Kfm is an Irish radio station based in

Naas Naas ( ; ga, Nás na Ríogh or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 21,393, making it the second largest town in County Kildare after Newbridge. History The name of Naas has been recorded in th ...

, serving

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Kfm broadcasts on 97.6fm and 97.3fm to all parts of county Kildare 24 hours a day from the state-of-the-art Kfm Broadcast Centre, Newhall, Naas, Co. Kildare and around the world on its website and iPhone and Android apps. It began broadcasting in 2004, having won a ten-year franchise for the county from the

Broadcasting Commission of Ireland The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) ( ga, Údarás Craolacháin na hÉireann) was established on 1 October 2009 effectively replacing the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) ( ga, Coimisiún Craolacháin na hÉireann). The BAI is ...

. Kildare had previously been part of a combined franchise with

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...

and was served by CKR FM, who did not get their licence renewed. The station, with a contemporary format, caters for an audience from 15+ upwards. In January 2014, Kfm was successful in the renewal of its broadcast licence by the BAI for another 10-year term. Kfm transmitters are based on Slive Thuile, County Dublin - to serve the north of Kildare on 97.6Fm and in Rossmore, Co. Laois to serve the south of the county on 97.3FM. Kfm's broadcast area is the most station saturated in Ireland, primarily due to the close proximity to Dublin City. Despite the intense competition, for the period from April 2013 to March 2014, Kfm was the most listened to radio station across the week in County Kildare. The station has been nominated for a number of PPI awards and in 2011 won the FAI's Communications Award (Radio). The company CEO includes Clem Ryan, Paul Power ( Program director), Bertie McDermott (

Sales manager Sales management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application of sales techniques and the management of a firm's sales operations. It is an important business function as net sales through the sale of products and ser ...

), and Ciara Plunkett (

News editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual errors. ''The Chicago Manual of ...

). In November 2019, the ownership changed. Kfm was bought outright by existing director shareholders CEO Clem Ryan and Seán Ashmore. A number of existing shareholders, including David Mongey of Mongey Communications and Liam Ross of the golf buggy supply firm The Buggyman, decided to exit the group. Ashmore is a founding member of Kfm and is the majority shareholder of Wicklow's East Coast FM, as well as a significant shareholder in Dublin's Sunshine 106.8. He is CEO of multi-city radio station Classic Hits and is a director of Spirit Radio.

References

External links

Official website
Mass media in County Kildare Naas Radio stations in the Republic of Ireland Radio stations established in 2004 {{Europe-radio-station-stub