Yes, interesting. Sort of debunks the view held by some that the ABC doesnât care about ratings. They do, and they should. Theyâre publicly funded and need to provide a service that people want to hear. In my opinion they need to be much less timid about not offending the commercial operators. I think thatâs their downfall. They need to look at the BBC and how they operate their radio stations. They arenât shy about catering for a more mainstream audience (e.g. BBC R1) while still offering content that the commercial operators would be unlikely to offer (e.g. BBC R2). Obviously ABC Local is the immediate focus along with RN. Both need immediate scrutiny. But itâs across the whole offering. I think Triple J is fine but as Iâve previously stated my opinion is that Double J is a missed opportunity to go more mainstream and try to combat the perception out there that the ABC is a bit elite and pretentious. I know that offends some people but there is that perception - much more so than for the BBC for example.
I totally agree blow up Double J and turn it into Australiaâs version of BBC R2.
Triple J could also go slightly more mainstream, the listeners are requesting mainstream songs on Requestival so I donât think it would offend to much of the listener base.
Reading the comments on the SMH online article it is the bias to the left and the wokeness that is the issue. If the ABC had more balanced journalism they would have a wider appeal other than the leftieâs and the elites. The BBC does it very well, I never feel like I am being preached to when listening to BBC R1, I do when I listen to Triple J.
The ABC will do all these reviews but like a leopard it wonât change itâs spots.
Sadly, I agree with you.
Iâm actually a centre-left voter and I find the ABC too far left on certain social issues. I try to avoid the âwokeâ word but I must say I find them preachy at times too. As you say I never feel like that when listening to the BBC. I do find Triple J too preachy and Double J too pretentious and trying too hard to be âcoolâ. Itâs off-putting to me and probably others. I also think youâre right that Triple J could move a little more mainstream - just a little. I think times have changed and thatâs what the younger demographic seem to be demanding. Theyâre not as hung up on appearing alternative as Triple J listeners in the 90s were.
I think RN is reasonably balanced for the most part though, I think for RN the problem is the overall sound of the station and some of the content. It sounds disjointed and ânot liveâ or ânationalâ somehow.
They also need to get their act together with regards to DAB in the city, when the ABC Local stations are stuck on AM. And also mention the frequency! Older listeners still refer to 702 or 612, but trying to attract new listeners when you donât list an AM frequency OR mention DAB+, thatâs just crazy!
Anyone who has that view doesnât work in the industry. Itâs well known that the ABC only comments on ratings when theyâre doing well, but you bet thereâll be alarm bells ringing in Southbank and Ultimo at the moment with regards to Local Radio.
Bang on the money. The ABC has three speech networks in Local Radio, RN and NewsRadio, yet only two have a clear value proposition (and even then, Local Radio is falling by the wayside).
Iâd much rather RN is scrapped, with the resources from its live shows put back into making Local Radio actually local in regional markets.
i feel like newsradio and RN should be merged and a lot of the long form programming on RN should be scrapped. RN is like listening to podcasts on shuffle. thereâs no flow - for example, tomorrow morning they go from life matters at 9:00 am to the stage show at 10:00.
it almost feels like a community station with different vested interests doing there hour.
I know merging could cause issues when parliment is sitting but i feel like the audiance of a merged NR / RN would be the type to listen to parliment anyway
I am more right leaning so I find some of the stuff on the ABC quite excruciating.
Certainly agree with your comments on Triple J and Double J.
I agree with @AustralianAerial and also feel Radio National has become redundant.
News Radio and ABC Local Radio have everything covered quite well IMO.
News Radio is probably cannibalising 2RN.
If DoubleJ went fm it would probably have a similar impact on Triple J.
A radio 2 format would be the best format for the ABC to launch, and allow local radio, Classic fm, and Triple J to do their own thing.
If done right they could attract a broader audience to the broadcaster, but not with their current offerings, and their strong bias to the left.
I agree 100%. The best case scenario is a BBC R2 format to replace Double J, but I wonât hold my breath.
Instead theyâll probably push Double J where they can on to FM and just splinter the Triple J audience and attract no new audience.
Iâm also open to disbanding RN and beefing up ABC Local in both the cities and the regions, perhaps with some national shows in certain timeslots. Shows like Saturday Extra (which I love) for example.
They could put it on Local as an exception 
They could even look at putting an Early Breakfast on as a national program from 5AM and then switch to Local breakfast a bit later. Lots of options.
There is no way they will arrest the audience decline unless they broaden their appeal. But to be honest Iâm not sure ABC radio in particular is capable of real change.
The problem with ABC local radio is weekdays differ vastly to weekends. With so many specialist programs on LR it makes it harder to listen to on a weekend when no sport is on.
Needs to be more consistent and perhaps more local too.
100%. and please get rid of macca - at least in the capitals. Put on a local show with live hosts and tailor it for peoples weekend, where people are likely to be listening longer in the car
Given the political interest in expanding Double Jâs access and the questionable performance of the ABCâs radio services generally, perhaps its time for a root-and-branch review of the broadcasterâs radio output.
I think that itâs worth questioning whether having a classical music station on analogue radio is a worthwhile output. Local Radio & News Radio make RN possibly surplus to requirements and could open up options for alternate output
Its a shame theyâre not pushing for the expansion of Digital Radio more, especially given they could take real advantage of the additional capacity to have wider listening options
Iâm glad you said it about Classic FM. Itâs like a red flag to a bull to some people when Classic FMâs place on analogue radio is questioned. But on a congested dial when they have their flagship Local stations stuck on AM in the capitals in my opinion itâs certainly an option to move Classic to DAB and online only, and move Local to FM. It probably wouldnât be as necessary if they promoted (heck, even acknowledged) the existence of DAB.
The fact they think the answer is to expand access to Double J says to me a root-and-branch review is definitely needed.
I agree with revamping Double J, the target audience is people who listened to Triple J 20-30 years ago. Quite hard to expand your audience when most people who will tune in have no idea what they are listening to. Going in the BBC Radio 2 direction is a great idea.
I agree also with merging RadioNational and NewsRadio. Half of RN is podcasts and repeats of ABC Local Radio shows, just like half of ABC NewsRadio is BBC World Service.
Some of RN can be pushed onto Local Radio on weekends (replacing the lazy story stream programming) and the rest either made more newsier or moved to overnights (replacing BBC World Service which is virtually the BBC version of RadioNational anyway).
There would probably be a bit of backlash to moving Classic FM to DAB+ only, the fact that itâs available via TV may quell that.
Regionals already have to put up with Saturday Night Country, donât make us be the only ones subjected to Macca too!
One thing Iâve noticed over the last week or two though is theyâre all plugging the ABC Listen app a lot - by the presenters, in promos, for the AFL and NRL coverage etc⌠Several mentions a lot of the time now and about how easy it is to use, how easily you can text or call in etcâŚ
Iâd like ABC Local to pick up a bit where some of the SCA/Caralis stations have left off.
Introduce a bit more music during the day/afternoon of the classic hits or easy listening variety but keep the live listener involved breakfast and night programs interspersed with more music than they currently do.
RN and NewsRadio should def merge and become a news/spoken word station with the specialist programming but with a schedule that makes sense, ie live news during the day and more specialist programs in the evenings/weekends.
ABC Local Radio needs to be fiercely local, stop networking programs â thatâs their core purpose and their output should reflect that. Iâd argue they should be given the Classic FM frequencies in the cities and be able to simulcast as an emergency broadcaster, move Classic to DAB alongside JJ and itâd free up one AM frequency per market.
So over the plugging of the Listen App. The App is glitchy, stops for no reason, and often randomly blocks data usage on the phone requiring a switch to Airplane mode and back again to get it to work. And yes this is one of the advised âfixesâ. Really tired of broadcasters trying to push people to streaming when itâs a crap experience.
Yet they never even mention DAB even though itâs just push a button and go, or always available in the car. Crazy.
How local should it be? For example, should there still be separate programs for metro and regionals on weekends when there are no live sport?
What does it mean for current affairs shows like AM, The World Today and PM?
I pretty much agree with the analysis that Local Radio should become more locally-focussed whilst RN and NewsRadio should be merging. Iâve never found the real point of difference that distinguishes the two since theyâre both national and are driven by hard-hitting news/current affairs/politics and human interest stories.
If they brought over some of RNâs most popular programs and air it on NewsRadio along with the usual then I could see it becoming a real powerhouse in terms of setting the agenda as the national broadcasterâs flagship radio station.
just comes down to the origin of news radio - PNN (as it was at the time) was created to fill dead air on the frequencies used to broadcast parliament when there was no sitting, so the rolling news format was created to fill this. The roiling news has been diluted so much with long form programming that newsradio has moved away from its strengths (the dip in / dip out news)
there should be a rationalisation of shows on RN to move news and current affairs shows (like background briefing and Saturday extra) to newsradio, some entertainment type shows (the stage show for example) to local radio weekends and dump the rest.
the only downside i see is that the ABC is legisted to broadcast parliament on AM, so when it is sitting it would interrupt the schedule