio, He will be doing the 3pm-6pm slot on Classic hits 4fm starting the first week of june. He always was at his best doing afternoons, His afternoon show on 2fm had over 250k listeners. I wish him good luck on his return to afternoons.

irishh_bob

Tapes wrote: »

Gareth o'callaghan is returning to afternoon radio, He will be doing the 3pm-6pm slot on Classic hits 4fm starting the first week of june. He always was at his best doing afternoons, His afternoon show on 2fm had over 250k listeners. I wish him good luck on his return to afternoons.

i remember gareth on 2fm back in the nineties , would regulary come out with lines like , that was adele there with running through the deep , that just might be a hit , this despite the fact that the song was on release about six months at that stage and had sold by the truck load

FlutterinBantam

irishh_bob wrote: »

i remember gareth on 2fm back in the nineties , would regulary come out with lines like , that was adele there with running through the deep , that just might be a hit , this despite the fact that the song was on release about six months at that stage and had sold by the truck load

Sweet Jaysus !!

irishh_bob

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

Sweet Jaysus !!

wha ?

bbability

Ok new line up ...:P

Jim Mc Cabe getting breakfast
Robbie Fogarty mid morning
David Harvey back to Lunchtime
Gareth O Callaghan afternoon
Brian Mc Coll Drive Time

Fuzzy Clam

Well, fair ****s to him for predicting Adele hits in the 90's.
No doubt his arrival on 4FM in The Afternoon will be greeted with loud appl:)ause

radiofreak

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

I think he may have been looking for a job himself.......;)

LMAO

radiofreak

bbability wrote: »

Ok new line up ...:P

Jim Mc Cabe getting breakfast
Robbie Fogarty mid morning
David Harvey back to Lunchtime
Gareth O Callaghan afternoon
Brian Mc Coll Drive Time

Very Impressive Line Up. And I'm Looking forward to Gareth In The Afternoon Again

shockwave

He was/is a terrible dj, best thing 2fm did in years was getting rid of him.

Firetrap

irishh_bob wrote: »

i remember gareth on 2fm back in the nineties , would regulary come out with lines like , that was adele there with running through the deep , that just might be a hit , this despite the fact that the song was on release about six months at that stage and had sold by the truck load

I remember him saying something like "I'm a big Robert de Niro fan. He was brilliant in Scent of a Woman" :eek:

irishh_bob

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

Well, fair ****s to him for predicting Adele hits in the 90's.
No doubt his arrival on 4FM in The Afternoon will be greeted with loud appl:)ause

way to miss the point there

Kojak

Firetrap wrote: »

I remember him saying something like "I'm a big Robert de Niro fan. He was brilliant in Scent of a Woman" :eek:

Well De Niro and Pacino sort of look alike... :rolleyes:

vince

jim sounded slick when he sat in for jimmy greely friday morning. i feel sorry for jimmy to be put reading the news. i remember the first jnlrs jimmy had the highest amount of listeners

heybaby

Yet another indication that the radio heads havent a collective notion what they are at. I said elsewhere that the BAI coninue to have their backsides handed to them by supposed radio experts who chop formats / station names / presenters at the drop pf a hat as they flounder to find a successful format.

4 FM acquired its license on the premise that it would appeal to 45 plus age group and started out playing music from the 40's right thru the decades. It also had a remit to mix talk and music from the outset, within 18 months the station has changed in every possible facet beyond recognition as each successive radio head has come in and applied their 'expertise' to the problem, and after two years what do we have ? a quasi-national mess with an identity crisis!

I think its unfair on the dj's ultimately as they are the victims in all the tinkering, if its a good idea to have gareth on in the afternoons now, then why did Martin Block put him on in the mornings in the beginning?

Travismccoy

So they should sit there and do nothing? Why would Gareth care about tinkering once he still has a job? Do you think Blocker is the be all and end all of programming? He seems more like a business man to me! This is how the radio game works Heybaby.

I'm all for discussion here but I think it's slightly funny how you preach about how to run radio stations but a few weeks ago on RW you asked someone to explain the JNLR to you pretty much!

Maybe talking about how 4FM can build an audience would be a more positive discussion, not I'm going to bang down the BAI's door and tell them they're wrong!!

NOVA7

The recession changed the radio landscape as well with less advertising revenue and the station was silly at the start paying the big wages something had to give.Im sure the bai would not like another century radio situation.Give them a chance with this classic hits format and this line up and I think they will be ok.

radiofreak

bbability wrote: »

Great to hear Dave back at the helm of weekend breakfast this morning on 4fm. If ever a radio station turned a corner its this one.. This was the way they should have started 18 months ago..

Very sad to Report, But it looks like Dave Redmond Is gone From 4FM. Kieran Philips will now be presenting the weekend brekie. http://www.4fm.ie/schedule/ Hopefully he is still with the station in some capacity.

radiofreak

I'm Looking Forward to Gareth In The Afternoon. I Hope That he Brings The Stitch Ups Back, Like He Did On 2FM. Very Funny.

Fuzzy Clam

radiofreak wrote: »

Very Funny.

They weren't!
And he won't:)

Fuzzy Clam

shockwave wrote: »

He was/is a terrible dj, best thing 2fm did in years was getting rid of him.

I don't think he was a terrible DJ but imitating Steve Wright is/was not the best thing to do.
I thought he was OK on NOVA (the real Nova, not the current fake).

bbability

radiofreak wrote: »

Very sad to Report, But it looks like Dave Redmond Is gone From 4FM. Kieran Philips will now be presenting the weekend brekie. http://www.4fm.ie/schedule/ Hopefully he is still with the station in some capacity.

I was just starting to enjoy 4fm and low and behold.. Revamp!

Jim McCabe is a surprise inclusion. How many breakfast shows has this fella had? I reckon he's touching the half-dozen mark?? Not that I have an issue with that but something is telling me that he had a go at this before.
If more music was the plan for weekdays why didn't they just move Dave Redmond to weekdays?

Anyway we will see how it pans out.

Itssoeasy

So are the Irish racist ? Lets wait for the "I'm not racist but..."

padd b1975

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

They weren't!
And he won't:)

don't judge so soon my friend, he has managed to include the canned clapping and cheering at the start of the hour. 15 years on from it being on 2fm. Not funny then. Not funny now.

Kojak

I see they have now started playing music in the background while they have the news on. Is this also part of their revamp. It seems as well that the jingle just before the news has gotten about 10 times longer. Is that done just to fill space?

heybaby

Travismccoy wrote: »

So they should sit there and do nothing? Why would Gareth care about tinkering once he still has a job? Do you think Blocker is the be all and end all of programming? He seems more like a business man to me! This is how the radio game works Heybaby.

I'm all for discussion here but I think it's slightly funny how you preach about how to run radio stations but a few weeks ago on RW you asked someone to explain the JNLR to you pretty much!

Maybe talking about how 4FM can build an audience would be a more positive discussion, not I'm going to bang down the BAI's door and tell them they're wrong!!

First of all, what someone discusses on another forum on another website is completely irrevelant to this forum so I would thank you not to reference posts made by me elsewhere.

Secondly I am merely drawing attention to the successive failures of alleged radio experts / business men when embarking on their radio ventures, the collateral damage of which are the radio presenters and the listeners.

Thirdly, I argue the point that if we are going to have a regulator, then that regulator should be disciplined, firm and consistent in its decision making rather than the version we have now that is constantly dictated to by the aforementioned business men / radio experts.

Fourthly, if 4FM actually stuck to their original remit of appealing to a 45's plus age group and actually played music that appealed to the golden generation and spent time and energy creating a brand they would have had greater success in poaching listeners from the local radio stations and rte who cater only in a small way to the musical tastes of the 45plus age group.

Fifthly, not every discussion can be peppered with the positivity you seek, this is a public forum where all opinions are welcome and none prevail.

Btr

Heybaby, excellent post. What gets me most about all of this discussion is that Bay in particular should have known better to begin with. Personally I always thought that a multi city, as opposed to a national licence was mad.

What's equally clear (& may work outside Dublin more) is that the new look 4 is more of less the original 98fm. Interestingly however even in the cities outside Dublin 4th is unknown and not marketed. Ever tried to pick it up in cork city ???

NOVA7

In all fairness who actually listened to 4FM when it first started thats right nobody thats why advertisers stayed away,shareholders pulled out it was heading down the Century radio route it had to change,ok its remit is over 45s but that doesnt mean they cant play some modern songs surely,the music beds on the news is only a minor gripe most stations are doing that so why cant 4FM?

NOVA7

Sean Ashmore said himself in Sunday Business Post that the station had become dull and had failed to connect with its listener so thats why it has relaunched with the classic hits format and new exciting line up and there is certainly a better interaction between the presenters and audience now.I like it and I am no way over 45.Still waiting on my job offer but probably got lost in my email folders:)

Btr

Honestly Nova7 , I can't really agree. Bay were the drivers of 4Fm and used Choice Fm 1 and 2 for dry runs. It seemed to work but not unlike Nova (see a pattern here) they ditched much of their line up and brought in the Rte oap club. That this bombed should not have been any surprise especially with the high waffle content. I think with Ashmore in charge they have a real shot at it. They ain't out of the woods yet but it is part of what's clearly a longer term media strategy by Bay Broadcasting which does own or will shortly own 99% of 4fm

vince

i have been a fan of 4 fm since it began and i feel it did go a bit stale over the last 3 months. but i like the new line up mornings are sounding good and the late show has got me switching away from ian collins ts and lbc at night so its working. we havent got a night talk show in cork unlike dublin so i think this will work.

RoundyMooney

Kojak wrote: »

I see they have now started playing music in the background while they have the news on. Is this also part of their revamp. It seems as well that the jingle just before the news has gotten about 10 times longer. Is that done just to fill space?

They've been doing that almost since they started. I think they must have Homer Simpson doing the sound and automation.

Travismccoy

heybaby wrote: »

First of all, what someone discusses on another forum on another website is completely irrevelant to this forum so I would thank you not to reference posts made by me elsewhere.

Secondly I am merely drawing attention to the successive failures of alleged radio experts / business men when embarking on their radio ventures, the collateral damage of which are the radio presenters and the listeners.

Thirdly, I argue the point that if we are going to have a regulator, then that regulator should be disciplined, firm and consistent in its decision making rather than the version we have now that is constantly dictated to by the aforementioned business men / radio experts.

Fourthly, if 4FM actually stuck to their original remit of appealing to a 45's plus age group and actually played music that appealed to the golden generation and spent time and energy creating a brand they would have had greater success in poaching listeners from the local radio stations and rte who cater only in a small way to the musical tastes of the 45plus age group.

Fifthly, not every discussion can be peppered with the positivity you seek, this is a public forum where all opinions are welcome and none prevail.

So you didn't understand the JNLR somewhere else but that's not relevant because this is another radio forum. Good logic there.

Armchair PDs just really get my goat.

Questioning/discussing/arguing over radio is one thing and it's why sites like this are great but writing like you've all the answers when you expressed limited knowledge of the bible of commercial radio is quite arrogant.

Before you come back with another five point plan, I write this with nearly 20 years experience in commercial radio, just for the record.

Maybe the original 4FM could've worked if they'd marketed the station. The management team seemed to think a burst of marketing at the launch was enough in an already crowded market. The foundations of it were all wrong. The music was wrong, there were too many expensive names on air. Breakfast and drive should've been familiar RTE names and that's it. There were too many niche shows, too many good solid jocks like Mark Byrne were shafted. Just the tip of the iceberg, you really could spend a week picking out where they went wrong.

bbability

In light of it all it can only be good. The start-up of the station was a complete non-runner. Now its looking and sounding like a radio station that means business. I would have preferred Dave Harvey's show to have been left at mid morning but obviously the management team feel that all the other local stations at the target audience are talking at that time and more music is the way to go. The same at breakfast. It seems to be working for Q102 in Dublin so there is an audience out there who want more music at breakfast and mid morning.
I'm willing to give it a go so best of luck to all. Hopefully the schedule will stay steady for a while.

NOVA7

Great post Travis my point exactly the station was not launched properly but it is sounding good now and you are right about Mark Byrne just doing the one show on sunday afternoon at the start was a really bad way to treat him but it is the radio business after all, we have all been there before.Good luck 4FM.

Travismccoy

Well Mark was probably happy with his one show a week at the time because he's an airline pilot these days for his bread and butter.

The only problem with 4FM's new approach (in Dublin anyway) is Q102 really do have that market catered for. They're up 104's arse in market share - 4FM could only dream of that chunk and it'll be no real reflection of the programming of the station, it's just Q has been around longer. There's nothing to say if Q wasn't there already and they marketed it properly that 4FM couldn't have that share in Dublin now but it is a little bit like some low fares carrier trying to take on Ryanair at this late stage in the game. I'm not saying it's impossible but Q is a far, FAR better recognised brand. I'm not sure if just copying their playlist will have all the answers.

NOVA7

Mark Byrne is a pilot now,wow I never knew that,I was wondering what he was doing now, always my favourite dj on the radio,quite right about Q they are doing very well in the ratings. I hope 4FM is a success though.

Fuzzy Clam

Kojak wrote: »

I see they have now started playing music in the background while they have the news on. Is this also part of their revamp. It seems as well that the jingle just before the news has gotten about 10 times longer. Is that done just to fill space?

Sounds very much like the bed that was used on TV3 news. Don't really like it.

Fuzzy Clam

padd b1975 wrote: »

don't judge so soon my friend, he has managed to include the canned clapping and cheering at the start of the hour. 15 years on from it being on 2fm. Not funny then. Not funny now.

Oh ffs, so he is...:(
Well if he does the stupid calls again, I'd like plenty of salt & vinegar on my words please.

goingpostal

Gareth still knows how to churn out the crapola. He sounds like a mix between a priest and some low-rent positive-thinking guru. Pass the barf bag....

Elmo

That is one ugly logo IMO what happened. Suppose they are going for a young hipper audience :rolleyes:

Over 45s soon to be Over 35s, as Q102 becomes Over 25s :rolleyes: (from the over 55 BTW)

Classic Hits a move away from talk and chat to just more music?





Should I be surprised if the channel is rebranded as Classic Hits FM?

Here is the original test channel site http://www.choicefm.ie/left_link_page.php?page_id=2

vince

sounding good now tho. i think they need to add the frequencies to that logo.

Fago!

After all the talk I decided to have a quick listen to the Late Show. Have to say, I don't care for talk radio much (read my posts about RTE Radio 1), but I think this is great radio. It's a breath of fresh air to listen to a show where the host actually means what he says and gets really into it. Unlike "the other talk show" he seems genuinely interested in the topics and stirs thing up himself and doesn't leave it to some skanger to stir it up for him.

Elmo

vince wrote: »

sounding good now tho. i think they need to add the frequencies to that logo.

They need to get rid of that logo.