ABC Local Radio

Other differences between ABC metro TV and ABC regional TV back then were:
(1) the regional feeds carried ABC Regional News each weeknight at 6.55pm for five minutes while the metros get filler programming such as Videodisc (a short music video). In Victoria there were two versions of the Regional News, one for Gippsland, the other for the rest of the state.
(2) on Saturday mornings ABC TV stations screened local callsign test patterns with a sharp tone for a few hours before transmission started around midday.
(3) ABC TV regional stations carried test cricket while metros get alternative programming (test cricket was on Nine).

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Did he used to be on TV?

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Yes, he was one of the original presenters on ABC News 24 from 2010 until 2016. He was also once the ABCā€™s Moscow Correspondent, and before then a reporter for The 7.30 Report.

In recent years, heā€™s also been an MC for the Australian War Memorial, including ANZAC Day services, and Remembrance Day.

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Yeh right. Thought it was the same guy.

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Something interesting Iā€™ve found with ABC Riverinaā€™s 675AM transmission- they switch over from the NSW regional feed when there is AFL on, but today theyā€™ve switched over earlier (Iā€™m guessing due to the 5:15pm AFL game however this isnā€™t airing on Local Radio in Victoria) and have been relaying a direct feed of 774 Melbourne (with their drive show). Iā€™d always assumed it was a relay of the regional Victorian feed.

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Possibly the switch in transmissions is done from Sydney, and someone who is more likely to follow NRL didnā€™t realise that VIC wasnā€™t taking the AFL game on local radio.

Also could be that they do take the regional feed, but Drive is state-wide from Melbourne.

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I checked ABC Goulburn Murray (which had the normal regional drive show), it was definitely a direct feed of 774 as there was a Melbourne traffic report and the Melbourne drive show which was different.

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Ok thanks. Looks like someone got confused in Sydney and switched the feed over early. Do they usually take ABC Melbourne for football, or do they take a regional feed. I know in SA, regional areas get separate promos to Adelaide (i.e. they end with 'On ABC Radio South Australia and Broken Hill, instead of ABC Radio Adelaide).

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The 5.10pm game between Brisbane and North Melbourne was broadcast on ABC Listen app, ABC Sport digital radio and News Radio in Queensland.

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From my recollection a decade ago, there is a metro and regional ABC TV feed in each state, with minor variations (mainly ads for local radio services can be tailored to the capital city or more generic for the statewide audience).

I presume these separate feeds still technically exist, although maybe they donā€™t bother differentiating the promos anymore.

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Could be, I think the ID is still ABC Sydney for Sydney, or ABC South Australia for regional SA, etc.

Wouldnā€™t make sense though to air promos for capital city breakfast programs in regional centres.

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Back in the late 80s which is the earliest when i am able to remember, Melbourne would get Dr Who or whatever while ABC TV relays in the country got an ABC version of the cricket as Kerry Packer ā€œdidnā€™t feel likeā€ feeding Benaud et al out to the regions.

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When did digital and online get the sports coverage? Usually they have live programs on digital but I see they have sports coverage now.

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I feel this is only a fairly recent and gradual change. Itā€™s mainly on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from what Iā€™ve seen- thereā€™s an evenings program from 7:30pm going out on digital/online thatā€™s not going out on terrestrial.

Suspect it might be budget cutbacks- I know the logic behind them having a non-sport option is that there are Local Radio listeners that donā€™t enjoy sport and would prefer ā€˜normal programmingā€™ the whole time, but I suspect that itā€™s a rather expensive exercise for something that probably doesnā€™t rate all that well.

Digital TV seems to be blacked out, playing music before and now playing a piece from the BBC on Sebastian Coe.

I know thereā€™s a rights restriction against them putting sport on DTV, Iā€™d say this doesnā€™t apply to the other platforms hence why.

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Budget cuts

By mid 2023, the Editorā€™s Choice Program was gone, and replaced by Roy and HGā€™s sport show, then around the end of September, Andrea Gibbā€™s Weekends program, and the Saturday Drive program were replaced by sport. At the end of November, Sunday afternoon programming was cut and replaced with sport.

Now Thursday and Friday evening programming is replaced with AFL in AFL states only.

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I think I recall in the early days of 106.5 ABC Upper Murray, it was known as CO-FM.

Which always made me think 2CO 675 was almost purely ABC Victorian regional programming, not NSW Riverina (despite the 2 prefix in the call sign).

Wikipedia seems to confirm the CO-FM name, do you recall anything much about this?

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It was definitely referred to as CO-FM in the 1990s, changing to ABC Goulburn Murray around 2000.

My understanding is that the 675AM signal switched to relaying programming from Wagga around the same time the name changed from CO-FM, and it has always opted out for the AFL (except for a brief period of a few weeks back around this time in 2022 and on odd occasions otherwise where theyā€™ve forgotten to flick the switch).

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675 2COā€™s coverage area straddles the Barassi Line - Wikipedia hence AFL on that big main signal but (pauses to make a Melburnian snort) thugby on the FM relays such in Wagga itself.

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Most parts of the coverage area of 2CO also receive good reception from other ABC Local Radio FM stations- thereā€™s a huge overlap with 106.5 ABC Goulburn Murray and itā€™s really only the Deniliquin/Finley areas that have 2CO as their ā€˜primary signalā€™. These are AFL areas though so it does make sense that they continue to switch over for their benefit.

In Albury/Wodonga on the other hand, thereā€™d be more benefit if it did switch over to a NSW feed (NRL and all) permanently as it would provide an option of both codes (NRL on AM, AFL on FM). While the NRL is not as popular as the AFL here thereā€™s still a decent amount of people interested in the NRL (many here follow both codes and like myself, while they may prefer AFL theyā€™ll still tune into the NRL when AFL isnā€™t on and for things like Origin and the Grand Final).

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Note my Avatar! :rofl:

But seriously, back in the 1980s (before the 2RVR and 3MRR FM networks were established), the coverage area of 2CO would have been quite huge, from Cootamundra in the east to Hay in the west and down to Benalla.

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