96FM is a Cork-based radio station owned by UTV Radio. WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Statistics Province: Munster County: Area: 37. ... UTV Radio, part of UTV plc UTV Radio is a UK media company, and owner of several radio stations in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. ...

History

What is now Cork's 96FM initially broadcast under the name 'Radio South' when it opened at midday on Thursday August 10, 1989. It was a name however which would last for less than a year. Radio South was the third of the newly licensed commercial stations to come on air in the country (Dublin's Capital Radio and Mayo's Mid West Radio being first and second respectively). is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ... Dublin city centre at night WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Statistics Province: Leinster County: Dáil Éireann: Dublin Central, Dublin North Central, Dublin North East, Dublin North West, Dublin South Central, Dublin South East European Parliament: Dublin Dialling Code: +353 1 Postal District(s): D1-24, D6W Area: 114. ... FM104 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcast across Dublin, Ireland, on the frequency FM104. ... Places called Mayo include:hi County Mayo, a county in Ireland Mayo, a settlement in County Mayo, Ireland Mayo, a place in the U.S. state of Florida Mayo, a town in Trinidad and Tobago The Division of Mayo, an Australian Electoral Division in South Australia Mayo, a town in...

The first voice heard on air was the station’s first Head of Programming Frank Murphy who introduced the new station in both Irish and English. This was followed by Neil Prendeville's first show with the first song played being "A New Flame" by Simply Red – a chart hit at the time. The then Lord Mayor of Cork - Councillor Chrissie Aherne, who had been flown by helicopter to the station's studio (located just to the north of the city at Whites Cross), then officially opened the station for business. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A New Flame is the third album released by Simply Red in 1989. ... Simply Red are an English pop band. ... The Lord Mayor of Cork is the symbolic head of the local government in the city of Cork in the Republic of Ireland. ...

The first day's broadcasting featured several outside broadcasts from across the coverage area. Local dignitaries, were invited by the station to an event that night in Cork's Imperial Hotel which was attended by several hundred people. The attendance included the then chairman of the IRTC (now the BCI) former Supreme Court Judge Seamus Henchy. The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) is the regulator of the commercial broadcasting sector in Ireland. ...

Most of the original voices on the new station were familiar ones to many Cork listeners; Tadgh Dolan was formerly of RTE's local radio service, and Neil Prendeville, Tony Magnier, Joe O’Reilly, Gerry McLoughlin, Paul Byrne, Rob Allan and others had formerly been heard on now defunct local pirate stations, such as ERI. The initial Radio South provided a wide ranging format, and a number of special interest programmes, including an hour-long country music show at 18:00 every weeknight presented by local country music authority Roger Ryan. Joe O'Reilly presented the 'Oldies and Irish' show on Sundays, a vestige from Radio ERI, the major pirate station in the area which closed around midnight December 30th 1988. Radio South broadcast 24 hours a day from the outset, unlike many other of the new local stations who closed overnight in their early days. Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ; English: Radio and Television of Ireland) is the national state broadcaster of Ireland. ... This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

Unlike independent local stations elsewhere in the country, Radio South faced competition from an RTÉ local radio opt-out service for the Cork area which was well regarded for its coverage of current affairs and sports, especially by older listeners. However the audience for the RTÉ service dwindled with time and was eventually closed in 1999). Print media constituted major competition to local radio in Cork, with the then Cork Examiner and Evening Echo daily newspapers based in the city. There was also competition for advertising from a (now defunct) local TV service available on the cable TV service in the city. The Irish Examiner (Formerly: Cork Examiner, The Examiner) is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

Mediocre listenership figures for Radio South, lead to a relaunch in July 1990 and a name change to 'Hits and Memories 96FM'. The station was now under a 'Classic Hits' format imported from Australia, similar to that of the by then successful 'Classic Hits 98FM' in Dublin. By this stage the original special interest programmes of Radio South were gone (except the ‘Oldies and Irish’ show on Sundays which, thanks to public support, survived the upheaval). Classic hits is a popular music radio format, a variation on the classic rock theme that provides most of the playlist of classic rock with an addition of contemporaneous R&B and pop hits as well, striking a balance between the mostly 70s-focused classic rock genre and the more... Dublins 98FM is an Independent Local Radio station in Dublin, Ireland, operated by Radio Two Thousand Limited, a subsidiary of Denis OBriens Communicorp Limited, under a sound broadcasting contract from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland. ...

The new format lead to a gradual increase in listenership. In 1991, a 'merge-over' took place with 96FM and the Mallow-based County Sound 103FM coming under a common ownership and combined JNLR figures. Some years later, the station moved premises from the rural Whites Cross (the former Radio ERI studios) to a city centre location at Patrick's Place, in a building which was formerly a school. The station named its new premises 'Broadcasting House'. The late 1990s lead to the complete discarding of the 'Hits and Memories' moniker, and some programming changes, with nighttime programmes to appeal to younger listeners (not heard in Cork since the Radio South days) being introduced. 103FM is a Cork-based Radio station owned by UTV Radio. ...

The late 1990s and early 2000s saw the introduction of new transmitters to provide practically full coverage of the county (the original licence was for Cork city and part of the county, but this was later extended to allow the whole county to be covered.) The original Radio South was founded by four former journalists of the Cork Examiner newspaper, with backing from a number of Cork business people. The ownership structure of the station changed over the years, culminating in the UTV buyout of both 96FM and 103FM in 2001.