BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The service provides national radio stations covering the majority of musical genres, as well as local radio stations covering local news, affairs and interests. It also oversees online audio content.
Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license.
Licensed radio broadcasting in Ireland is one element of the wider media of Ireland, with 85% of the population listening to a licensed radio broadcasting service on any given day.
RTÉ 2fm, or 2FM as it is more commonly referred to, is an Irish radio station operated by RTÉ. The station specialises in current popular music and chart hits and is the second national radio station in Ireland.
Radio Ireland Ltd, trading as 100–102 Today FM, is an Irish national commercial FM radio station. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it carries music and talk. Purchased by Denis O'Brien's Communicorp in 2007, Today FM holds a licence from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland as far as the year 2027. The station recorded pretax profits of €7.4 million on a turnover of €19.4 million in early 2009, more than twice what it was two years previously.
Pirate radio in Ireland has had a long history, with hundreds of pirate radio stations having operated within the country.
Laser 558 was an offshore pirate radio station launched in May 1984 using disc jockeys from the US. It broadcast from the Panama registered ship MV Communicator in international waters in the North Sea. Within months the station had a large audience due to its strong signal and continuous music mixing current records with oldies. However, insufficient advertising starved the station off the air in late 1985. In 1986 an attempt was made to return as Laser Hot Hits, but the same problems arose.
TXFM was a Dublin based radio station, founded in 1997 as a pirate radio station. TXFM broadcast under a contract awarded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). The station ceased broadcasting on 26 October 2016.
Dublin's Q102 is a commercial radio station in Dublin, owned by Wireless Group which is in turn owned by News UK. It broadcasts on 102.2 MHz FM. The station is licensed to target the 35+ age group, and must provide hourly news, as well as current events programming.
96FM is one of three local radio stations licensed by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland for Cork City and County in Ireland. It broadcasts from studios at Broadcasting House, St. Patrick's Place in Cork City.
Radio Limerick One, also called Limerick 95FM and RLO at times, was the licensed radio station serving Limerick city and county. Licensed by the Independent Radio and Television Commission in 1989, its licence was removed in 1996 for misbehaviour, although the station did not leave the airwaves. It was eventually replaced by Limerick's Live 95FM as the licensed operator.
Digital Radio in the Republic of Ireland is broadcast on a number of digital terrestrial, cable and internet platforms. Until the 31 March 2021, official broadcasts of the digital audio broadcasting standard were also available in the state by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) of their full banquet of radio services. DAB broadcasts since April 2021 are now restricted to unlicensed, low powered multiplexes in a small number of locations.
Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and George Drummond initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopoly. Unlicensed by any government for most of its early life, it was a pirate radio station that never became illegal as such due to operating outside any national jurisdiction, although after the Marine Offences Act (1967) it became illegal for a British subject to associate with it.
Tony Fenton was an Irish radio presenter and DJ. For 18 years until he left in 2003, he worked with RTÉ 2fm; then joined Today FM in 2004, where he worked until his death 11 years later.
WWCT is an FM broadcasting station licensed to Bartonville, Illinois. Through most of its history, the WWCT callsign was associated with Peoria's 105.7 frequency allocation; the call sign and related format was moved to 96.5 (Farmington) in 2003, then 99.9 (Bartonville) in 2006. The original 99.9 callsign, WIXO, and its music format, had moved to 105.7 in 2006.
Dublin South FM is a Community Radio station for South Dublin, which broadcasts seven days a week from 11am to 11pm on 93.9FM, and broadcasts 24 hours a day on digital.
The year 2001 in radio involved some significant events.
WLCW is a radio station broadcasting a contemporary Christian format. Licensed to West Salem, Wisconsin, United States, the station serves the La Crosse area. The station is currently owned by Educational Media Foundation.
Christmas FM is Ireland's radio station dedicated to Christmas themed music. It is a temporary licensed station, traditionally broadcasting from 28 November until 27 December since 2008. The station streams over the internet and maintains social media presence.
In Cork the largest stations at the time were ERI (1982–1988), founded by Joe O'Connor, and the original South Coast Radio (1982–1984), founded by Pete O'Neill and Peter Maher. ERI unsuccessfully applied for a commercial licence in the area in 1989 under the name 'Sound of the South'. Subsequently, its studio and transmission facilities were leased to a new licensed station, the then 'Radio South' in 1989, allowing this new station to come on air relatively quickly. Radio South was relaunched in July 1990 as 96FM and eventually bought out by County Sound in February 1991 with the original 4 shareholders selling all their shares to the Mallow based station.
