Thanks to the wonders of internet streaming, here is the playlists from two of Grant-owned stations: 1 from VIC & 1 from TAS.
First up is 3BA from Ballarat, which was mostly a ‘classic hits’ station with some newer music when I was listening to them back in late 2003/early 2004 whilst holidaying down there. The last time I did a playlist of that station was back in April 2010 on the old MS forum, just after they started streaming for the first time. So, how does it sound these days? Let’s find out below.
3BA FM 102.3 - Ballarat, VIC
"Great Classics & Today’s Best Music"
Monday 11th April 2016 - 2-3pm AEST
“Simply Irresistible” Robert Palmer
"Happy" Pharrell Williams
"Daughter" Pearl Jam
"Kyrie" Mr Mister
"Dancing In The Storm" Boom Crash Opera
"Ahead of Myself" Jamie Lawson
"More Than a Feeling" Boston
"Young Turks" Rod Stewart
"Look What You’ve Done" Jet
"Computer Games" Mi-Sex
"Take Your Mama" Scissor Sisters
Not a bad hour from them I must say. Most parts of the Ballarat market also have the option of tuning to Gold Central Victoria on 1071AM from Maryborough or the Melbourne stations. 3BA itself can also be heard into Melbourne & Geelong, especially on a good radio.
Across the other side of Bass Strait, here’s one from LAFM in Launceston, which is also heard on 7SD in Scottsdale. The last time I did a playlist of them back in August 2013, they were sharing the same log as 7HO in Hobart. These days, they use its own separate log, with a format that is quite different from 7HO, in which the latter plays a bit more of the current Top 40 hits due to competition with the SCA stations (Heart 107.3 & hit 100.9). With 7AD & 7BU having more of a ‘classic hits’ based format, being on the AM band, it’s arguable that Northern Tasmania has better commercial radio stations than Hobart these days.
89.3 LAFM - Launceston, TAS/540 7SD - Scottsdale, TAS
"Launceston’s Best Mix"/"North East’s Best Mix"
Monday 11th April 2016 - 2-3pm AEST
“Walls Come Tumbling Down” The Style Council
"Brand New Day" Bryan Adams (a new song by him)
“Dancing With Myself” Billy Idol
"When Something Is Wrong With My Baby" Jimmy Barnes & John Farnham
"Everybody Wants To Rule The World" Tears For Fears
"Seventeen" Jet
"You Get What You Give" New Radicals
"The Best" Tina Turner
"7 Years" Lukas Graham
As you can see, they don’t play many current music, with most of the playlist (on that hour at least) consisting of music from the 80s & 90s. I’d say it’s a bit more interesting than the SCA-owned Heart 107.3 in Hobart, which uses the GC log (which within listening distance of Sydney, is also heard on 2GO on the Central Coast of NSW).