They've got the power...

Bob Geldof has joined the battle for the South East regional radio license, which takes in Wexford, Waterford, Tipperary, Carlow and Kilkenny.

Having failed in his attempt to set up a music video channel here, Geldof's TenAlps Communications company has taken a 20% stake in the application being mounted by Power FM. The main shareholders in the company are Scandinavian Broadcasting Services which operates commercial TV and radio stations in Western and Central Europe.

They face stiff competition from Beat 101 whose investors include Mean Fiddler boss Vince Power and U2's management company, Principle.

Both contenders are proposing music-driven formats targeted at the 15 to 34 age group.