20170117 Decision 1016 DM.Pdf

#1016 BAI Schedule of Records: Summary of Decision-Making

“All documenta ion, in he possession of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, dating from January 1, 2015, pertaining to the corporate business of Communicorp, including correspondence with Denis O'Brien, Description of the Communicorp's owner and INM's biggest shareholder, his representatives, representatives of INM and its newspaper ti les, and representatives of Communicorp and its radio stations. This request does not include request: documentation in relation to day to day or otherwise routine matters between the BAI as regulator and Communicorp-owned stations.”

Brief Description of Any Attachments? Grant / Refuse / No Date of Record Relevant Section of Legislation Record Edited? / Identified sections for Deletion? Record If so, please list. Partial Grant/Defer Some of the information contained in this document is Appendix 1 - Communicorp Anuual Review Section 35 (1) (a) 1 04-Nov-15 BAI Annual Report of Communicorp - Full version Partial Grant considered to have been received in confidence or Meeting Presentation Section 36 (1) (b) commerically sensitive. Some of the information contained in this document is Section 35 (1) (a) 2 09-Nov-16 Communicorp Annual Review Meeting Presentation - Partial Grant considered to have been received in confidence or Section 36 (1) (b) commerically sensitive. Some of the information contained in this document is Communicorp Annual Review Meeting Presentation Section 35 (1) (a) 3 09-Nov-16 - Partial Grant considered to have been received in confidence or Redacted version Section 36 (1) (b) commerically sensitive. BAI Agenda - Annual review meeting between Communicorp 4 19-Oct-15 - Grant - - and the BAI BAI Agenda - Annual meeting between Communicorp and 5 09-Nov-16 - Grant - - the BAI The information in this document is considered to be 6 - Communicorp Rate Card - Refuse Section 36 (1) (b) commerically sensitive. Email: Communicorp to BAI re Dublin alt licence and RTE Some of the information contained in this document is 7 24-Jul-15 - Partial Grant Section 35 (1) (a) Summer Offer (EMAIL 4) considered to have been received in confidence. Partial Grant - Email Some of the information contained in this document is Section 35 (1) (a) 8 27-Oct-15 Internal Email BAI (EMAIL 12) Attachment (i) - Draft Note to Authority released in full. Attachment considered to have been received in confidence or Section 36 (1) (b) partially redacted. commerically sensitive. Email: BAI to Communicorp re BA /CGL annual review 9 02-Nov-15 Grant - - meeting Partial Grant - Email Some of the information contained in this document is Section 35 (1) (a) 10 02-Nov-15 Internal Email BAI (EMAIL 14) Attachement (i) - Draft note to Authority released in full. Attachment considered to have been received in confidence or Section 36 (1) (b) partially redacted. commerically sensitive. Document 1

Appendix 1 (Doc1)

1. CORPORATE PLANS & DEVELOPMENT

2. OWNERSHIP & MANAGEMENT

FUTURE PLANS

PERFORMANCE

3. PROGRAMMING MATTERS

GROUP PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS TODAY FM • Colm O’Sullivan moved to Station PD from evening show presentation role • Fergal D’Arcy recruited from iRadio for The Mix Up evening show on Today FM • Paula MacSweeney took up the early breakfast show position replacing Teresanne O’Reilly Newstalk • No major primetime schedule changes in last 12 months • Various weekend schedule updates and time changes including Collette Fitzpatrick on Sunday Mornings 98FM • New Drivetime launched with Dara Quilty • Brian Maher joined the evening schedule • Various weekend schedule changes over past 12 months SPIN 1038 • New breakfast show launched with Cormac and Daniella, replacing the longrunning and much loved Fully Charged with Ryan and Tracy • New Zoo crew show feuturing Graham and Nathan launched to replace Cormac and Daniella move to breakfast SPIN South West • New breakfast show, mid morning and evening show presenter line up including PPI award winning Martin Guilfoyle • Mid morning show daypart split with no change needed to station PPS TXFM • No significant programme schedule changes in the review year 22

98FM PROGRAMMING - COMPLIANCE • Complaints were upheld against Dublin Talks under Code of Programme Standards, specifically “protection from harm” and “respect for privacy”. This was after an underage caller was allowed partake in a debate on-air regarding Snapchat. A warning notice was issued by the BAI • Following on from this, the management team reviewed the full programme production procedures and additional measures were put in place to safeguard against any minors being put on-air in future. • 98FM met with the BAI on Aug 25th and the improvements to our content delivery and programme production were agreed upon, to remedy non-compliance issues. • The programme team were also given additional training in respect of the BAI Code Of Programme Standards by MediaLawyer.ie through Learning Waves. • 98FM have also retained the services of an external consultant to help monitor and improve the content of Dublin Talks, ensuring its suitability for the time of day and to help increase the overall listenership.

SPIN 1038 PROGRAMMING • No.1 for 15-34’s for the 1st time in company history this year in April JNLR. We maintained this position in July JNLR and are currently 3,000 ahead of FM104 • Steve K performance has been main driver of success with 93,000 adult reach in last quarter. This show is the No.1 Drive time music show in Dublin • Listened yesterday is currently at 15% and in the most recent JNLR it increased by 3,000 PT MS has dropped in the last JNLR up 0.1% to 7.1%. • SPIN1038 won 2 PPI radio awards at this years ceremony. Steve K for Radio DJ and “The Drop” for radio promotion. This is the second year in a row Steve K has won this award and the third year in a row that SPIN has won the radio promotion category.. • SPIN has the biggest footprint of any media brand on social media in Ireland – Facebook: 331k – Twitter: 236k – Instagram: 55k • These platforms are a key engagement tool with the our target audience spending more than 3 hours per day on social media. 69

4. BAI MATTERS

5. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Document 4

Annual Review Meeting between Communicorp and the BAI

Date 19/10/2015 Time: 2.30pm Venue: Marconi House

Agenda

1. Corporate Plans and Development - Ownership and Management Matters - Future Plans

2. Financial and Trading Performance - Perspective on Current Marketplace - Future Projections - Advertising Levy

3. Programming Matters - Programme Schedules - JNLR Performance - Compliance - Funding Schemes

4. BAI Matters - General Commercial Communications Code - Ownership and Control Policy Review - Licensing Plan 2015 - Broadcasting Services Strategy

5. Any Other Business

Agenda Communicorp and BAI 1/1 Document 5

Annual Meeting between Communicorp and the BAI

Date 9/11//2016 Time: 10.00am Venue: Marconi House

Agenda

1. Corporate Plans and Development - Ownership and Management Matters - Future Plans

2. Financial and Trading Performance - Perspective on Current Marketplace - Future Projections

3. Programming Matters - Programme Schedules - JNLR Performance - Compliance - Funding Schemes

4. BAI Matters - BAI Statement of Strategy 2017-19 - Review of Broadcasting Services Strategy - General Commercial Communications Code - Licensing Plan 2016/17

5. Any Other Business

Agenda Communicorp and BAI 1/1 Document 7

From: Michael O"Keeffe To: Peter McPartlin Cc: Gervaise Slowey Ccorp Subject: RE: Dublin alternative music licence / RTE Summer offer Date: Friday 24 July 2015 09:05:00 Attachments: image001.gif image002.gif

Hi Peter,

I am meeting Gervaise today at 1pm and I will discuss the matters raised beneath with her.

Regards

Michael.

From: Peter McPartlin [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 22 July 2015 15:13 To: Michael O'Keeffe Cc: Gervaise Slowey Ccorp Subject: RE: Dublin alternative music licence / RTE Summer offer

Hi Michael,

I know you’re probably gearing up for your pre-holiday board meeting so I didn’t want to delay you with a long phone call. You had suggested that I get in touch with you in relation to the Authority’s position on the forthcoming expressions of interest for the TXFM licence.

The station shareholders are keen to understand that the EOI will continue to reflect the basis of the existing licence which Phantom and now TXFM is designed to cater for:

“.... a. Dublin City and County Alternative Rock radio service. It will provide a schedule of programming featuring a wider variety of music than chart-based stations and will also include specialist programmes which will focus on alternative genres.” Thanks in advance, Michael.

Regards, Peter

Peter McPartlin Chief Executive Today FM / TXFM, Marconi House, Digges Lane, Dublin 2

From: Michael O'Keeffe [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 25 June 2015 10:30 To: Peter McPartlin Subject: RE: Dublin alternative music licence

Hi Peter,

I will not be in a position to answer your query beneath until after the Authority meets to consider the licensing plan. As indicated, we expect this to be considered at the Authority meeting on July 23rd.

I will advise you of developments at that stage.

Regards

Michael.

From: Peter McPartlin [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 22 June 2015 17:57 To: Michael O'Keeffe Subject: RE: Dublin alternative music licence

Hi Michael,

I just wanted to check with you in relation to likely definition of the music licence which TXFM will be re-applying for.

The shareholders would like to confirm that the basis of the new licence is not being changed.

We are assuming that the “expressions of interest” will continue to reflect the basis of the existing licence which Phantom and now TXFM is designed to cater for:

Only artists/music that satisfy at least two of the criteria below will be considered Alternative Rock: a) Music that is written by the performing artist b) Music primarily driven by guitar, bass and drums c) Music with a counter culture message or narrative which presents an image/lifestyle that is non-conforming. d) Music that draws inspiration from a classic Rock heritage.

Can you confirm if that will be the case.

I know the question has been asked before, but perhaps you could clarify the implications of requesting for a broader catchment area for the new licence (similar to that of Nova).

Many thanks in advance, Michael.

Peter

From: Michael O'Keeffe [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 12 June 2015 10:54 To: Peter McPartlin Subject: RE: Dublin alternative music licence Hi Peter,

My timetable was a little ambitious given the induction of new board and committees and other activities.

The current intention is to bring the licensing plan to the Board for approval at their meeting on 23rd July. I would anticipate that the direction to the Contract Awards Committee will be sent during August and that they will most likely initiate the process with a call for expressions of interest in late September/early October.

I expect that this timetable will be adhered to but will let you know if there are any changes. I go on holidays after the July Authority meeting but if you want to send me an email on 24th July before I go, I can update you again at that time.

Regards

Michael.

From: Peter McPartlin [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 12 June 2015 09:42 To: Michael O'Keeffe Subject: Dublin alternative music licence

Hi Michael,

I hope all is well with you. The last time we met for lunch you mentioned that the re-licensing process for TXFM and Newstalk stations. There was, I think, a tentative schedule that went something like this:

· The BAI will bring the licence plan to the board in their May board meeting. · They will then instruct the contract awards committee to advertise both the TXFM and NT licences. Timing likely July-Sept · The Expression of interest will be received in Sept.

I just wanted to get an update from you on how you see the actual timetable rolling out.

Thanks Michael,

Peter

From: Michael O'Keeffe [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 25 June 2014 15:14 To: Peter McPartlin Subject: RE: Overdue levy payment

Thanks Peter, I appreciate that the amount outstanding was not large but it is a standard escalation letter which is sent to all with a levy amount overdue for a certain period.

Regards

Michael.

Michael O' Keeffe. Chief Executive.

Broadcasting Authority of Ireland – Údarás Craolacháin na hÉireann 2-5 Warrington Place, Dublin 2, Ireland T: + 353 (0)1 644 1200 F: + 353 (0)1 644 1299 E: [email protected] W: www.bai.ie

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender and [email protected] immediately and delete the email. If you are not the intended recipient, any distribution or copying of this email is strictly prohibited.

Tá an ríomhphost seo agus aon iatán a ghabhann leis rúnda agus is leis an duine sin amháin a bhfuil siad seolta chuige/chuici a bhaineann siad. Muna duitse an ríomhphost seo, ní ceart é a léamh ná a scaoileadh chuig aon tríú páirtí. Iarrtar ort teachtaireacht a sheoladh chuig an seoltóir nó chuig [email protected], agus an ríomhphost seo a scrios.

From: Peter McPartlin [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 25 June 2014 14:58 To: Michael O'Keeffe Cc: Anna Kupczak Subject: Overdue levy payment

Hi Michael,

I received the recent notice in relation to an outstanding amount on the BAI levy for Today FM. My apologies for the delay on this. Our accounts people will get it sorted in the next cheque run.

Kind regards, Peter

Today FM PETER McPARTLIN Chief Executive t: (01) 804 9091 | m: 086 231 0222 [email protected]

TXFM Today FM, Marconi House, Digges Lane, Dublin 2. todayfm.com | Facebook | Twitter

TXFM, Marconi House, Digges Lane, Dublin 2. txfm.ie | Facebook | Twitter This e-mail message may contain confidential or privileged informa ion and is intended only for the use of he intended recipient(s). Any unauthorized disclosure, dissemination, distribution, copying or the taking of any action in reliance on the informa ion herein is prohibited. Today FM and/or TXFM is not responsible for errors or omissions in this message and denies any responsibility for any damage arising from he use of e- mail. Any opinion and other statement contained in this message and any attachment are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the company. Document 8

From: Michael O"Keeffe To: Sinead Owens Subject: Communicorp report Date: Tuesday 27 October 2015 17:15:00 Attachments: Communicorp review 2015.docx

Sinead,

As discussed.

Michael.

Michael O' Keeffe. Chief Executive.

Broadcasting Authority of Ireland – Údarás Craolacháin na hÉireann 2-5 Warrington Place, Dublin 2, Ireland T: + 353 (0)1 644 1200 F: + 353 (0)1 644 1299 E: [email protected] W: www.bai.ie

Note to Authority

Broadcasting Authority of Ireland

Annual Report of Communicorp Group

(For information)

1. Introduction

The annual review meeting was held with the Communicorp Group in Marconi House on 19th October 2015. The BAI was represented by Michael O’ Keeffe, Celene Craig and Ciaran Kissane. Communicorp was represented by Gervaise Slowey (Chief Executive), Peter McPartlin (CEO of Today FM), Paul Lynch (Financial Controller), Andy Ashton (Group Programme Director), Colm O’ Sullivan (Programme Director, Today FM), Garret Harte (Newstalk Editor in Chief) and Caroline Reynolds (Group New Business Director),Communicorp provided the BAI with a comprehensive presentation covering all aspects of the review meeting and this is attached at Appendix 1. The following is a summary of the key issues discussed under each relevant heading

2. Corporate Plans and Development

2.1 Ownership and management issues – There have been no changes in the Communicorp group holdings in Ireland over the past twelve months and none are anticipated in the immediate future. There was a change in the ownership of the Hypertrust shareholding of just under 19% in Newstalk during the year but this had no impact from a media concentration perspective as the new owners have no other media interests within the jurisdiction. Communicorp continued the policy of divesting its European portfolio and sold its stations in Latvia. Bulgaria remains the only central European country where it now holds interests and it also continues to hold licences for eight services in the UK. Communicorp also retains its non-radio interests in Ireland – Ican and Buy and Sell and

There has been a little more movement on the management side due to a number of personnel changes. Gerard Whelan resigned as CEO of Newstalk in March and has not yet been replaced with his duties being undertaken on an interim basis by Caroline Reynolds and Garret Harte. Gervaise Slowey indicated that an appointment was imminent and they hoped to submit a person for BAI approval within the next weeks. New Programme Directors have been appointed at both Today FM and Newstalk – Colm O’ Sullivan and Patricia Monaghan respectively – and a new Financial Controller, Patrick Bolger, has been appointed at Newstalk to replace the departed Patrick Hand. Former CEO of 98FM, Chris Doyle, has been brought back in to support programming in Newstalk and with responsibility for the upcoming licensing processes for Newstalk and TXFM.

2.2 Future Plans – There are no current plans for business acquisitions or disposals. The main focus in 2016 will be to achieve renewals of both the Newstalk and TXFM licences and there will also be a renewed focus on strengthening listenership across both national stations and 98FM in Dublin. 3. Financial and Trading Performance

The overall advertising market has improved in the current year with growth of 5% across all media. Radio has also been strong achieving growth of 3.2% with most of this driven by the performance of the Communicorp Group and Media Central. (Media Central is the Communicorp owned sales agency which sells national advertising for youth stations). The first half of the year had been very strong followed by a slow July and August although the period from September onwards had picked up again and signs were encouraging for the remainder of the year. Finally, in terms of the general issues discussed in this section, Communicorp referred to their proposals for the abolition of the levy. They felt that the BAI should be funded either fully through the licence fee or from the Exchequer.. They spoke of the IBI lobbying on the issue, the recent Kevin Rafter report on the limitations of Sound and Vision to address the issue, particularly due to the news and current affairs exclusion from the scheme and a number of solutions which largely centred around reducing licence fee evasion through a change in the collection system and getting access to the Sky and Virgin Media databases.. They acknowledged that these changes would be difficult to achieve in the short term given the uncertainty around legislation due to the forthcoming General Election.

Ciaran Kissane spoke about the potential of the Sound and Vision scheme suggesting that the commercial sector had not participated to its advantage over the years. We agreed that change to the legislative position was unlikely in the short term but that the BAI would support any mechanisms which would lead to a greater level of licence fee collection thereby at least opening the potential for some positive benefit for the commercial sector. However, the introduction of a Broadcasting Charge, as envisaged in 2012/13 was probably the best way of providing more funds for the sector as a whole, and it was hoped that a new Government would support such an initiative.

Celene Craig took the opportunity to remind Communicorp of the importance of timely payment of the levy and noted that there had been some delays in the current year. Communicorp undertook to address this situation in respect of all future payments.

The following is a summary of some highlights of revenue performance on a station by station basis: 4. Programming matters

The discussions under this heading focussed on programme schedule developments, audience performance and BAI compliance matters. There was also some discussion on the Sound and Vision scheme and the Communicorp representatives brought us up to date on the status of two archiving projects on Today FM and Newstalk respectively, for which they have been granted funding under the BAI Archiving scheme. One of the key focuses across all of the stations is to grow the digital footprint across all of the stations through a range of station specific initiatives. The Appendix contains a significant level of detail in respect of each station and I outline hereunder some of the key issues noted: - Today FM – Experienced significant upheaval in its programme schedule over the past year following the departure of a number of personnel and the untimely death of afternoon presenter, Tony Fenton. The changes have resulted in some small losses of audience reach and share, although weekend performance has increased. New programme director Colm O’ Sullivan will place an emphasis over the next period on reinforcing the “pop-rock” music proposition of the station which will include the provision of major support for Irish music. There was one compliance issue in the period related to advertising minutage overruns which were linked to the interpretation of sponsorship regulations. This matter has been subsequently addressed. - Newstalk – The Newstalk programme schedule has now been well established and the upward momentum in audience share has been continuing with the station now achieving a share of 6.6%. Perhaps surprisingly, most of the recent gains have been to Breakfast and the Right Hook with the Pat Kenny show having lost some listeners in the past year. The weekend schedule has been revamped with the addition of Collette Fitzpatrick on Sundays. There were no compliance issues raised in the period under review. Obviously, the key focus over the next period will be the licence renewal process which has just been initiated by the Contract awards Committee. - 98FM – there have been a number of personnel changes in the schedule and additional resources provided to the breakfast and talk shows. Audience performance is steady and they are working to rebuild share after a number of years of reduced performance. There was a major compliance issue concerning the Dublin Talks programme and the station was issued with a written warning. New procedures have been implemented to ensure that there will not be a re-occurrence. - Spin 1038 – The station has achieved audience growth in the all adults and 15-34 age group and has taken over the No.1 position in their target age group for the first time. There have been a number of on-air personnel changes and, of note, is the introduction of new presenters from the Communicorp training station FRQ. There have been no compliance issues raised with the station in the current period. - Spin South West – There has been quite a degree of changes in presenters during the year which may have been one of the factors in a slight reduction in their 15-34 audience. Having said that, they remain well ahead of all other stations within this demographic. No compliance issues have been reported for the station in the period. - TXFM – Audience performance has finally begun to show some improvement with a significant jump in daily listenership (from an admittedly small base). There has also been some growth in female listenership. The focus has been on reviewing and developing the music content in order to freshen up the sound of the station. They have recently launched a TXFM student scheme to encourage new talent onto the radio station. There have been some compliance issues around sponsorship and the over delivery of certain music categories. These are being addressed with relevant BAI personnel. As with Newstalk, the focus of station management over the next period will be on the licence renewal process.

This part of the meeting concluded with a good discussion on the Sound and Vision scheme and whether Communicorp were exploiting opportunities to achieve greater success with the scheme. Ciaran Kissane spoke of the scope that existed to fund potential landmark productions which could be given greater prominence within schedules of individual stations. He cited the recent major award for a Comedy series to be broadcast on RTE which received funding of €80k from the scheme as an example of the type of project that national stations in particular should give consideration to. It was noted that Newstalk had received significant funding from the scheme and Spin South West had also received funding, albeit of a more modest nature. Even allowing for the constraints of radio peak time schedules, the BAI representatives were of the view that greater opportunities existed to make programmes with the support of the fund.

5. BAI Matters

The BAI representatives provided an update on a number of matters as follows: - General Commercial Communications Code – Ciaran Kissane provided a quick update on the status of the proposed revision of the code. He indicated that the Minister had laid the review of the code before the Houses of the Oireachtas in the previous week. Proposals in respect of a revised draft code would be considered by the Authority between now and the end of the year and it was expected that a public consultation would be undertaken in the New Year. We identified some of the issues that were likely to be prominent in the consultation including potential changes to the rules on sponsorship and alcohol. - Ownership and Control Policy – Ciaran also provided the update on the proposed revision of the ownership and control policy which would be undertaken in 2016. He provided the context of the report to the Minister on plurality, the research undertaken for the BAI in this area and the likely development of a plurality policy. We were not in a position to comment on what, if any, implications a revised policy would have on the current rules on media concentration but emphasised that there would be a public consultation dimension to whatever was being proposed. - Licensing Plan 2015 – Michael O’ Keeffe provided a status update for both the Newstalk and TXFM licensing processes. Decisions as to whether a competitive or fast track process would be operated were dependant on the outcomes of the recent advertisement for expressions of interest. It was likely that a decision in this regard would be made in December and the processes operated over the course of the first half of 2016. - Broadcasting Services Strategy (“BSS”) – Michael O’ Keeffe made brief reference to the proposed revision of the BSS which had been operational since 2012. In response to a query from the Communicorp representatives, he said that at this stage it was too early to comment on whether the revised BSS would facilitate the licensing of additional services but emphasised that significant consultation was envisaged before any such decisions would be reached.

The meeting then concluded.

Michael O’ Keeffe Celene Craig Ciaran Kissane

November 2015. Document 9

From: Michael O"Keeffe To: Andy Ashton Cc: Celene Craig; Ciarán Kissane; Gervaise Slowey Subject: RE: BAI / CGL annual review meeting Date: Monday 2 November 2015 10:25:00

Dear Andy,

Thanks for sending on this.

I note that this is the redacted version which would be used for FOI purposes. However, I need a soft copy of the full report for presentation to the Authority at their meeting on Thursday 12th November. Please be assured that this would be treated as strictly confidential for the BAI only.

I would be grateful if you would forward this before Wednesday as the papers will be issued at that point.

Regards

Michael.

From: Andy Ashton [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 28 October 2015 12:21 To: Ciarán Kissane; Celene Craig; Michael O'Keeffe Subject: BAI / CGL annual review meeting

Dear Celene, Ciaran and Michael.

It was a great pleasure to meet with you all recently for the annual review. We very much appreciate your time and comments, as well as the information you shared.

As promised please find attached a review copy of the deck presented.

Best wishes Andy

Andy Ashton Group Programme Director

Communicorp 4th Floor, Marconi House Digges Lane, Dublin 2 T: +353 1 432 5911 M: +353 87 063 4396 E: [email protected] communicorp ie Document 10

From: Michael O"Keeffe To: Celene Craig; Ciarán Kissane Subject: annual review of communicorp Date: Monday 2 November 2015 15:36:00 Attachments: 20151028_AnnualReportCommunicorp_v.01_SO.DOCX

Hi guys,

The good news is that I have drafted the note in full!

Could you please review and make changes where appropriate or discuss with me if necessary. The note has been included in the agenda for Thursday 12th “for information” and I would hope to send it out with the papers on Wednesday 4th.

Thanks

Michael.

Michael O' Keeffe. Chief Executive.

Broadcasting Authority of Ireland – Údarás Craolacháin na hÉireann 2-5 Warrington Place, Dublin 2, Ireland T: + 353 (0)1 644 1200 F: + 353 (0)1 644 1299 E: [email protected] W: www.bai.ie

Note to Authority Broadcasting Authority of Ireland

Annual Report of Communicorp (For Information)

1. Introduction

The annual review meeting was held with the Communicorp Group in Marconi House on 19th October 2015. The BAI was represented by Michael O’Keeffe, Celene Craig and Ciarán Kissane. Communicorp was represented by Gervaise Slowey (Chief Executive), Peter McPartlin (CEO of Today FM), Paul Lynch (Financial Controller), Andy Ashton (Group Programme Director), Colm O’Sullivan (Programme Director, Today FM), Garret Harte (Newstalk Editor in Chief) and Caroline Reynolds (Group New Business Director). Communicorp provided the BAI with a comprehensive presentation covering all aspects of the review meeting and this is attached at Appendix 1. The following is a summary of the key issues discussed under each relevant heading

2. Corporate Plans and Development

2.1 Ownership and Management Issues There have been no changes in the Communicorp group shareholdings in Ireland over the past twelve months and none are anticipated in the immediate future. There was a change in the ownership of the Hypertrust shareholding of just under 19% in Newstalk during the year but this had no impact from a media concentration perspective as the new owners have no other media interests within the jurisdiction. Communicorp continued the policy of divesting its European portfolio and sold its stations in Latvia. Bulgaria remains the only central European country where it now holds interests and it also continues to hold licences for eight services in the UK.

Communicorp also holds a number of non-radio interests in Ireland – Ican and Buy and Sell –

Note to Authority 1/7 November, 2015

Note to Authority Broadcasting Authority of Ireland

and they hoped to submit a name for BAI approval within the next weeks. New Programme Directors have been appointed at both Today FM and Newstalk – Colm O’Sullivan and Patricia Monaghan respectively – and a new Financial Controller, Patrick Bolger, has been appointed at Newstalk to replace the departed Patrick Hand. Former CEO of 98FM, Chris Doyle, has been brought back in to support programming in Newstalk and has also been given responsibility for the upcoming licensing processes for Newstalk and TXFM.

2.2 Future Plans There are no current plans for business acquisitions or disposals. The main focus in 2016 will be to achieve renewals of both the Newstalk and TXFM licences and there will also be a renewed focus on strengthening listenership across both national stations and 98FM in Dublin.

3. Financial and Trading Performance

Note to Authority 2/7 November, 2015

Note to Authority Broadcasting Authority of Ireland

Finally, in terms of the general issues discussed in this section, Communicorp referred to their proposals for the abolition of the levy. They felt that the BAI should be funded either fully through the licence fee or from the Exchequer. They spoke of the IBI lobbying on the issue; the recent Kevin Rafter report on the limitations of Sound and Vision to address the issue, particularly due to the news and current affairs exclusion from the scheme and a number of solutions which largely centred around reducing licence fee evasion through a change in the collection system and getting access to the Sky and Virgin Media databases. They acknowledged that all of these options would be difficult to achieve in the short term given the uncertainty around legislation due to the forthcoming General Election.

We agreed that change to the legislative position was unlikely in the short term but that the BAI would support any mechanisms which would lead to a greater level of licence fee collection thereby at least opening the potential for some positive benefit for the commercial sector. However, the introduction of a Broadcasting Charge, as envisaged in 2012/13 was probably the best way of providing more funds for the sector as a whole, and it was hoped that a new Government would support such an initiative.

The following is a summary of some highlights of revenue performance on a station by station basis:

Note to Authority 3/7 November, 2015

Note to Authority Broadcasting Authority of Ireland

4. Programming Matters

Today FM – Experienced significant upheaval in its programme schedule over the past year, following the departure of a number of personnel and the untimely death of afternoon presenter, Tony Fenton. The changes have resulted in some small losses of audience reach and share, although weekend performance has increased. New programme director Colm O Sullivan will place an emphasis over the next period on reinforcing the “pop-rock” music proposition of the

Note to Authority 4/7 November, 2015

Note to Authority Broadcasting Authority of Ireland

station which will include the provision of major support for Irish music. There was one compliance issue in the period related to advertising minutage overruns which were linked to the interpretation of sponsorship regulations. This matter has been subsequently addressed.

Newstalk – The Newstalk programme schedule has now been well established and the upward momentum in audience share has been continuing with the station now achieving a share of 6.6%. Perhaps surprisingly, most of the recent gains have been to Breakfast and the Right Hook with the Pat Kenny show having lost some listeners in the past year. The weekend schedule has been revamped with the addition of Collette Fitzpatrick on Sundays. There were no compliance issues raised in the period under review. The key focus over the next period will be the licence renewal process which has just been initiated by the Contract Awards Committee.

98FM – There have been a number of personnel changes in the schedule and additional resources provided to the breakfast and talk shows. Audience performance is steady and they are working to rebuild share after a number of years of reduced performance. There was a major compliance issue concerning the Dublin Talks programme and the station was issued with a written warning. New procedures have been implemented to ensure that there will not be a re- occurrence.

Spin 1038 – The station has achieved audience growth in the all adults and 15-34 age group and has taken over the No.1 position in their target age group for the first time. There have been a number of on-air personnel changes and, of note, is the introduction of new presenters from the Communicorp training station FRQ. There have been no compliance issues raised with the station in the current period.

Spin South West – There have been quite a number of changes in presenters during the year which may have been one of the factors in a slight reduction in their 15-34 audience. Having said that, they remain well ahead of all other stations within this demographic. No compliance issues have been reported for the station in the period.

TXFM – Audience performance has finally begun to show some improvement with a significant jump in daily listenership (from an admittedly small base). There has also been some growth in female listenership. The focus has been on reviewing and developing the music content in order to freshen up the sound of the station. They have recently launched a TXFM student scheme to encourage new talent onto the radio station. There have been some compliance issues around sponsorship and the over delivery of certain music categories. These are being addressed with relevant BAI personnel. As with Newstalk, the focus of station management over the next period will be on the licence renewal process.

Note to Authority 5/7 November, 2015

Note to Authority Broadcasting Authority of Ireland

This part of the meeting concluded with a good discussion on the Sound and Vision scheme and whether Communicorp were exploiting opportunities to achieve greater success within the scheme. Ciarán Kissane spoke of the scope that existed to fund potential landmark productions which could be given greater prominence within schedules of individual stations. He cited the recent major award for a Comedy series to be broadcast on RTÉ which received funding of €80k from the scheme as an example of the type of project that national stations in particular should give consideration to. It was noted that Newstalk had received significant funding from the scheme and Spin South West had also received funding, albeit of a more modest nature. Even allowing for the constraints of radio peak time schedules, the BAI representatives were of the view that greater opportunities existed to make programmes with the support of the fund.

5. BAI Matters

The BAI representatives provided an update on a number of matters as follows:

General Commercial Communications Code – Ciarán Kissane provided a quick update on the status of the proposed revision of the code. He indicated that the Minister had laid the review of the code before the Houses of the Oireachtas in the previous week. Proposals in respect of a revised draft code would be considered by the Authority between now and the end of the year and it was expected that a public consultation would be undertaken in the New Year. We identified some of the issues that were likely to be prominent in the consultation including potential changes to the rules on sponsorship and alcohol.

Ownership and Control Policy – Ciarán also provided the update on the proposed revision of the ownership and control policy which would be undertaken in 2016. He provided the context of the report to the Minister on plurality, the research undertaken for the BAI in this area and the likely development of a plurality policy. We were not in a position to comment on what, if any, implications a revised policy would have on the current rules on media concentration but emphasised that there would be a public consultation dimension to whatever was being proposed.

Licensing Plan 2015 – Michael O’Keeffe provided a status update for both the Newstalk and TXFM licensing processes. Decisions as to whether a competitive or fast track process would be operated were dependant on the outcomes of the recent advertisement for expressions of interest. It was likely that a decision in this regard would be made in December and the processes operated over the course of the first half of 2016.

Broadcasting Services Strategy (“BSS”) – Michael O’Keeffe made brief reference to the proposed revision of the BSS which had been operational since 2012. In response to a query from the Communicorp representatives, he said that at this stage it was too early to comment on

Note to Authority 6/7 November, 2015 Note to Authority Broadcasting Authority of Ireland

whether the revised BSS would facilitate the licensing of additional services but emphasised that significant consultation was envisaged before any such decisions would be reached.

There was no other business and the meeting then concluded.

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Michael O’Keeffe, Celene Craig Ciarán Kissane November, 2015

Note to Authority 7/7 November, 2015