Riviera Radio's Paul Kavanagh

You mention Riviera Radio and everyone has an opinion. Why? Because it’s the local radio station in English so everyone listens. The man at the top is a softly-spoken Irishman called Paul Kavanagh and he’s been the MD for the last six years. Straight from a successful summer party, I tracked him down to find out what the rest of the summer has in store

DH: So Paul, where are you from and what brought you down here?

Paul: I’m from Dublin and having been a tourist to the area for 15 years I realised that if an opportunity came up I’d take it. Luckily it did and I started as a consultant and the role grew from there.

DH: What’s the best thing about living in this lovely part of the world?

Paul: It’s a cliché I know, but the weather.

DH: And the worst?

Paul: I’m not as fluent as I’d like to be in French. Obviously radio relies on the spoken word and so not being able to communicate really well can be frustrating sometimes.

DH: Do you have a favourite food?

Paul: That can change daily. What I do miss is a really good Chinese restaurant.

DH: What’s your favourite summer tipple?

Paul: Bulmer’s or Magners over ice.

DH: Is there anything you miss from Ireland?

Paul: Family obviously. At first I missed silly things like Irish sausages, but I’ve discovered that my taste has changed so that when I go back I don’t like them and find them too salty now. My palette has adapted towards French food now which is probably a good thing.

DH: What was your favourite subject when you were at school?

Paul: I really liked science and maths in particular.

DH: Have you got a favourite gadget, object or thing?

Paul: My BlackBerry. I depend on it. I spend less time in the office and more time out and about with clients. It’s a great tool and means I can respond quickly.

DH: I’m surprised. I was sure you’d say your iPod.

Paul: I find that you get a new one, listen for a while, and then stick it in a drawer because you don’t have the time to organise playlists.

 

DH: As a station that’s based in Monaco, I would imagine you’ve got some famous listeners and that you’ve met some interesting people.

Paul: Obviously all the Formula 1 drivers listen and we’ve had Jenson Button in recently. Prince Albert (pictured above with Paul to his right) pops by every so often. U2’s Bono happily did an ‘I love Riviera Radio’ jingle for us and lets us know when he’s in town. I read an interview with EasyJet’s Stelios and there it was in print – he said he doesn’t bother buying CDs anymore as Riviera Radio ‘plays what I like to hear.’

The Dragons Den guy Duncan Bannatyne did an interview here and said he’s a fan.

Last November Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis the two founders of Skype – who sold it for $2billion – were at the Monaco Media Forum. Now I’m a big fan, so I was hoping to meet them and tell them so. They sought me out! They told me they love the station and better still that they not only both listen while in Cannes, but also when he’s in Denmark Janus has it piped around the house via the internet!

When I worked for Magic FM in London we had two million listeners – here we have 300,000 but they are so loyal and are listening all around the world.

We’re very popular in Ireland (I’m sure me being Irish has nothing to do with that!), we also have listeners in London, New York and even Shanghai.

DH: What do you do when you’re not working?

Paul: I have young children so I like to spend as much time with them.

DH: What’s in store for you and the team this summer?

Paul: Plenty, we’re launching a new website at the end of July. The idea is that it will be very simple and you’ll be able to get key information quickly, with news updated twice daily. And we’ll be giving away one hundred U2 tickets for the concert in July. We’ll also be getting involved at the Monaco outdoor summer cinema and the Cannes and Monaco yacht shows so it’s going to be a great summer.

You can find Riviera Radio at 106.5FM or online at www.rivieraradio.mc/