Be very careful, Australia has one of the best radio markets left in the world with local content. The government really should be strengthening the rules right now to protect it. The last thing we need is nationalised radio like the UK or NZ for a massive country.
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If you want local radio, thereās always community radio.
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Thatās a cop out for having a local industry with paying jobs.
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While that may be so, there are also significant drawbacks in what we have one of the worst markets for diversity of formats, especially in regional areas.
We could get increased diversity without nationalisation though- simply removing the protection racket and opening up each licence area to anyone interested (up to a limit of say 6 or 8 commercial licences in an area) with the existing (or stronger) local content rules.
It would require a rethink on how we use spectrum and probably restacking of the FM band but the status quo is very inefficient as it is so a restack is probably a good idea regardless.
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There are no local content rules for metro licenses, the only thing that stops a relay of KIIS Sydney to the other 4 metros is the tastes of listeners and timezones.
The problem in Australia is weāve already had the nationalising of radio - half the country has a Hit/Triple M station, and if ARN get their way, youād near fully cover it with a KIIS/Triple M duo.
At least in NZ those small towns get the competiton through at least two owners in all markets, even if they have very little local content, thereās at least consumer choice.
Iām not sure how you get back from a scenario where the only local content left on a monopoly radio operator is a bare bones morning show, like Hit regional is becoming. We have all the negatives of the NZ model, but none of the positives.
If there was competiton in these small markets, localism can be a point of difference, but if you have monopoly operators, then they can just lump the audience with anything.
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For me, with the exception of live sport.
I refuse to listen to any networked radio broadcast from another state.
There are alway options.
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This might be the case in Metro markets - but regionally itās pretty poor, basically resembling ātick-the-boxā radio. It doesnāt help that these markets often have limited (if any) real competition.
We should have national commercial radio - but it should come with some fairly stringent rules around its operation (and improved local content requirements for local radio). Sadly with Digital radio spinning its wheels, its never going to happen
Youāve got to be kidding. Coast and Gold have some of the worst radio playlists Iāve ever heard. Smooth Relax, Vintage, Magic, 2UE and 4BH are miles better when it comes to song selection and localism for the ACE stations.
The same is true for The Edge, More FM and ZM. Boring playlists and a narrow selection of songs, and mostly networked from Auckland.
In regards to Rock radio being so bad in Australia, Iād say the MMM DAB stations are great, better than Hauraki or The Rock. I donāt listen to Triple M as I also donāt like the bogan talk, but the playlists on the DAB stations are good, especially MMM 90s, 2000s, 80s and Classic Rock.
I was in Auckland earlier this year and the only thing I enjoyed listening to was Flava, for Old School R&B. The rest had too many ads, bland playlists and they sounded very similar. Thatās what happens when a market is a duopoly.
Being a lover of rock music I would definitely side with @Brianc68 when it comes to NZ having superior music options. While TripleM does have extended options on digital, the playlists on these options (80ās, 90ās& 00ās) play it fairly safe and donāt really cover new rock compared to Harauki and The Rock which cover the above decades plus breaking new rock by emerging bands that donāt get airtime in AU. Since TripleM abandoned their 90ās and New Rock format in the early 00ās, there continues to be a gap in this market.
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Each to their own, but I found The Rock to be a fairly safe and stale station when I listened to it. Hauraki was OK but I think MMM 00s does a great job mixing rock with some indie, dance and hip-hop, as does MMM 90s (and Tradie Radio before that), and the extended mixes of songs on MMM 80s, something you just wonāt get on The Rock or Hauraki.
I really canāt understand anyone thinking any of the Triple M offerings on DAB are as good as The Rock, Hauraki or even The Sound. They just arenāt. Rebel on the other hand is better.
Coast and Magic NZ are better than 4BH and 2UE.
The Breeze is better than Smooth.
Smooth Vintage and Relax arenāt even available in most capitals on DAB.
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Might be just me, but most of our DAB only music stations lack a certain āwarmthā, they feel like Spotify playlists with ads as opposed to a proper radio station.
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DAB rock stations is a bit off topicā¦ nationalised radio means no local jocks, or content. And thatās what happens when you have a less and less diverse range of owners. There should be more networks and groups not less. In the UK a few networks (Global, Bauer etc) own pretty much everything now. And barely anything is local.
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Itās all a matter of opinion with regards to local - personally I think itās overrated. Itās more about the quality of presenter and content for me. Iād rather listen to the Global and Bauer stations any day over what our networks are putting out - and that goes doubly for regional stations. The local content is too amateurish, I canāt listen. Iād rather listen to a polished presenter and better playlist from anywhere. Even from an Australian radio perspective, I listen to Rebel or Breeze because their music content and presentation style is just better, not because theyāre local.
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I find myself listening to either 93.4 More FM or Nui FM Taupo when local radio gets boring. Matter of fact Nui FM fires up when i plug my work phone into Apple Car play in the work truck
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Well, you might not be in the target demographic for MMM 2000s or MMM 90s but thereās nothing like them on NZ radio, let me tell you. Hauraki and Channel X are close but still pale in comparison. Thereās also nothing like Double J or Triple J in NZ radio, not to mention the SBS suite of stations.
Smooth Vintage and Relax are on the Radio App so they can be listened to easily on mobile or internet, just as you would be listening to the NZ stations, presumably?
Rebel and Breeze are good but they donāt have a metro presence (except for Logan, south of Brisbane). It would be nice if they could get access to some DAB in the metros but this is unlikely until more capacity is added.
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I guess one thing youād have to be careful of is comparing apples with apples - if youāre talking over the air in analogue, particularly in regional Australia where there is no DAB+, then Iād probably take the choice of NZ over-the-air AM/FM radio to what is offered here.
Even if some of the formats do feel complacent now - eg. I still have fond memories of The Breeze when I first went over there in 2005, when it was still only Wellington and Christchurch local - but now itās just āanother stationā being networked out of Aucklandā¦ which is certainly a gripe for many, with even ostensibly originally-ālocalā formats like More FM or Classic Hits/The Hits now being reduced to being no more local than our own regional radio.
(And Iām not saying their formats are all better - Iād happily take our Smooth against Coast, for instance, the latter was almost a bit too laid back and snoozy)
If you extend that to onlineā¦ I guess like ARN, NZME would probably say āwell look at what we have for you in iHeartRadioā but thereās no guarantee that the decades playlists there would be suitably tuned to Kiwi tastes. And I presume Rova offers the same or similar on the MediaWorks side. (Since most people would be listening to our DAB stations online rather than actually through digital radio, I think itās a fair equivalence.)
I guess thereās no push to innovate in that space across the Tasman when so many formats are on AM/FM in the first place - and particularly there not being the advertising pool available, outside Auckland in particular.
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You are correct , Coast has become way too safe over the last 5 years, just as the radio market has become more concentrated. Coast is not only too snoozy, so is The Edge and More
FM. When I tuned in earlier this year when I was in Auckland, I found them so boring they almost put me to sleep. At least ZM still plays some dance , but overall the sound was too safe.
There is no need for innovation across the Tasman, as 2 companies control more than 90% of the market - in other words a duopoly, hence why no DAB or HD Radio there, and itās just easier and cheaper to stick with AM/FM , and to prevent new entrants from entering the market.
I was also surprised to see HUMM FM, recently bought by MW, being shafted to a low power 104.2 frequency in Auckland, as The Rock was on 106.2 when I was there. I believe 106.2 is now the new Channel X and The Rock is back on its long term frequency of 90.2. HUMM FM listeners wouldnāt be happy about that. The only way to listen would be on Rova. Local commercial radio is really a joke in NZ.
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speaking of these, iām not listening to these stations but I feel a sense that the musical style of More FM and The Breeze are moving closer together. Any kiwis or those who listened to nz radio regularly can help me, i just feel a bit confused?
thank you my friendsā¦
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More FM is AC (really soft AC), basically playing soft rock and soft pop hits from the 90s to now. Itās safe and bland IMO.
The Breeze is easy listening , soft AC, playing easy listening ballads, pop and classic hits from the 80s to now AFAIK.