AM/FM conversions in the late 80/90’s should’ve been the go. Then later explore if more services are needed.
The doubling of ad inventory and on air costs didn’t work for most markets with many glad to sell to DMG and RG. Hence the problems we have today.
Less choice, more viability may have staved off the networking and industry consolidation. Is it what the market would want? Who knows, all spilt milk now.
Yes I agree with this. I think they should have also been more open to amalgamating adjacent markets.
For example, Maryborough and Bundaberg markets could have been easy amalgamated on FM from Mt Goonanamen. If they’d allowed both 4MB and 4BU to convert to FM and compete across the Wide Bay then you would have had two very viable FM stations. A third FM could have been auctioned later.
The TV station broadcast to Wide Bay from Mt Goonanamen so the market was already used to a TV service that encompassed Maryborough and Bundaberg, so why not radio.
At least they had combined Rockhampton and Gladstone but even then instead of auction 2 additional FMs they should have let 4RO and 4CC convert and then added a 3rd FM. Instead now you have 4RO and 4CC struggling on AM, and Triple M and HIT with their networked formats.
There would be plenty of other adjacent markets they could have feasibly combined. Gympie and Nambour for example.
supplementary services only served cannibalized the very limited number of listeners to the existing commercial service. Most country towns are really too small to support two or more commercial FM licences. It was just greed on the part of commercial broadcasters. Now the ACMA has to try & accommodate their latest gripe, which is to convert the commercial AM to FM…which I repeat SHOULD have been done from the start. I’d doubt that doubling the services would have double the revenue…
No, though they wouldn’t have double the costs either, as they would have the same sales staff for both etc.
Does that mean they’ve turned off AM yet? Or are they running an info loop telling people to tune to FM?
I agree mate. I’ve just spent 3 days in Gympie and all I could pick up was Zinc. Personally I quite like Zinc and I am in their age bracket but I feel the under 40’s are missing out in Gympie. If they combined Gympie and the Sunny Coast, I would think Grant Broadcasters would be happy to put a Hot91 repeater in Gympie and have Zinc covering all the Sunny Coast.
As for Rocky and Gladstone, they really need to convert one of the AM stations to FM, or even both. It would give them a option to have Star FM in the listening area and it would give Triple M and Hit a bit more competition. At the moment it is weird hearing both stations 4RO and 4CC using the tag line Classic Hit.
I’ll be back up that way tomorrow and will check it out.
The AM transmitters are still on but at reduced power
If I recall correctly the AM TXers are on until the end of this week or end of this month.
Wonder why they’d do that? You’d think they’d want to get the word out to those who don’t listen every day. Maybe the AM plant(s) are so stuffed that they were about to die!
Just the masts which successive owners have not included money for maintenance.
Yep, back home again now, 7AD didn’t notice much difference with but certainly didn’t seem to be getting 7BU as clear as before. Very noticeable difference though between the AM and FM!
Which is pretty much the same thing… scary thought, we’re already a quarter of the way through the year!
I’m curious about that power reduction now, a way to convince late adopters of the benefit of the FM transmission.
Anyone down in Victoria care to comment on how well 7BU and 7AD are coming in? I know from my time down there they usually belt into to Melbourne and anywhere close to Bass Strait, wondering if that’s changed at all?
I know that RC at Mount Waverley was struggling to hear 7AD.
Hi dxnerd. 7BU-AM is now inaudible in central Melbourne. Used to have no trouble receiving it.
Late last night the only station audible on 558 was an ABC station that was pretty strong driving around the burbs. Was amazed to find it was 6WA in Wagin, WA.
Thanks guys, sounds like it very much has changed. Both Tassie stations were commonplace day and night in Victoria in the past
@Vidiot I’m surprised 4GY from up here let you hear anything from WA, that’s a good catch
Even as recently as mid February, both 7AD and 7BU were at normal strength, as heard from Wilson’s Prom. Either a very well timed tx fault or, more likely, they are saving a bit of money by turning down the AM power ahead of the switch off.
That’s interesting. According to the ACMA transmitter database, 7BU’s AM tower is used to support an FM antenna for another commercial station at the site. I’m guessing it’ll also be used for 7BU(U if that’s what the callsign becomes)-FM. So it must be in reasonable shape.