Media & Marketing: Dublin's Country 106.8 has been dealt a blow with the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) turning down its bid for a new name, writes Emmet Oliver.

The BCI board has decided the special interest station would be exceeding its licence conditions by adopting a new name. More FM and Choice FM were two potential names broached with the BCI in recent weeks.

A new chief executive, Mr Seán Ashmore, formerly of East Coast Radio, is determined to improve the station's ratings but a name change may be necessary for this. Some advertisers believe the name has negative connotations for some listeners and that a different name could give the station a better chance of accessing younger listeners.

The station's performance has improved a little in the past year. Its 2003 "listened yesterday" figure was up one percentage point to 3 per cent; while its market share rose two percentage points to stand at 3 per cent.

The company behind the station is Star Broadcasting Ltd. It has several well-known directors, including independent broadcaster Mr David Harvey, musician Mr Paddy Cole and RTÉ broadcaster Mr Paschal Mooney. The company had accumulated losses of €1.9 million to the end of March 2003.

Radio licences

The BCI is expected to advertise next month for two new Dublin radio licences - an alternative rock service and a multicultural station. Applicants who lose out will, for the first time, be able to get back about two-thirds of their application fee.

There has been concern for some time about the costs associated with applying for such licences. The costs, particularly for small players, are high and this point was picked up by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications and Natural Resources last year in a report on the radio licensing process.

The BCI board has decided to address the concerns and in future a refund scheme will operate for losing consortiums. The application fee for applying for the rock franchise will remain at €15,000, but about €10,500 of this will be refundable for groups who fail to secure a licence, said a BCI spokeswoman. The fee for the multicultural station will be €10,000, of which €7,000 will be refundable.

'Sopranos' return

Next month RTÉ television hopes to grab an increased share of the late-night TV market with the return of neurotic crime boss Tony Soprano.

From April 6th, the Sopranos will return on RTÉ1. AFA O'Meara believes it will be another audience success, with the next 13 episodes revolving mainly around angst-ridden Tony's separation from his wife.

The Champions' League meanwhile has also been giving a fillip for RTÉ. While Arsenal v Chelsea was not a popular draw within the two clubs, it has been good for business for RTÉ Sport, which last night showed the game. The station was charging €5,100 for slots in the half-time break.

TV3 has also prospered, with decent ratings for matches such as Tuesday night's AC Milan v Deportivo game. Agencies report that Champions' League games can attract between 20 and 28 per cent of all male viewers, depending on the teams involved.

But football cannot bring in a massive family audience like big festivals such as St Patrick's Day. RTÉ scored a creditable daytime share of adult viewing last Wednesday when 58 per cent of adults tuned into coverage of the parade.

McDonald's brief

Slattery Communications, the Dublin-based PR firm, has won a McDonald's Ireland contract to handle the company's partnership with the GAA.

McDonald's operates two primary school programmes, Catch & Kick and Lift & Strike, in association with the GAA. They are designed to encourage primary school children to get active through participation in Gaelic football and hurling.

Escaping the code

A lawyer specialising in media and advertising issues has said the BCI's new children's advertising code, to be introduced this summer, will only apply to national broadcasters and not to broadcasters from outside the Republic such as UTV, Sky, E4, MTV or Nickelodeon.

Ms Grace Smith, a partner in McCann FitzGerald which specialises in advising on media and advertising issues, warned that the European Commission did not favour the Republic's approach on the issue.