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Cork's 96FM

January 29, 2023

96FM is one of three local radio stations licensed by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland[1] for Cork City and County in Ireland (the other two being its sister station C103 and youth music station Red FM).[2] It broadcasts from studios at Broadcasting House, St. Patrick's Place in Cork City.[3]

Cork's 96FM
Broadcast areaCork City and County
FrequencyFM: 95.8–96.8 MHz
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatAdult Contemporary
Ownership
OwnerWireless Group
C103 (dual franchise)[note 1]
History
First air date
10 August 1989 (as Radio South)
Links
Webcast96fm.ie/player
Website96fm.ie

96FM is operated as a dual franchise with C103 by County Media Limited which is owned by Wireless Group.[4][5] The station's sound broadcasting contract (and thus its broadcasting licence) is advertised together with that of C103 and one company is required to operate the two stations, in a similar situation to that of Shannonside FM and Northern Sound Radio in the north-west of Ireland.

History

 
Cork's 96FM logo used from 2009 to 2016.

Radio South

Founded by four former Cork Examiner journalists, with backing from a number of Cork business people, Cork's 96FM launched as "Radio South" at midday on Thursday 10 August 1989. However, that name lasted for less than a year. Radio South was the third of the newly licensed commercial stations to come on air in the country (Dublin's Capital Radio and Mayo's Mid West Radio being first and second respectively).

The first voice heard on air was the station's first Head of Programming Frank Murphy who introduced the new station in both Irish and English. This was followed by Neil Prendeville's first show, the first song played was "A New Flame" by Simply Red – a chart hit at the time. The then Lord Mayor of Cork – Councillor Chrissie Aherne, who had been flown by helicopter to the station's studio (located just to the north of the city at Whites Cross), then officially opened the station for business.

The first day's broadcasting featured several outside broadcasts from across the coverage area. Local dignitaries, were invited by the station to an event that night in Cork's Imperial Hotel which was attended by several hundred people. The attendance included the then chairman of the IRTC (now the BCI) former Supreme Court Judge Séamus Henchy.

Many of the original voices on the new station were familiar to Cork listeners; Tadgh Dolan was formerly of RTÉ's local radio service, RTÉ Radio Cork, while Neil Prendeville, Tony Magnier, Joe O'Reilly, Gerry McLoughlin, Paul Byrne, Rob Allen and others had formerly been heard on now defunct local pirate stations, such as ERI, the major pirate station in the area which closed around midnight 30 December 1988.

The initial Radio South provided a wide-ranging format, and a number of special interest programmes, including an hour-long country music show at 18:00 every weeknight presented by local country music authority Roger Ryan. Joe O'Reilly presented the 'Oldies and Irish' show on Sundays, a vestige from Radio ERI. Radio South broadcast 24 hours a day from the outset, unlike many other of the new local stations who closed overnight in their early days.

Competition

Unlike independent local stations elsewhere in the country, Radio South faced competition from the RTÉ Radio Cork opt-out, which was well regarded for its coverage of current affairs and sports, especially by older listeners. However the audience for the RTÉ service dwindled with time, as its local output was limited by Dublin, and it eventually closed in 1999.

Print media constituted major competition to local radio in Cork, with the then Cork Examiner and Evening Echo daily newspapers based in the city. There was also competition for advertising from a (now defunct) local TV service, available on the Chorus cable TV service in the city. 96FM now houses the studios of a TV studio owned by its parent company Wireless Group.

 
Neon advertising sign, Cork City.

Hits and Memories 96FM

Mediocre listenership figures for Radio South, lead to a relaunch in July 1990 and a name change to 'Hits and Memories 96FM'. The station was now under a 'Classic Hits' format imported from Australia, similar to that of the by then successful 'Classic Hits 98FM' in Dublin. By this stage the original special interest programmes of Radio South were gone (except the 'Oldies and Irish' show on Sundays which, thanks to public support, survived the upheaval). The programme, presented since 1991 by Derry O' Callaghan, was the most listened to show on local radio in Ireland as of 2015.[6] The new format lead to a gradual increase in listenership.[citation needed]

 
Broadcasting House, the headquarters of Cork's 96FM and the Cork City studios for its sister station, C103

Merge-over with County Sound and office relocation

In 1991, a 'merge-over' took place between 96FM and the Mallow-based County Sound 103FM coming under a common ownership and combined JNLR figures. Some years later, the station moved premises from the rural Whites Cross (the former Radio ERI studios) to a city centre location at Patrick's Place, in a building which was formerly the location of St Finbarr's College and then Christian Brothers College. The station named its new premises 'Broadcasting House'.[citation needed]

RTÉ's John Murray was "Head of News" at 96FM from 1990 until 1992.[citation needed]

Late 1990s

The late 1990s led to the complete discarding of the 'Hits and Memories' moniker, and some programming changes, with night-time programmes to appeal to younger listeners (not heard in Cork since the Radio South days) being introduced. The late 1990s and early 2000s also saw the introduction of new transmitters to provide practically full coverage of the county (the original licence was for Cork city and part of the county, but this was later extended to allow the whole county to be covered, although to this day it can be difficult to receive 96FM in parts of West Cork, while C103 is available everywhere).

21st century

Writing in Radio Today in 2013, Kieran McGeary, Chief Executive, Station Manager and Programme Director of Cork's 96FM and C103, stated that 96FM had a "very strong line-up" but that finding new younger talent was a major challenge for the whole radio industry.[7]

In 2014, the station's flagship presenter, Neil Prendeville, departed 96FM for rival station RedFM. In August 2015, 96FM's listenership figures slid behind those of RedFM for the first time in the history of the stations.[citation needed]

Frequencies

  • 95.6 Fermoy-Mitchelstown area
  • 95.8 West County Cork
  • 96.0 Carrigaline-Cobh
  • 96.1 North County Cork
  • 96.2 (a) Macroom (b) Clonakilty
  • 96.4 (a) Cork City and surrounding county areas (b) Bantry
  • 96.8 (a) Youghal (b) Kinsale

(mains in bold)

References

Notes

  1. ^ See Radio in Ireland#Cork ILRs

Sources

  1. ^ . Broadcasting Commission of Ireland. Archived from the original on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  2. ^ . Broadcasting Commission of Ireland. Archived from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  3. ^ . 96FM. Archived from the original on 28 August 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  4. ^ . utvmedia.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  5. ^ Jason Deans (23 November 2000). "UTV moves into radio by acquiring County Media". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  6. ^ source: IPSOS/MRBI 2015[full citation needed]
  7. ^ "VIEWPOINT: Where is the next generation?". 31 January 2013.

External links

January 29, 2023
cork, 96fm, 96fm, three, local, radio, stations, licensed, broadcasting, commission, ireland, cork, city, county, ireland, other, being, sister, station, c103, youth, music, station, broadcasts, from, studios, broadcasting, house, patrick, place, cork, city, c. 96FM is one of three local radio stations licensed by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland 1 for Cork City and County in Ireland the other two being its sister station C103 and youth music station Red FM 2 It broadcasts from studios at Broadcasting House St Patrick s Place in Cork City 3 Cork s 96FMCorkBroadcast areaCork City and CountyFrequencyFM 95 8 96 8 MHzProgrammingLanguage s EnglishFormatAdult ContemporaryOwnershipOwnerWireless GroupSister stationsC103 dual franchise note 1 HistoryFirst air date10 August 1989 as Radio South LinksWebcast96fm wbr ie wbr playerWebsite96fm wbr ie96FM is operated as a dual franchise with C103 by County Media Limited which is owned by Wireless Group 4 5 The station s sound broadcasting contract and thus its broadcasting licence is advertised together with that of C103 and one company is required to operate the two stations in a similar situation to that of Shannonside FM and Northern Sound Radio in the north west of Ireland Contents 1 History 1 1 Radio South 1 2 Competition 1 3 Hits and Memories 96FM 1 4 Merge over with County Sound and office relocation 1 5 Late 1990s 1 6 21st century 2 Frequencies 3 References 3 1 Notes 3 2 Sources 4 External linksHistory Edit Cork s 96FM logo used from 2009 to 2016 Radio South Edit Founded by four former Cork Examiner journalists with backing from a number of Cork business people Cork s 96FM launched as Radio South at midday on Thursday 10 August 1989 However that name lasted for less than a year Radio South was the third of the newly licensed commercial stations to come on air in the country Dublin s Capital Radio and Mayo s Mid West Radio being first and second respectively The first voice heard on air was the station s first Head of Programming Frank Murphy who introduced the new station in both Irish and English This was followed by Neil Prendeville s first show the first song played was A New Flame by Simply Red a chart hit at the time The then Lord Mayor of Cork Councillor Chrissie Aherne who had been flown by helicopter to the station s studio located just to the north of the city at Whites Cross then officially opened the station for business The first day s broadcasting featured several outside broadcasts from across the coverage area Local dignitaries were invited by the station to an event that night in Cork s Imperial Hotel which was attended by several hundred people The attendance included the then chairman of the IRTC now the BCI former Supreme Court Judge Seamus Henchy Many of the original voices on the new station were familiar to Cork listeners Tadgh Dolan was formerly of RTE s local radio service RTE Radio Cork while Neil Prendeville Tony Magnier Joe O Reilly Gerry McLoughlin Paul Byrne Rob Allen and others had formerly been heard on now defunct local pirate stations such as ERI the major pirate station in the area which closed around midnight 30 December 1988 The initial Radio South provided a wide ranging format and a number of special interest programmes including an hour long country music show at 18 00 every weeknight presented by local country music authority Roger Ryan Joe O Reilly presented the Oldies and Irish show on Sundays a vestige from Radio ERI Radio South broadcast 24 hours a day from the outset unlike many other of the new local stations who closed overnight in their early days Competition Edit Unlike independent local stations elsewhere in the country Radio South faced competition from the RTE Radio Cork opt out which was well regarded for its coverage of current affairs and sports especially by older listeners However the audience for the RTE service dwindled with time as its local output was limited by Dublin and it eventually closed in 1999 Print media constituted major competition to local radio in Cork with the then Cork Examiner and Evening Echo daily newspapers based in the city There was also competition for advertising from a now defunct local TV service available on the Chorus cable TV service in the city 96FM now houses the studios of a TV studio owned by its parent company Wireless Group Neon advertising sign Cork City Hits and Memories 96FM Edit Mediocre listenership figures for Radio South lead to a relaunch in July 1990 and a name change to Hits and Memories 96FM The station was now under a Classic Hits format imported from Australia similar to that of the by then successful Classic Hits 98FM in Dublin By this stage the original special interest programmes of Radio South were gone except the Oldies and Irish show on Sundays which thanks to public support survived the upheaval The programme presented since 1991 by Derry O Callaghan was the most listened to show on local radio in Ireland as of 2015 6 The new format lead to a gradual increase in listenership citation needed Broadcasting House the headquarters of Cork s 96FM and the Cork City studios for its sister station C103 Merge over with County Sound and office relocation Edit In 1991 a merge over took place between 96FM and the Mallow based County Sound 103FM coming under a common ownership and combined JNLR figures Some years later the station moved premises from the rural Whites Cross the former Radio ERI studios to a city centre location at Patrick s Place in a building which was formerly the location of St Finbarr s College and then Christian Brothers College The station named its new premises Broadcasting House citation needed RTE s John Murray was Head of News at 96FM from 1990 until 1992 citation needed Late 1990s Edit The late 1990s led to the complete discarding of the Hits and Memories moniker and some programming changes with night time programmes to appeal to younger listeners not heard in Cork since the Radio South days being introduced The late 1990s and early 2000s also saw the introduction of new transmitters to provide practically full coverage of the county the original licence was for Cork city and part of the county but this was later extended to allow the whole county to be covered although to this day it can be difficult to receive 96FM in parts of West Cork while C103 is available everywhere 21st century Edit Writing in Radio Today in 2013 Kieran McGeary Chief Executive Station Manager and Programme Director of Cork s 96FM and C103 stated that 96FM had a very strong line up but that finding new younger talent was a major challenge for the whole radio industry 7 In 2014 the station s flagship presenter Neil Prendeville departed 96FM for rival station RedFM In August 2015 96FM s listenership figures slid behind those of RedFM for the first time in the history of the stations citation needed Frequencies Edit95 6 Fermoy Mitchelstown area 95 8 West County Cork 96 0 Carrigaline Cobh 96 1 North County Cork 96 2 a Macroom b Clonakilty 96 4 a Cork City and surrounding county areas b Bantry 96 8 a Youghal b Kinsale mains in bold References EditNotes Edit See Radio in Ireland Cork ILRs Sources Edit Local Radio Services Cork s 96FM Broadcasting Commission of Ireland Archived from the original on 7 May 2009 Retrieved 20 August 2009 Licensed Operators Local Radio Services Broadcasting Commission of Ireland Archived from the original on 27 March 2009 Retrieved 20 August 2009 96FM Contact Us 96FM Archived from the original on 28 August 2009 Retrieved 20 August 2009 ABOUT UTV Corporate Structure UTV Radio Ireland utvmedia com Archived from the original on 31 July 2009 Retrieved 19 August 2009 Jason Deans 23 November 2000 UTV moves into radio by acquiring County Media The Guardian Retrieved 19 August 2009 source IPSOS MRBI 2015 full citation needed VIEWPOINT Where is the next generation 31 January 2013 External links EditOfficial website Cork s 96FM Listen Live http www liveradio ie stations corks 96fm Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cork 27s 96FM amp oldid 1082496817, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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