The Dublin alternative rock station Phantom 105.2 is to rebrand as TXFM in a bid to turn its fortunes around. The station will also become more closely aligned with the Communicorp-owned Today FM. Communicorp owns a 33.3% stake in Phantom.
It is also understood that there will be a number of redundancies at the station which currently employs 16 staff. The alignment with Today FM is understood to involve commercial arrangements with the station, particularly in areas like advertising and back office functions although it will still be run as an independent station with its own “market ambitions”.
The other shareholders in Phantom include Denis Desmond’s Gaiety Investments and Evergreen Ventures, a company controlled by former U2 manager Paul McGuinness and Trevor Bowen. The most recent accounts for Dublin Rock Radio, which owns Phantom, shows that at the end of December 2012, accumulated losses had amounted to €4.2m.
