8Radio.com is broadcasting on FM each weekend during February and March in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway.
Bosses as the station told us: “By broadcasting on FM, 8Radio.com believes there is an opportunity to further strengthen its audience and drive traffic towards its online presence. It is hoped that these temporary FM broadcasts will lead to the opportunity to progress 8Radio.com towards permanent operation using a business model designed to make the operation of independently owned niche radio stations financially viable while providing quality output.”
8Radio.com is the brainchild of Managing Director Simon Maher, a Lecturer in Media and Broadcasting at Ballyfermot College of Further Education. He was one of the founders and the public face of Phantom FM from its pirate roots in 1998 until its takeover in 2011.
Speaking ahead of the start of the latest FM launch of 8Radio.com, Simon said: “The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland are soon to publish their Strategic Plan for the next 3 years and 8Radio.com are continuing to put forward the case that we strongly believe that there is a market for an Alternative Music Service. If we want to have people listening to locally produced radio in the future then we need to provide outlets for those musical niches and licence them under business and regulatory structures that will allow them to survive in a very competitive multi-media marketplace.
“This is an opportunity for the BAI to really influence listener choices and the future development of music radio but it is not an indefinite window. The growth of streaming services and the continuing drop in traditional radio listening presents a real threat to the future of music services in particular, and radio in general.
“At 8Radio.com we are committed to providing a quality Alternative Music Service and we look forward to bringing 8Radio to FM audiences in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway for the next 8 weekends. There are so many good tunes that deserve to be heard!”
The alternative music station will be broadcasting till Sunday March 26th in Dublin (94.3FM), Cork (106.7FM), Limerick (105.2FM) and Galway (87.7FM) in addition to its online apps and website.