NRJ

Does anybody here listen to the streams of the NRJ stations based out of France? They have several different Top 40 and Dance channels. They seem to be in several different European countries. They play great music and I love their jingles. I wonder how they make money? I only hear about 1 or 2 minutes of commercials per hour.

Along with BBC Radio 1, NRJ is the most popular station/brand in Europe. They recently launched in the Frankfurt region of Germany, and may be taking over the frequencies of Radio Decibel in the Netherlands.
NRJ is also one of the oldest CHRs in Europe, having started in the early 80s in Paris.

I didn't realize it was that big. I'm very much enjoying it, I can't stop listening to it. I'm discovering some great songs like Christophe Mae-Pourquoi C'est Beau and Leslie-Never Never.

Glad you're loving this station. Let me know if you'd like me to post the full list of CHRs from France, or the French speaking parts of Belgium and Switzerland.

The NRJ format has also been applied here in Canada, to several of the French language Astral Media outlets, in Quebec specifically.

Website here ~> http://www.radionrj.ca/

I'm not a huge fan of the NRJ format, but I do find myself listening to the NRJ Lebanon stream(s) from time to time. 8)

~BG

I am discovering several different NRJ streams. One that I really like is the easy listening lounge. They play songs I love that I never knew existed..."Sunrise" by Afterlife for example. This streams mix of music is both tranquil and interesting. It puts your brain on a different wavelength, it's like entering a dream state or different dimension. I can't believe how much good stuff is out there, it would take me forever just to explore all of NRJ alone.

Jay F said:

One that I really like is the easy listening lounge. They play songs I love that I never knew existed..."Sunrise" by Afterlife for example. This streams mix of music is both tranquil and interesting. It puts your brain on a different wavelength, it's like entering a dream state or different dimension.

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Welcome to the wonderful world of Ambient. DI.fm has a number of really good online stations focusing on this genre:
Ambient stream: http://listen.di.fm/public2/ambient.pls
Chillout Dreams: http://listen.di.fm/public2/chilloutdreams.pls
Psychill: http://listen.di.fm/public2/psychill.pls
Chillout: http://listen.di.fm/public2/chillout.pls
Space Music: http://listen.di.fm/public2/spacemusic.pls

Jay F said:

I wonder how they make money? I only hear about 1 or 2 minutes of commercials per hour.

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I think it's more than 1-2 minutes - but this is a general situation in France. Like in most European countries, there are legal restrictions on the % of output being ads. In France the rules are tighter than in most places.

You might think this would simply mean that the station gets less income. But despite this, French radio is no less profitable than anywhere else in Europe (compared to the UK they are raking in the cash). The trick is that (because the rules apply to all stations) ads are in short supply and therefore the price per ad is higher.

@CHRles Thanks for the links. Great music.

@Smorris That makes sense. Supply and demand.

CHRles said:

NRJ is also one of the oldest CHRs in Europe, having started in the early 80s in Paris.

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But among still existing stations NRJ is just a baby next to 40 Principales, which launched in '66 on FM in Spain. 40 Principales is all over Latin America, from Argentina and Chile to Mexico and Guatemala.

And, of course, the pirates including Veronica and Caroline go way back into the 60's, and Radio Luxembourg, on 1439 was mostly CHR directed at England in that era while Radio Monte Carlo on 1466 did the same, albeit part-time, for southern France.

The NRJ Group has transformed itself from one radio station to a brand of commercial radio stations in Europe. Currently, it has stations in Austria, Belgium, Ukraine, Lebanon, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Bulgaria, Russia, New Caledonia, Réunion and France. NRJ plays current, trendy music for young audiences. Their slogan is "Hit music only". They also operate the NRJ 12, NRJ Paris, NRJ Hits music television station in France. Spain but it was closed down as it was pirate station . here in EU i can pick it up via Astra satellite . so no streamming for me ... ads are big company Names and you have up 9 Mins for ads in Most EU REGIONS