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Well that was some week!!! I’ve been overwhelmed by the reaction to Greatest Hits since our launch. To be honest, I expected it to be a much slower burner in terms of listening figures. It took my other radio station Country Hits almost four months to hit the numbers we’ve reached over the first week. It’s fantastic news, especially as we’d timed our launch to coincide with the RTÉ Gold close-down, which hasn’t happened, yet! It’s actually more satisfying that listeners are switching over to us as an alternative, rather than because their favourite station has closed. There’s plenty of room for many more online stations. I welcome each new station, and wish them well, as it highlights where the future of broadcasting is headed. The listener will ultimately decide which stations are successful. What’s very pleasing is the Irish audience Greatest Hits is attracting. It’s our aim to concentrate on promoting the station here in Ireland, and build a loyal local following. I’m really delighted how many of you guys have taken it upon yourselves to promote Greatest Hits. I’m talking about people I don’t know from Adam, but I’m now considering a part of the Greatest Hits family.  (Some of your Facebook comments) It’s fantastic to get so much feedback, and really satisfying to know we’re doing something right!! With that in mind, please keep it coming, either positive or negative, as together we build the best radio station we possibly can. I’m happy to report that our Alexa skill has been developed. Once it’s enabled, just ask Alexa to ‘Play Greatest Hits Ireland’ Although I’m still looking at Greatest Hits as a medium to long term project, I’m really encouraged by our opening week. If you’re reading this blog you’re obviously on our website, so thank you for contributing to our successful launch Hope you continue to enjoy Feel Good Flashbacks on Ireland's Greatest Hits Stephen x You can email me directly stephen@greatesthits.ie Hey there, my name is Stephen Keogh. I'm not really sure what my job is around here, but I’d like to welcome you to our brand NEW radio station, Greatest Hits. I decided to launch the station having worked in the Irish radio industry for over 30 years. For the past 18 months I've run the online radio station Country Hits. Many people mentioned how well Country Hits sounded, however they didn't really listen because they weren't fans of the genre. Fair enough, it's a niche market, and is obviously aimed at country fans. That aside, I began to see phenomenal growth in listening at Country Hits (Now up to 150,000 monthly). Anyway, enough bragging, I wondered to myself, what if I launched a more mainstream station? Away from Country, my other musical passion is GOLDEN OLDIES - especially POP!!! Hence the seeds were sown, and I decided Country Hits was going to have a sibling!   Greatest Hits will begin broadcasting today (May 1st 2020) - Our mission is to play as many Feel Good Flashbacks as possible! We have many different shows across the schedule, however the common theme is ‘Feel Good'. I wanted a station that genuinely made people feel good, and brought back plenty of nostalgia. We’re not afraid to play the '60s, '70s and '80s hits you rarely, if ever, hear on the radio anymore. Having worked in the business for many years, I know how it goes... You run a very tight playlist, and generally rotate the same ‘safe’ songs over and over again. It’s how it works in most commercial radio markets around the world, and is understandable, with every minute listened generating much needed revenue for the stations. Online radio is different. We don’t have to play it as safe, with less regulation, and much lower overheads. We’re already planning the next phase with efforts underway to secure a DAB licence (Digital Audio Broadcasting) in Ireland for both stations. At this stage I should probably ‘big up’ Greatest Hits and say THANK YOU to the amazing bunch of talented people behind the scene running the show ;) I’m really excited about our content, and especially pleased to welcome Bee Bop Gold with Nails Mahoney to the Sunday morning schedule. Nails comes with a wealth of experience and brings his show back to Irish radio after successful runs with Sunshine 101 and RTÉ 2FM We’re also delighted announce Stephen Keogh as presenter of Guilty Pleasures every Saturday morning.
Like Nails, Stephen has also been in the radio business since the original Dublin pirates back in the '80s, and is VERY enthusiastic about his new challenge. To be honest, he needs the work - we’re giving him a trial run with the show because he’s promised to help out with other minor duties at Greatest Hits! Content Director Stephen Keogh is responsible for all ‘On Air’ output. Stephen has plans to introduce new shows to the schedule over the coming months. He's interested in hearing from experienced presenters who would like to discuss possible opportunities at Greatest Hits - Email: stephen@greatesthits.ie You'll be pleased to know that we don't play adverts on Greatest Hits. Individual shows are available for sponsorship at very reasonable rates. We are delighted to welcome our new energetic Sales Manager, Stephen Keogh, to the Greatest Hits Sales House - He's a tremendous guy, known worldwide for getting deals over the line. Stephen is also an expert in cost cutting, and has suggested we use the same email address stephen@greatesthits.ie for sales queries :) Our marketing budget is low, in fact very low, with no billboards, or fancy TV ads, etc. Greatest Hits Marketing Manager Stephen Keogh would like to thank those who have helped promote the station to date. Mr Keogh says he really, really appreciates any social media engagement from listeners! The entire team at Greatest Hits are SO grateful for all the support we've received before we've even starting the show - THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, that's enough from me - I've staff to whip into shape! It's time to start broadcasting, and have LOTS of fun bringing on back the good times :) Hope you enjoy the station Stephen Keogh (Webmaster) |
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