Midlands 103
Midlands 103 (previously known as Midlands Radio 3) is an Irish local radio station broadcasting to counties Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath.
| Broadcast area | County Laois County Offaly County Westmeath |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 95.7FM (Tullamore) 95.4FM (Athlone) 96.5FM (Mullingar) 96.1FM (Castlepollard) 102.6FM (Stradbally & Borris-in-Ossory) 96.2FM (Portlaoise) 102.4FM (South Laois) 103.5FM (Everywhere) |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Format | Adult contemporary, Talk radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Tindle Radio Group |
| Channel 103 Island FM | |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | midlands103 |
The station's headquarters is in Tullamore, and it also has studios in Athlone and Mullingar.
As of the end of 2019, Midlands 103 had a weekly reach of 120,000 listeners.
Station Output
The prime-time weekday schedule [1] consists of "Breakfast with Ann-Marie Kelly" (6.30am to 9am), daily current affairs magazine show "Midlands Today" with Will Faulkner (9am to 12pm) and music-driven programmes "The Afternoon Show" with Carl James (12pm to 3pm) & "Drive Time" with Roy Jennings (3pm to 7pm).
Specialist talk programmes are broadcast weekdays from 7 to 8pm, including documentary series "The Open Door" with Ann-Marie Kelly on Mondays, business show "Taking Care of Business" with Ronan Berry on Tuesdays, farming & country matters programme "Country Life" with M.J. Cleary on Wednesdays, arts & entertainment show "Encore" with Claire O'Brien on Thursdays and music and pop culture show "The Friday Feeling" with Ellen Leonard on Fridays.
Popular Country & Irish music programme "Country Roads" with Joe Cooney is broadcast weeknights from 8 to 10pm. From 10pm to midnight, the weekday schedule is once again split, with the music & pop culture driven "The Late Shift" with Brian Moss from Monday to Wednesday, Irish music show "The Vibe" with Paul Downey on Thursdays and specialist music programme "The Roadhouse Café" with Ann-Marie Kelly on Fridays.
The weekend schedule is a mixture of music programmes and local & national sports coverage, including "The Saturday Beat" with Brian Moss on Saturdays from 5pm to 9pm, and the popular "The Inside Line" with Will O'Callaghan on Sundays from 2pm to 6pm - both of which regularly carry full commentary of local and inter-county Gaelic games.
Midlands 103 News
The newsroom is staffed by Head of News Sinéad Hubble, two full-time newsreaders and a sports correspondent. Midlands 103 also uses its own reporters & freelancers to cover events across the broadcast area. A full-time sports reporter and a number of commentators provide regular sports updates.
Sister Stations
As part of the Tindle Radio Group, Midlands 103 has two sister stations based in the Channel Islands, Channel 103 in Jersey and Island FM in Guernsey. The station also used to have an 'opt-out' service, called Midlands Gold which provided specific community-driven programming for County Westmeath only.
Other Activities
Midlands 103 also runs a number of non-radio related activities - including two annual awards ceremonies: the Hospitality Awards,[2] which celebrate the best in pubs/bars, hotels, restaurants and the tourism sector, and the Customer Service Awards which focus on customer service in retail and other business across the station's broadcast licensed counties area and surrounding areas. The station also runs "Midlands 103 Tours" which provides guided luxury coach excursions to various destinations both in Ireland and abroad.
References
- "Schedule". Midlands 103.
- "Midlands 103 Hospitality Awards honour more locals". radiotoday.ie. Radio Today. Retrieved 21 March 2020.