Two consortiums made presentations at public hearings before the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) in Dublin yesterday for a "religious sound broadcasting service on the AM band" in Ireland.
Spirit Radio and Yes Radio had both been selected for the public hearings by the BCI last January from five applications for the licence. Following their presentations yesterday, representative of both were questioned on behalf of the BCI by its chairman, Conor Maguire.
The first presentation was by Spirit Radio's chairman Peter Coyne, formerly of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority. It began with a video that included messages of support for a Christian radio station in Ireland from Bishop Joseph Duffy, chairman of the Catholic Episcopal Commission on Communications, and the Church of Ireland Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh, the Right Rev Ken Clarke.
The Spirit Radio consortium said their station would be based in Athlone, where a planning application was being processed. They would also supply an FM service in five unspecified cities.
Twenty-six per cent of those surveyed would listen to a religious radio station. However, they were aiming for a 1 per cent listenership, or 25,000, in the first year. Most listeners were expected to be in the 25-54 age category. The radio station would be "niche marketed", with a budget of €350,000 for the first three years. Programming would be music- and talk-based, with a strong regional focus with ethnic and bilingual elements, as well as a three-hour Irish-language programme every week. Sixty per cent of music content would be by Irish and international Christian artists from the beginning, 20 per cent from Irish artists.
News would be supplied by the INN news service, with two reporters employed in-house. It was planned to have 14 full-time and 10 part-time staff.
Of the €2.4 million available to the station, €1.2 million was received as a gift, with a further €1.2 million available through interest-free loans.
The Yes Radio team of eight directors is led by board chairman Joe Kelly, a businessman and chairman of the Evangelical Alliance group. They expected their primary audience would be in the 25-44 age group, with the 45-64s a secondary audience. They planned to employ 37 full-time staff and nine part-time, with 10 contract presenters.
Their programme mix would be one of talk and music with an emphasis on family values, and with content as multidenominational as possible. Plans for news content had not been finalised, but it was intended to employ four newsreaders as well as a network of freelance reporters and contacts. They hoped to make arrangements with community radio stations in this context.
Music would be from Christian artists, with 66 per cent specifically Christian and 15 per cent by Irish artists or recorded in Ireland. They proposed spending €833,000 on marketing in the first year. It was intended to broadcast from Monaghan, and from Laois within three years of set-up. They expected a listenership of 2 per cent in the first year, 3 per cent by year two, and 4 per cent by year three.
The BCI will decide who will get the licence on April 16th.