null | Media Ownership Monitor Ireland

Spin103.8 is a contemporary hit radio (CHR) station, whose programming includes a mix of popular music from various genres, light entertainment news, talk shows, interactive segments, and competitions. With an audience share of 12.6% it is the most listened to local station in the Dublin area.

The station was launched by Communicorp in 1999, initially targeting teenagers and younger adults, to provide an alternative to competing Dublin stations, FM104 and 98FM, who were seen to cater to slightly older audiences.

Ownership transferred in 2021, when the Communicorp media outlets were bought by Bauer Media, and became Bauer Media Audio Ireland.

Key Facts

Audience Share	12.7%
Ownership Type	Private
Geographic Coverage	Local
Content Type	Free
Data Publicly Available	ownership data is easily available from other sources, e. g. public registries etc.

Ownership

Ownership Structure	Spin 1038 is owned by Bauer Media Audio Ireland (formerly Communicorp), a subsidiary of Bauer Media Group Ltd. Bauer Media Group Ltds is owned by Yvonne Bauer (85%), and her sisters Saskia Bauer (5%), Nicola Bauer (5%) and Mirja Bauer (5%)
Individual Owner	Bauer Family 100

Media Companies / Groups

Bauer Media Group

Facts

Founding Year	2002
Founder	Denis O’Brien In the 1980’s Denis O'Brien founded Esat Telecom, a telecommunications company, which would become one of the major players in Ireland's telecom industry. He is the founder of Communicorp, a media company with operations in Ireland and the United Kingdom, which operates several radio stations, including Dublin's 98fm, Today FM, Newstalk, and Spin 1038, which was eventually sold to Bauer Media in 2021. O’Brien also owned 29.9% of Independent News and Media, publishers of The Irish Independent and The Sunday Independent, as well as a number of other popular titles, before they were eventually sold to Belgian media conglomerate Mediahuis in 2019.
CEO	Chris Doyle Is currently the interim CEO of Bauer Media Ireland. His career in Irish radio began in 1999 when he became the Operations Manager of East Coast FM. He joined Communicorp in 2002, where he was the CEO of Spin 1038 until 2008. He subsequently served as the CEO of Dublin’s 98fm from 2008 until 2013. Between 2014 and 2021, he worked in a number of positions at Today FM and Newstalk 106 – 108, and in 2021 became Group Operations Director Ireland for the Bauer Media Group. He is the Chairperson of the IMRO Radio award, and a member of the Independent Broadcasters of Ireland’s board of directors.
Editor-In-Chief	John Keogh John Keogh has been the Group Director of News for Bauer Media Audio Ireland since January 2021. Prior to this he worked as a special advisor in Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, and as the Director of News & Managing Editor of Network News for Newstalk 106-108FM, where he also worked as relief presenter.
Contact	SPIN 103.8 Marconi House, Digges Lane Dublin 2 nfo@spin1038.com +353 (0) 1 6564600 www.spin1038.com

Revenue	Missing Data
Operating Profit	Missing Data
Advertising (in % of total funding)	Missing Data
Market Share	Missing Data

Meta Data	Audience Share taken from the 2023 Joint National Listenership Research Survey, looking at “yesterday listenership” of 15+ population. Because 98fm is a regional station, the percentage reflects only those in the Dublin area. Revenue, operating profit, and advertising revenue not available for individual stations. Information about Voting Rights of owners unavailable. Within the media industry in Ireland reporting on income levels are generally at group level rather than individual title level. On top of this, overall revenue details for the market as a whole are unavailable. Due to these factors it is not possible to report accurately on market share for individual titles or groups.
Sources	LinkedIn Profile Chris Doyle, Accessed on 20 July 2023 Sale of Communicorp closes a chapter for Denis O'Brien, Alan Healy, Accessed on 20 July 2023 About Denis O'Brien, www.denis-obrien.com, Accessed on 20 July 2023 Denis O’Brien ups stake in Independent News & Media to 29.9pc, Independent (2012), Accessed 20 July 2023 LinkedIn Profile John Keogh, Accessed on 3 October 2023

Meta Data

Audience Share taken from the 2023 Joint National Listenership Research Survey, looking at “yesterday listenership” of 15+ population. Because 98fm is a regional station, the percentage reflects only those in the Dublin area.

Revenue, operating profit, and advertising revenue not available for individual stations.

Information about Voting Rights of owners unavailable.

Within the media industry in Ireland reporting on income levels are generally at group level rather than individual title level. On top of this, overall revenue details for the market as a whole are unavailable. Due to these factors it is not possible to report accurately on market share for individual titles or groups.

Sources