According to this article, ACE has presented a non-binding proposal to purchase 1377AM Melbourne radio licence from SEN.
How the hell are ACE going to afford this?
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Is there an HPON in Melbourne that would be a likely grab for SEN to move SEN Track to? Or would that be part of SEN also making the mooted deal with RSN?
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1377AM in Melbourne will be ACEâs first metropolitan station wonât it? I know it has been concentrating in regional areas.
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Yep. What do you reckon they should do with it?
I think thatâs right - they previously had a 50% stake in BayFM.
I suspect the motivation is to have a better penetration for media sales. Even if 3MP has limited ratings success, the offer will be âVictoria wideâ advertising packages, which would provide a degree of competitiveness to SCA, especially in overlap areas such as Albury-Wodonga. I can only imagine its quite a degree harder to achieve National Sales if you are based outside Melbourne or Sydney.
I would probably reinstate the âAussieâ or âKooolâ formats given they were at the more successful end of the DAB offerings.
However, I suspect it will be a Classic Hits (or even maybe a âClassic Rock Radioâ) format which enables easy networking to ACEâs heritage station network (3HA/3SH/3NE/2AY / Gold1242 etc). The focus will be on cost control, so we can all look forward to the âMorning Rushâ direct from 3YBâs studios.
I expect this would bring 3MP into reasonably direct competition with Magic1278. Given the current significant content networked between 3AW and ACE Heritage stations, there could be some interesting tension between the parties.
In contrast to Magic1278, it will at least be easier to have networked breakfast across Victoria than between Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. So 3MP might have a better feel to it.
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Absolutely. Regional areas related so much more to their capital city than cities do to each other. A lot of Melbourne content is relevant to the whole state, and people in Melbourne are happy to heard about other places in the state. Plus they all follow the same code of footy.
3MP will fit right in with ACEâs other stations and give good opportunities to all the stations. Possibly even make it easier to recruit talent for the regional stations that want to be based in Melbourne.
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Mostly Concentrated on Aceâs Talk & Music Brands with the Exception of Neil Mitchell.
Anyway the Format will be similar to 2SM with a Victorian Feel as 3MP will have a Melbourne Based Morning Show of itâs Own while Rural Victoria & New South Wales (on the Murray River Side) will still take Neil Mitchell & Sportsday Victoria, unless 3MP can snap it from 3AW.
That would get Ace the 1377 DAB+ allocation, so I wonder what the plan is for that?
Best business strategy ACE can do is on sell the station to an owner with competent radio business experience.
An operator that isnât all slash and burn until thereâs nothing worth selling airtime around.
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Iâm predicting a resurrection of the 3MP brand to 1377AM.
Iâd much rather hear that Ace purchased 2CH as opposed to SEN.
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Hopelly ACE will bring back 3mp and its Easy Music format forcussing on easy classics of 60âs and 70âs
Did Ace also get âKoolâ and âAussieâ DAB Licences as well from SEN/PSN/Crocmedia?
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Every AM and FM commercial licence is entitled to the DAB+ spectrum and it (appears that it) canât be separated, so Ace gets the AM and DAB+.
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ACE could put their News, talkback, sport, music format on 1377 am and DAB and their âMIXXâ Hit music, news format on the extra DAB Licence
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From memory, they tried talkback & news on 1377 with some big names - there wasnât even a blink
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Probably with the old 3MP format (or a modern incarnation of it) as well?
I (and probably others on Media Spy) personally wouldâve preferred to hear that the Capital Radio Network has purchased 2CH.
Going by the things Iâve heard around here, ACE Radio doesnât exactly seem to be one of the better broadcasters for regional Australia.
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Should Ace Bring back on 1377am:
(1) Easy Music
(2) Greatest Hits
(3) Classic Rock
(4) Other ?
Yes, a 2GB relay with local breakfast by Steve Price, local mornings with Steve Vizard and local drive with Luke Grant i think? Apart from that I remember it being mostly just 2GB. Definitely remember Ross Greenwood and Chris Smith being on there.
Anyway I canât see Ace putting in the dollars for a talkback format - my money is on the same format heard on the AM network, with Sean & Kate for breakfast & Damo on mid-dawns. They will probably have announcers outside of this time, but it wouldnât surprised me if it was voice tracked, maybe even by existing talent at the regionals.
On that note, if The Morning Rush is piped in, that would have to be the first time a permanent metro breakfast show is broadcast from a (much) smaller market, right?
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Either 1 or 3, but it would need promotion. Hardly anybody even knew about 3MP after MTR, then even less for Classic Rock Radio, and maybe a handful for the current âSEN+â
Ace are quite good at this, they are probably the most âpresentâ radio station(s) I have ever seen in Gippsland/Valley. Heaps of outdoor promotion like billboards with Gabi & Dan on the Moe/Morwell bypass, a fair bit of a presence at local footy games (including calling them)