Yeah, I can take or leave the 2CH name but I do think the station felt/sounded more considerably more local when it wasn’t part of the Magic Network and with the logo(s) having the Harbour Bridge (You probably can’t find a more distinctively Sydney logo for a radio station than that! ) as part of the “H” in 2CH!
Wouldn’t it be good if whoever brought 2CH made it a commercial talkback station to show 2UE what they’re missing out on.
and lose a few million dollars each year like 2UE was? I doubt it.
If they bought Alan Jones, that would be interesting. But it won’t happen. I was thinking George and Paul may want to escape. I’d say 2ch will continue to be music base.
I’d like them to ask SBS 2 to swap frequencies😀.
In his interview with Radio Today about the latest ratings, Macquarie’s Adam Lang said that they are still actively trying to sell 2CH by Friday.
Probably means that they have a buyer (or two) and are just finalising the deal.
Or they want to say to the ACMA that they are so very close to making a deal and just need another 3 months.
Which they will get.
ACMA needs to put its foot down and say no. They have been “trying” to sell it for a long time now. A six month extension has given 2CH plenty of time to do something.
It seems Macquarie isn’t getting what they wanted for it. Tough. That’s not a reason for giving extensions. It’s apparent that various groups have made offers to Macquarie. They need to sell it and now! Or it goes dark and Macquarie gets nothing.
The fact Macquarie actively changed their name to make it part of their network just shows they’re not committed to completely offloading 2CH.
Given what MMN have done to 2UE something tells me they have a fear of introducing competition to the AM dial.
How long can 2GB keep CH and UE above water?
I think you are correct, they wish to delay it. They will pIay around for as long as possible. I heard lifestyle radio will be AT LEAST heard on Digital nationally. They may convert magic to lifestyle radio or will the low rating 4bc have more lifestyle segments?
I am able to listen to Magic more often now. They play chisel and more up beat hits so not so sleepy. It’s OK. Better than wsfm less sleepy than smooth. More variety. 2ca still better though.
For those who have Digital have you noticed the sound quality improved in the evening? I think I noticed an improvement.
So will we be hearing…
“From the top of the Blue Mountains and all across the Emerald City, welcome to Forever Classic 2CH…”
tomorrow?
So what happens now do we wait til it goes off air since no announcement? Let us say there is buyer, can the new buyer say Macq can keep running it until we set up a studio are there time restrictions around this?
So 18 months (including two time extensions) after they were legally supposed to get rid of 2CH, Macquarie Radio has not.
Or does anyone know differently?
The Viewer, you’re correct. Still no announcement. MRN (probably Singleton) wants far too much money for the station. It’s simply not worth anywhere near what they want.
Ring ACMA and the ACCC and listen to what they have to say, sure to be interesting.
I note all radio industry website are quiet on this, this is what happens when conflicted with the concern of a probing article is weighed with the concern of not receiving any further job ads from MRN.
Latest I’m hearing is no buyer for 2CH, & ACMA will not grant any more extensions.
It’s now up to ACMA to say what happens with the licence, if they take possession & put it off the air & auction it off or what?
Sounds fair. Does that mean Macquarie could end up getting nothing for it? I would also imagine that would result in them losing the attached digital spectrum rather than possibly being able to do a deal to keep it/share it with the buyer.
Looks like the potential buyers might have won this one.
Not sure, ACMA aren’t making any further comments ATM, & I think MMN have 28 days to respond to ACMA’s decision?
The Fairfax and Macquarie Media companies and directors would now appear to be liable for massive fines if indeed 2CH hasn’t been sold, as you say, as they would in breach of the Broadcasting Services Act:
[quote]SECT 69
Breach of notice under section 67 to constitute an offence
A person who fails to comply with a notice under section 67 commits an offence.
Penalty:
(a) if the breach relates to a commercial television broadcasting licence or datacasting transmitter licence–20,000 penalty units; or
(b) if the breach relates to a commercial radio broadcasting licence–2,000 penalty units.[/quote]
http://www.austrac.gov.au/enforcement-action/penalty-units
So, $360,000 for each person in breach. Fines would add up to something around $5,760,000, it would seem.
It would have been cheaper to sell it.