Phantom FM wins radio licence

PHANTOM FM have been awarded the hotly-contested licence to run an alternative rock music station in Dublin.

Phantom had operated a number of temporary licences for some time and was favourite to land the prize.

The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland had received several submissions for the licence, with some of the best known faces in the entertainment and business community joining various consortiums to battle it out.

The Phantom consortium is fronted by Simon Maher, with backing from MCD's Denis Desmond, Paul McGuinness and Trevor Bowen U2's management team and Frank Gleeson, the owner of popular Dublin music venues Whelan's and The Village.

It beat off strong competition from Zed FM, a consortium backed by former FM104 boss Dermot Hanrahan, the Stokes family of Hotpress magazine, Bob Geldof and concert promoter Jim Aiken.

There were five bidders for the licence, including Phantom and Zed. The BCI rejected three other bidders, whose backers included Denis O'Brien, UTV and Abrakebabra boss Graeme Beer.

Phantom said it will enter final discussions with the BCI to hammer out the details of its contract and hopes to be on air next year.

Mr Maher said yesterday the consortium was delighted by the BCI's decision.

"We have campaigned long and hard for this licence since 1998 and have put together a financially strong, capable and experienced consortium that will deliver a unique new music driven station for Dublin."

He added that the station will be aimed at rock fans between 15 and 34 and will place heavy emphasis on new Irish and unsigned acts.

The shareholders are pumping an initial €2 million into the station.

In its submission to the BCI, Phantom was forecasting a 2% share of the market in its first year on air, with revenues of around €900,000, and will employ 27 full-time staff.

It said its market share would double by 2007 to 4% of the market and €1.7m in revenues.

It believes there is room in the market for the alternative music station as many of those in the age group are dissatisfied with the current choice in the city.

Dublin's radio market is highly competitive, with six stations, excluding RTÉ and Today FM.

Though Phantom will focus on rock and indie music, it will be battling for the youth market with the fast-growing dance music station Spin FM, which is backed by Denis O'Brien.