The airing of Ryan Tubridy’s daily Virgin Radio UK show on Dublin station Q102 and the broadcasting of the presenter’s planned weekend show on four local stations has no negative impact on media plurality and does not require approval, the regulator said on Friday.
Coimisiún na Meán, the media watchdog, said a radio station only needed regulatory approval if it made a change to its programming that was not in line with its contract. However, it is “satisfied that no amendments to Dublin Q102′s contract are required for the new weekday music and entertainment-driven show”.
It said Q102 had confirmed it will “continue to serve the needs of its target audience as per its contractual commitments, which is a general audience aged 35-55 years”.
The former RTÉ presenter’s deal to present a midmorning show on Virgin Radio UK, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News UK & Ireland, contained the surprise announcement that the programme – which will be broadcast from London and aimed at a UK audience – will be simulcast on Q102 when it begins in January.
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A separate “dedicated Irish weekend show” will also be shared between Q102, Cork’s 96FM, Live 95 in Limerick and LMFM in Louth and Meath – four of the seven stations that belong to News UK’s Wireless Ireland subsidiary.
This pre-recorded music-driven show also has “no impact on any of the programming commitments, including news, information and current affairs, for any of the stations involved”, according to the regulator.
“Coimisiún na Meán is committed to a thriving, diverse and safe media landscape. In this case, an Coimisiún does not think that a presenter moving from one radio station to another to present music and entertainment-driven programming would have a negative impact on media plurality,” a spokeswoman said.
“When considering media plurality questions, an Coimisiún looks at the full range of programming on a radio station, the impact on the audience being served, and the broader competitive landscape in which it operates.”
Other Irish music stations have bought in radio programmes made overseas and fronted by big names: Ireland’s Classic Hits Radio broadcasts the Kim Wilde 80s Show, a UK production designed for international syndication, while rock station Radio Nova has aired a syndicated Bruce Springsteen show called From His Home to Yours.
Wireless Ireland managing director Sean Barry said on Thursday that Mr Tubridy would be “the perfect midmorning companion on Q102″ and he believed the former Late Late Show host would be “an enormous hit with Wireless Ireland’s audiences”.
But former RTÉ News journalist Damien Tiernan, writing in the Irish Examiner, said the simulcasting trend could prove disastrous for the Irish media landscape.
“Some local stations in Ireland already simulcast some shows – what’s going to happen as this trend continues or is allowed continue? There will be a diminution of diversity,” wrote Mr Tiernan, who now works for Waterford’s WLR FM, in which The Irish Times has a 75 per cent stake.
“Is this a new departure and is the gate now open for more big group companies to propose new mergers? Coimisiún na Meán and the Government must not let this happen.”
