Yes on-air they I am not sure both as “on AM … on FM … DAB” and “Ask Alexa to play 6iX” (smart speakers) or something to that effect, but their logo is the problem. It should in fact have DAB front and centre and AM and FM as side stations. After all their main station is AM which will become less popular as listeners discover FM again thanks to the ABC move, and their FM can’t even be heard unless you are far north or far south enough.
I realised that but 6iX has been slow. It has been playing 60s and early 70s since the 90s. In fact in the 80s I think it was a top hits station? Only in the last 5 years it has discovered the late 70s and 80s, and playing more mainstream pop hits, and already it is moving to late 80s and early 90s. I hope it eventually settles down to what the old Mix 94.6 was, a wide variety of mainstream, maybe alternative, hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s. Given the colour scheme of its logo, clearly it is taking on the ‘Gold’ brand from ARN in its music format (which is a recent change).
Is they converted to FM I am sure, that is exactly what ABC Perth did (live outdoor event on day of launch in Perth CBD), and they have been on DAB in stereo with wide area coverage across Perth since 2009 too. 6iX can’t wait to go to FM (if they ever will) so they should relaunch as a DAB station rather than an AM one with FM/DAB/streaming options.
It would be good to know the breakdown of listening by mode for 6iX (and the other AM music stations in other cities). I’d say AM is still probably dominant, but I’m not entirely sure. I think the older demographic aren’t as tech averse as in the past. A lot of oldies I know use smart speakers and DAB radios. Of course still plenty of diehards with old AM boom boxes. Sometimes I think they need to be given a push actually. Inertia and change resistance is a problem. Even in the UK I’ve heard grumbles from people having to move to DAB and online, but when push comes to shove they do.