Media & Marketing: Today FM is forecasting record turnover of €19 million and pretax profits of €4.5 million within four years, according to its recent application to the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI).

The station also has plans to move its Abbey Street offices at a cost of €2.5 million. The station is also hoping to spend €1.1 million on new studios and engineering equipment. These are among the aims it includes in its application for a renewal of its national licence.

The application cautions that three factors could frustrate its plans: a new quasi-national licence to issue in 2006, nine new regional licences and what it calls a "general change in macro-economic activity".

The projections suggest the station is going to keep a fairly close eye on its costs, which are expected to rise to €13.9 million in 2010 from €12.89 million in 2007.

Interesting also is that the station is not planning to pay its parent, Emap, any dividend for the next three years.

The station says competition will be considerable in the period ahead and, consequently, it has restricted its revenue growth projections to 4 per cent a year. The application says the station will continue to place heavy emphasis on "national known broadcasters" and will meet all quotas on Irish music and news and current affairs.

Gogan leaves TV3

As speculation grows over who is going to end up owning TV3, one of the station's most well known producers, Jane Gogan, has departed for RTÉ. Ms Gogan has been with the station for seven years. She is the partner of fellow broadcaster Eamon Dunphy.

Gogan is becoming commissioning editor, drama, with RTÉ television, with effect from March 6th. Gogan replaces Mary Callery, who has been in the position for six years.

Gogan has commissioned and co-produced programmes such as Wonderscreen, Popcorn, Chasing the Lions with Hector and Risteard and the Brendan Courtney Show.

Just a club, then?

With a base in fiercely patriotic Catalonia, Barcelona football club is not just any football club. Its motto, "mas que un club", makes that clear. It means "more than a club", and for decades the club has refused to allow sponsors take space on its team jersey.

The reason the jersey is so sacrosanct is simple. Nothing should be put on the jersey that could distract from the importance and symbolism of the club badge.

However, that may change as the club prepares to expose its prized jersey to commercial forces for the first time. It has been reported in recent days that the club is in negotiations with Betandwin.com for a sponsorship deal which could cost £12 million (€17.6 million) a year.

The suggestion that the jersey could become sullied by commercial sponsors has angered many of the club's fans, but if a deal is done, the £12 million figure would exceed anything agreed before with a European club.

Post office mag

An Post has floated various ideas over the last three years about creating new revenue streams. In recent days, the post office has announced plans to form a new banking venture with Belgian financial services company Fortis.

At one point, chief executive Donal Curtin even talked about putting display advertising on the front of all standard letters in an attempt to raise new revenue streams.

The reason for all this activity is rising concern over mail volumes as electronic communication (like e-mail) takes its toll. But if An Post is looking for ideas to generate revenue, it might consider what the post office in Britain is doing.

The post office there has just launched its own magazine, which it says is the biggest in-store publication in the UK.

The publication, Sorted, is produced in partnership with Condé Nast Publications Ltd and includes advertising. The post office, a division of Royal Mail, is Britain's largest retail and financial services chain.

With 14,500 branches, about 94 per cent of the UK population lives within a mile of a post office branch, and 28 million customers visit weekly.

Sorted's print run is three million. It contains features and snippets about what's available over the counter.

The free magazine has been designed in response to research that found customers wanted to know more about what was offered at the post office.

City Channel grows

Just a few weeks before the launch of Channel 6, City Channel is expanding into Galway and Waterford via the NTL platform.

The channel is operating on a 24-hour basis in Dublin and the founder, David Harvey, says the service is performing well. He says that the key to keeping it viable over the next few years will be good cost control.

Harvey said this week the station was concentrating on the local markets in each city and not trying to match the output of national services like RTÉ and TV3.

Broadcasting of City Channel in Waterford and Galway begins in May.

Emmet Oliver can be reached at eoliver@irish-times.ie