Media & Marketing:The decision by 2 FM to poach the main prime time presenters from rival FM 104 has surprised most radio people because it goes against the long established trend of RTÉ studiously ignoring prime time presenters from the commercial sector.
When viewed alongside the decision to recruit Gráinne Ní Seoige from Sky News, the latest decision to bring in Colm Hayes and Jim Nugent from FM 104 shows that RTÉ is now prepared to make a strong financial pitch to some of the biggest names in commercial broadcasting.
There was a reluctance in the 1980s and 1990s in RTÉ to acknowledge the widespread appeal of broadcasters working outside Montrose. In recent years the trend of going to the private sector to get staff has become well established in RTÉ, but it has tended to be producers, editors or reporters. Prime time presenters were another matter entirely. This sort of thinking now seems redundant. The arrival of RTÉ Radio 1 boss Anna Leddy may have triggered a sense of commercial realism.
While last week's decision to grab virtually the whole Strawberry Alarm Clock crew from FM104 was made by 2FM chief John Clarke, there is no doubt of Leddy's influence. But what is even more widespread is the notion that if ratings are on the slide, a solution may be found by shipping in talent.
There is some danger that RTÉ staff may baulk at the idea of raiding other stations for high profile positions they may have been eyeing for themselves. There is also a danger that RTÉ's answer to every scheduling problem is to pinch staff from the the commercial sector. There is also the more obvious danger that existing staff like Marty Whelan, who is no longer in the 2 FM schedule, will become disenchanted at being pulled out of a prime time slot.
But the biggest implication in the decision to bring in FM 104 staff is probably for the commercial sector. Its prime time presenters are paid handsomely but considerably below what is paid to the likes of Pat Kenny or Gerry Ryan. The increasing commercial ambition of RTÉ means that commercial stations will become more vulnerable to staff walking out.
FM 104 for example has few nationally recognised stars. The station only broadcasts in Dublin, so it is never going to have any nationally recognised stars. But Nugent and Hayes were probably its foremost broadcasters.
Their loss will be significant and other commercial services like Q102 are already taking out clever full pages trying to profit on FM 104's current misfortunes.
These misfortunes will be watched closely by Emap, the giant UK magazine and radio group which owns FM 104.
In fact FM 104 has suffered high profile defections before. Back in 1998 the station was prepared to go all the way to the High Court to stop late night host Chris Barry joining its deadly rival 98 FM. Unfortunately it lost the case, so the station probably took the financially responsible course this time in not applying to the courts.
New financial reality
Television advertisements in the UK which claim people can walk away from their debts almost entirely are coming under the scrutiny of UK regulators.
The advertisements point out that consumers with a heavy indebtness can sign an individual voluntary arrangement which protects them from bankruptcy once they make one large payment to their creditors. The payment is normally considerably less than they owe.
The UK Office of Fair Trading, headed by Irishman John Fingleton, will order a large number of firms promoting such arrangements to review their advertising amid concerns that consumers are being misled. An OFT spokesman said some ads promised consumers they could write off 90 per cent of debts, when the true figure was nearer 55 per cent.
The same adverts come into Ireland via digital television channels but they cannot be regulated by the BCI because they are from another jurisdiction. Most of the services advertised are not thankfully aimed at the Irish market.
