Controversy in Newstalk over texting charges

Eamon Dunphy launched Newstalk's new premium rate text service on air on Tuesday 2 May by emphasising that it was cheaper to telephone or email the programme and telling listeners that "unfortunately" texts would now cost 30 cents.

The station, which uses texting extensively across its schedule, has just changed from an ordinary rate text service to a premium rate service. Previously, premium rate text lines were used just for competitions.

Although other radio stations actively solicit texts from listeners, neither RTÉ Radio nor Today FM – which will be Newstalk's main competitors if its wins the new "quasi-national" license from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland – use premium rate text services, spokespersons said.

Eamon Dunphy then read out texts from listeners complaining about the charge, and said on air that he agreed with the complaints. Eamon Dunphy subsequently said he hadn't known about the new charges until the previous day. Later in the day, mid-afternoon presenter Sean Moncrieff said on air the change had been badly handled.

According to a source in the station, Sean Moncrieff's show received less than 20 per cent of the normal number of texts on Tuesday 2 May. The show received 85 texts that day, compared to 400 on a "typical" day, the source said.

Newstalk's chief executive, Elaine Geraghty there had been "consultation and debate" within the station on the change since March, and that it "was discussed openly at a number of weekly editorial meetings".

She said the move to the premium rate service "offered us flexibility and added value", and would allow programmes to archive all texts for programme research, to receive longer text messages and to introduce a free auto reply service. She said the service would operate on a trial basis for the first week and after that, if it "had caused a negative impact", they would review its use.

Texting has been a huge growth area in radio in recent years. According to a spokesperson, Today FM receives between 30,000 and 50,000 texts per week on a number provided by Meteor. Meteor pays Today FM for the right to run the texting service.

A spokesperson for RTÉ Radio said the station did not use premium rate numbers for texting. Though figures were not available across the station, the spokesperson said on one afternoon last week, Damien Farrelly's show on RTE 2 FM received just over 2,300 texts.

Elaine Geraghty said the number of texts received was commercially sensitive information. She said the revenue estimated to be generated by the texting service would be "less then 0.02 per cent of all of our revenue".

Under regulations for the use of premium rate numbers, presenters on Newstalk will have to state the cost of a text each time they cite the text number, according to the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI).