Phantom - rebrand?

lordgoat

So what's the deal?

Is the K-Roq rebrand true? Or is it some kind of hoax?

windowcleaner

lordgoat wrote: »

So what's the deal?

Is the K-Roq rebrand true? Or is it some kind of hoax?

I talked to a friend of mine who is on staff an hour ago and she said that this is the first staff heard about it. Management have said nothing about this and are keeping people in the dark (and not for the first time). Feel very sorry for the staff and DJs who've worked hard on their shows and then get shunted like this. Phantom management shouldn't be allowed run a toy train.

(I've also copied this thread as I know threads criticising the station have a tendency to "disappear"

lordgoat

I think it's a wind up tbh. If it's true it's bizarre...

windowcleaner

lordgoat wrote: »

I think it's a wind up tbh. If it's true it's bizarre...

Don't know - if it was, wouldn't Phantom be out denying it on every social media platform known to their marketing department? They're great men for using Twitter and Facebook when pushing their shows but not when it comes to confirming/denying a story like this. Very shabby performance.

nehpets5555

What exactly was the rumor? That its being rebranded as KROQ ireland?m

dr strangelove

Richie on Pure Morning today mentioned that they were on the south-side now, looks like they're moved studio already, so, i suppose, the re-brand is only matter of time now.

Tarquin1970

dr strangelove wrote: »

Richie on Pure Morning today mentioned that they were on the south-side now, looks like they're moved studio already, so, i suppose, the re-brand is only matter of time now.

They've moved in with TodayFM and Newstalk in Marconi House I believe.

magicbastarder

this was apparently in yesterday's mail on sunday:

TOM Dunne is returning to his roots, presenting a music show on alternative rock radio station Phantom FM.

And he won't have to travel too far to work as the station is moving into Marconi House, the hub of Denis O'Brien's radio empire and home of Today FM and his current workplace, Newstalk.

Phantom, in which O'Brien purchased a 30% share of last year, is being rebranded under a bizarre new moniker, K-Roq.

Dunne, front man with 90s band Something Happens, has a distinguished background in radio. He began his broadcasting career with 98FM before moving to Today FM in 1999 where he presented an evening rock show.

In 2008, a year after Newstalk chief Denis O'Brien acquired Today FM, Dunne moved to Newstalk to present a daily twohour show.

Now he will juggle the morning show on Newstalk with an evening programme on K-Roq.

Phantom has confirmed that Dunne will prerecord his show which will be broadcast in an early-evening slot. Once the station has moved into Marconi House, changes will be made to the station's schedule and format.

Mr O'Brien's Communicorp is the single biggest radio investor in Ireland. It owns Newstalk, Today FM, Spin 1038 and 98FM. Mr O'Brien also has a substantial interest in Spin South West. Phantom 105.2 launched as a pirate station in 1996, taking to the Dublin airwaves as a fully licensed station from October 2006.

Tom Dunne was not available to comment on his new role in Phantom last night.

Gerard_Smith

That is unbelievably stupid.

ThisRegard

magicbastarder wrote: »

this was apparently in yesterday's mail on sunday:

It was in the weeks before last, not yesterdays.

Adiaga 2

I feel sick. Phantom is now part of the O'Brien radio empire? Sad news - even if it did happen last year as mentioned. And they're now based in the same building that pukes out today fm, newstalk, 98fm? Ugh.

Looks like the ipod will be replacing the radio again in my car.

BrianDaly

Hi, just to clarify that Communicorp have in principle taken a shareholding and the station is now based in Marconi House which is also home to Today FM and Newstalk (but not 98).

These decisions have been taken to secure the future of Phantom so that we can contunue to provide the service that we were licenced for by the BAI and we look forward to continuing this into the future.

windowcleaner

BrianDaly wrote: »

Hi, just to clarify that Communicorp have in principle taken a shareholding and the station is now based in Marconi House which is also home to Today FM and Newstalk (but not 98).

These decisions have been taken to secure the future of Phantom so that we can contunue to provide the service that we were licenced for by the BAI and we look forward to continuing this into the future.

Mr Daly - do you have any comment to make on the K-ROQ story? And also the Tom Dunne story, the latter of which was apparently confirmed by your station to the Mail reporter? I note that your statement, the first from the station here since the story broke on Saturday, manages to avoid both of these questions.

hardCopy

Not a fan of the new name if true, also not keen on the pre-recorded show idea

BrianDaly

hardCopy wrote: »

Not a fan of the new name if true, also not keen on the pre-recorded show idea

Appreciate the feedback!

Tarquin1970

Wouldn't be too enamoured with the suggested name change. However, as long the output isn't affected and Phantom/KRoq continues to play an alternative to the drivel on the other channels, then I'll be happy!

dr strangelove

Is there any 'official line' from Phantom?

Are they going to stay the same? or will there be any substantial change in the programming? How much input is the new shareholder going to exercise?

Tarquin1970

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=2056140992

Another thread on the rebranding..

mloc123

Tarquin1970 wrote: »

Wouldn't be too enamoured with the suggested name change. However, as long the output isn't affected and Phantom/KRoq continues to play an alternative to the drivel on the other channels, then I'll be happy!

I hate to break it to you but Phantom currently plays most of the same drivel as Today FM etc..

It has been in steady decline for the past 2+ years IMO

Bard

lordgoat wrote: »

So what's the deal?

Is the K-Roq rebrand true? Or is it some kind of hoax?

Just a rumour, it would appear...

From @simonphantom:
I think K-Roq was just a rumour that grew legs and eventually made it to the papers on a quiet day Staying as Phantom.

oldscoil

K-Roq ?

Poor choice.....


http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=crock%20of%20****
Crock of Sh1t
More politely known as "a pile of poo", the term "a crock of sh1t" derives from an ancient Roman custom that coincidentally took place in Roman times.

It referred literally to a pot into which people would excrete if they were particularly bored by whichever freelance philosoper happened to be talking rubbish at the time.

The Roman empire employed crock-monitors who were each assigned to a philosopher, and it was their job to monitor the pot (or crock). Should the crock become full, it would be presented to the philospher, who was obliged, by law, to announce that it bore a remarkable resembence to himself, thus proclaiming he was full of crap and was, in fact, talking a crock of sh1t.

"I am talking a crock of sh1t", Socretes 429 BC

Up-n-atom!

It has been in steady decline for the past 2+ years IMO

I fear it's going to go even further into decline after this (in terms of quality anyhew). They're re-jigging the staff and bringing in Alison Curtis as well as Tom Dunne - it's just going to be slightly-indie Today FM by the looks of things! Denis O'B is obviously out to milk another cash cow...the old pirates must be weeping.

Skylark1n

There was a dream that was Rome...

It is very sad to see a radio station that gained it's popularity by being anti-mainstream having to compromise to such a degree as to lose it's identity just to stay in business.

It is safe the say the with the closing of road recs and phantoms decline it is the end of an era for independent Irish music, but with new venues like the The Workmans Club and innovative acts like Cast of Cheers it could be the beginning of another.

olafshiel

This is nothing new. A lot of music stations do this. Fm 104 (rock 104 originally). They apply for a licence under the pretence that they are a alternative music station. Had they been playing pop music they would be told the airwaves are saturated with that genre, so they would not get one. Of course, there is no real profits to be made playing to a minority so once they have their licence, they then start to go mainstream and the lolly rolls in. So sad to say, you can kiss goodbye to phantom as you knew it. Having said that, another station will pop up in it's place and do exactly the same thing.

Shanannigan

oldscoil wrote: »

K-Roq ?

yeah K-Roq of ****e is right!
they've finally done it... taken the best radio station to grace irish airwaves and turned it into an ad machine like all the rest.

Declan A Walsh

olafshiel wrote: »

This is nothing new. A lot of music stations do this. Fm 104 (rock 104 originally). They apply for a licence under the pretence that they are a alternative music station. Had they been playing pop music they would be told the airwaves are saturated with that genre, so they would not get one. Of course, there is no real profits to be made playing to a minority so once they have their licence, they then start to go mainstream and the lolly rolls in. So sad to say, you can kiss goodbye to phantom as you knew it. Having said that, another station will pop up in it's place and do exactly the same thing.

Hopefully, Phantom will continue as an alternative rock station, perhaps with a few tweaks. Having said that, you undoubtedly hava a point as certain stations have been stretching the definition and/or spirit of their licence remits. Witness Sunshine 106.8 (originally Dublin's Country 106.8) and Q102 (formerly Lite FM).

Your example is not a good one though. Capital Radio was the first of the independent licenced commercial stations for Dublin way back in July 1989. It did not have a specific niche remit - just to be a commercial music station. It rebranded itself during 1991 as a rock-oriented station, namely Rock104. However, as it did not have a specific rock licence, it was able to be flexible in its definition. Ultimately, the station became FM104, which was more chart-oriented musically.

It would be a shame if Phantom became another pop-oriented station. I am not convinced that that will happen.

BrianD

olafshiel wrote: »

This is nothing new. A lot of music stations do this. Fm 104 (rock 104 originally). They apply for a licence under the pretence that they are a alternative music station. Had they been playing pop music they would be told the airwaves are saturated with that genre, so they would not get one. Of course, there is no real profits to be made playing to a minority so once they have their licence, they then start to go mainstream and the lolly rolls in. So sad to say, you can kiss goodbye to phantom as you knew it. Having said that, another station will pop up in it's place and do exactly the same thing.

Just to clarify that FM104 was originally Capital Radio then Rock 104 to FM104. They started as a contemporary hot music station dallied with some rock in the early 90s and went back to playing the hits.

FM104 don't have a specific music remit in their licence. They are a general music station and can pretty much play what they like.

Phantom on the other hand is licenced as an alternative rock music service.