Created and originally edited by former RTÉ radio programming director Mark McCabe, RTÉ 2XM debuted in March 2007, broadcasting on a limited Digital Audio Broadcasting service for the Greater Dublin and North East Coast areas, as part of the broadcaster's digital radio trial.[4]
RTÉ placed the station on the digital terrestrial television trial service in late October 2007, and on its website in late June 2008.[5]
The station was initially intended to carry a selection of live music with content from festivals across Europe. It was the first RTÉ digital radio station to have carried live content, with music from the Oxegen festival in July 2007, and the Electric Picnic and PlanetLove Summer Session festivals in September 2007, as well as the PlanetLove Winter Session in February 2008.
The station ventured into online video content with 2XM WebTV, debuting during RTÉ's coverage of the Oxegen 2008 music festival, on the weekend of 11–14 July 2008[6]
Along with five other new digital stations, RTÉ 2XM was formally launched on RTÉ's national Digital Audio Broadcasting service on 1 December 2008.[7]
The station has also been available on the Saorviewdigital terrestrial television service since its official launch in 2011, including areas of Northern Ireland where overspill signal from the Republic of Ireland can be received. Alongside its digital sister stations, it switched multiplexes on the service in July of 2023.[8]
Over the years, the station has featured regular programming from RTÉ staff and freelance presenters drawn from Ireland's music communities and industry, as well as internationally-syndicated content.
Most of the station's first-run output is broadcast on evenings and weekends, with much of the broadcasting day occupied by genre-oriented playlisting. The main exception is the station's long-term flagship show, The Alternative, first broadcast by presenter Dan Hegarty on weekday afternoons on the service, before being relayed on its regular night-time slot on the main 2FM station.
As the Digital Audio Broadcasting standard failed to garner a commercial foothold in Ireland in the late 2000s and early 2010s, 2XM and its sister stations were gradually retooled to accommodate a specialist music audience, in keeping with the broadcaster's public-service remit.
The station has also provided airtime for music documentaries, special programmes, and themed live broadcasts across its existing platforms during its lifetime, as well as informally acting as a 'developmental' platform for RTÉ radio talent and staff.
Closure
On 6 November 2019, RTÉ management announced that, as part of a major cost-saving programme, all its digital radio stations would be closed, including RTÉ 2XM.[9]
On 2 March 2021, however, it was revealed by the broadcaster that it would only close its DAB radio network, retaining its digital radio services, including 2XM, via the RTÉ Radio App, RTE.ie and audio streams on the Saorview and Virgin Media television services.[10]
On November 16, 2023, RTÉ announced the closure of most of its digital-only services, including 2XM, in 2024, as part of the broadcaster's 'New Direction' internal restructuring.[11]
As part of the announcement, the broadcaster confirmed its intention to carry on-demand programming and playlists on future revisions of its Radio App to fulfill the stations' respective remits.[12]
