Why does 2FM give away cash?
It’s hard to see what the justification is…
I was writing this newsletter, when I saw the latest RTE story drop, this time about a potential redundancy payment of €400,000 for a Senior RTE executive.
It’s a shockingly high number, and I won’t speculate about who it might be for, but it reflects a bizarre corporate culture that seems to be almost impossible to stamp out in what is Ireland’s Public Service Broadcaster.
It’s not the only excess though in RTE, an organisation that is losing money and seeking to cut costs and staff and retool itself for a modern digital age.
RTE 2FM’s New Schedule
I’ve been listening to quite a bit of RTE 2FM in the last week or so.
I’ve made my thoughts clear in a previous edition, about the lack of a clear vision for the station, and that the number of presenters departing at the same time seems to be sending a signal to the management that things aren’t right with the station.
But radio is a never ending linear stream, for the moment anyway, so things move on, and we’re ten days or so into the brand new “Summer Schedule”, which still isn’t a thing.
Breakfast saw Doireann Garrihy depart, and Aifric O’Connell parachuted in.
I’ve heard Aifric on weekends on 2FM and she seemed to have found a solid role in the world of the 2 Johnnies as the radio wisdom in their world of podcast madness.
She also used to partner Carl Mullan on 2FM’s weekend breakfast, so it seems like there should be a natural chemistry between the two on breakfast, which might help to keep the Breakfast show on track despite the departure of its female lead.
That however is not what’s happened.
Instead, Carl has installed himself at the centre of the show, with Donncha O’Callaghan marking him as tightly as an opposing rugby player.
It leaves almost no space for Aifric to come through and be part of the show, and it feels like nobody had a conversation about what the roles should be, or how to keep the show sounding consistent.
The show on Wednesday had no Donncha, and the flow was much better and easier, so perhaps if savings are needed, Breakfast could manage with two presenters instead of three.
Even though it has new presenters, the shape of the show remains the same, which means they have kept one of the more irritating features from the previous show, a quiz that grinds my gears for two reasons.
It’s called “Clockblocker”, a sort of single entendre, that jars every time I hear it.
And well, I’d love to summarise the rules, but it takes almost a full minute to explain them on air!
I timed it.
Essentially, it’s your classic “Answer 10 questions in one minute to win quiz, with a slightly pointless twist that the hosts can stop the quiz at any point, and offer you the chance to take what you’ve won”.
The big prize is €10,000 in cash.
No Sponsor.
Just €10,000 from Ireland’s Youth Focused Public Service Broadcaster.
Ah, but they’re never going to give it away, right? It’s like a big shiny trinket in the window to draw your eye?
Well, they gave away €10,000 on “Clockblocker” back in February of this year.
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That’s a quite a lot of Flip Flops.
And it’s not just on Breakfast that this happens.
Laura Fox who has taken over mid mornings from Jennifer Zamperelli has a game called Autotune Fortune, and that has an increasing jackpot that goes up to €5,000.
And they gave that away just last week.
And wait, there’s more, more cash from our Public Service Broadcaster.
Lottie and David on 2FM Drive launched their show with a cash competition called “Lottie-Loot” which they continue to point out, is a bit like Revolut, but not sponsored by Revolut.
That’s the most brazen of all – you just have to text in and ask for money – they have €1000 euro to give away across the week.
I wonder how many texts they get asking for the money to pay a licence fee.
Putting Your Cash on the Line
If you add up the jackpots there, by my reckoning there’s almost €20,000 on the line each month… or, as we say in this house, 125 licence fees.
I’m sure that someone in RTE or 2FM will make an argument that the market is very competitive, that we have to give away cash to compete with Bauer’s Cash Machine, and it’s part of the cost of doing business, or that it comes out of the marketing budget.
Firstly, there are plenty of sponsors and sponsored competitions in the market, so for a station to give away its own money, particularly if they’re a public service broadcaster, who are supposed to be making savings, seems insane.
Secondly, it’s no great mystery how the Bauer Cash Machine works, they literally explain it on air every hour, on every station.
1) Set up a premium rate text line
2) Encourage people to enter while clearly explaining the cost
3) Use some of the revenue from that text line to award prizes
4) Keep the remainder and spend it on advertising your brands
I will concede they don’t explain the 4th one on air, but it’s clear how it works, and the reason that it works is that Bauer have the scale and the listenership to make it work.
Do you know who else have that scale and listenership? RTE.
No Purpose, No Budget
I do not understand why our state broadcaster is throwing away cash on the air every single weekday. I wish someone would explain it to me.
There are plenty of other things to criticise about 2FM from my listening, their music format doesn’t really make a lot of sense, the station feels over imaged, but the imaging says absolutely nothing, and the new Drive time show is just a terrible error.
But I might save those thoughts for another day,
This has been the 42nd official edition of the RAudio Newsletter.
Apart from writing newsletters, I also consult to radio stations and podcasts, so if you have a question, or a project you need help on, drop me an email – liamathompson@gmail.com
I specialise in monitoring shows and presenters and providing clear advice and actionable points to help you coach or make strategic decisions.
I’m also the Co-Founder and Editorial Director of The Smart 7 Podcast, a daily news podcast that gives you 7 stories, in 7 minutes, 7 days a week at 7am.
We’ve won awards, including Webby Awards and a Signal Award and were nominated for an ARIA for Innovation –https://podfollow.com/thesmart7
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