They could go with LiSTNR to save having to pay the licensing for iHeart.
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I still canât quite work out what would happen in Brisbane. There are a few variables, including the fact 97.3 is half-owned by Nova. I canât see whoever ends up controlling B105 deciding to send it towards a Gold format, but then 3x CHR stations in a 4x FM market makes no sense at all, and is bad news for the listener. Thereâs also the ownership overlap with River 94.9 and Hot 91 to consider.
I wouldnât rule out a kind of hybrid Triple M/Gold format for FM104. They might still call it Triple M for marketing purposes but it might end up sounding very Gold-ish. Same for Triple M Adelaide. Theyâve already gone for a hybrid brand on the Gold Coast - Triple M Gold.
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Also another interesting pickup in the ARN presentation is their ratings expectations for the Kyle & Jackie O show being broadcast into Melbourne.
Their market research suggests a 10% share for the show in Melbourne putting them at #1 or #2 fm Breakfast show, and the possibility of KIIS 101.1 becoming the #1 fm in Melbourne.
The network has secured Christian OâConnell on a long term contract, and if the merge goes ahead whatâs the bet they move him to Triple M breakfast and Marty Sheargold goes to Gold 104.3 Breakfast?
In Sydney Jonesy and Amanda on Triple M Breakfast and Mick & MG on WS Fm?
Will Triple M nationally change itâs format to sound closer to the Pure Gold network with a rock skew, similar to Mix 106.3 in Canberra?
I am sure ARN would broaden the music, debogan the station while keeping NRL / AFL, Cricket???
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What do you think happens to staff at SCA if/when this merger happens? Status quo or would they be concerned? Some very interesting times in radio currently.
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I think behind the scenes thereâll be cuts⌠theyâll probably have staff managing more stations (that are currently managed separately under ARN and SCA).
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SCA Network execs & most management, would get the arse, & they know it, they shouldnât be in the positions they are, use your imagination as to why/how.
SCA board will hold off on recommending to shareholders to take the deal as long as they can, because they know theyâll be out of a job as soon as the takeover is completed.
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I could live with that, even if they did have to keep the sport. If they fixed the music and deboganed Triple M that would be a start.
Although they could always pipe in Christian from Gold 104.3 to the Triple M stations in Brisbane and Adelaide I guess without moving him to Triple M in Melbourne.
I think though with the amount of hype that ARN puts out there about securing him for the long term I canât see them letting him sit on Gold if that is owned by ACP.
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Iâd hate if ARN destroy Triple M Perthâs current format and replace it with the generic sounding 96FM stuff.
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ARN would pick up Triple M and Anchorage would pick up B105, Hot 91 and River 94.9.
The KIIS 973 JV would remain with Nova Iâd imagine, unless Nova picked up a second Brisbane station, thereby needing to sell their 50% share to ARN to prevent a breach of ownership laws.
On the Gold Coast, Iâm assuming ARN would keep Hot Tomato and pick up Triple M and Anchorage would get Sea FM.
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I think Perth will go this way under the ARN / ACM SCA merge.
96fm becomes Pure Gold Triple M, this is the format I think ARN will choose for the Triple M network nationally, and the closest format to what 96fm is now.
92.9 will get blown up again and it will become KIIS 929, to compete directly with Nova937.
Mix 94.5 under ACM could become a clone of Smooth fm so it does not compete directly with KIIS and Triple M.
This leads me to this question will the stations that ACM acquire be competitive or will they just gut them and take on niche formats to give the ARN stations a free run?
What formats would 2day and WS take to not compete with KIIS and Triple M?
Brisbane is complicated by the part ownership of KIIS 97.3 by Nova Ent. A better solution would be for Nova entertainment to sell their 50% share of KIIS, and buy B105 instead.of ACM. B105 can then be reformatted as Smooth 105. This would shake up the Brisbane market in a big way.
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ARN may possibly swap their 50% in Nova937 for Novaâs 50% share in KIIS973.
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I hope this is how it goes. The Perth stations still feel quite misaligned and this would fix that. I also think Perth needs another real top 30 station, so making 92.9 KIIS would be great. 92.9 should always have stayed a hit/top 30 station, itâs what most of Perth know it for. Exciting times ahead, hopefully this acquisition is completed asap.
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I disagree with the above. Why do they need 2 CHR stations sounding the same in this day and age? A variety of formats is the key.
I would have 96FM as a Pure Gold station, very similar to Gold & WS and Triple M as a active rock station similar to The Rock in NZ.
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The closest hint for me in the document is that ARN very explicitly count to 10 metro stations, including explaining how they get to their count of 8 stations right now - excluding Nova 93.7 but including 97.3.
So year, River would for sure be sold to ACP under the plans because thatâs required to get them to 10, and they would have some plan for Perth, and given that they explicitly donât count Nova for their â8â current stations, they must be assuming they wonât own that half after the transaction.
For Perth - the strongest hand would be Mix + 96fm, Mix would be able to join the Adelaide Mix in the KIIS network in branding and style, while 96fm would be able to join the Triple M network without a rebrand. 92.9, and I assume the half of Nova would go to ACP, with 92.9 probably just going back to their days of not having a name.
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I thought the agreement was for ARN to take over the Triple M network , not the Hit network?
This means ARN would own 92.9 Triple M and 96FM in Perth. If this is the case, 96FM would be the most likely to switch formats to CHR as itâs already part of the KIIS network, even though the format is currently different.
I suspect they will be more flexible than that, especially based around what ARNâs existing properties mean for them in a given market. In regional areas thereâs Triple Ms that ACP will own, and Hit stations that ARN will own - which is largely coming down to ARN getting their pick of the best market position. I think that will apply in metro to some extent.
The concept is completing a national KIIS network and a national Triple M network - but there will be stations changing in both directions to make that work.
The renewal of the deal with Christian OâConnell for example, shows an investment in Gold that would be hard to untangle, and confidence in his product that I have to assume means they would want him fronting the breakfast show on their Melbourne station in their âTriple M networkâ - but I have full confidence that will be Gold not 105.1.
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Given the 96FM heritage brand, I highly doubt itâll see any change from this.
92.9 can afford yet another switcheroo which will be very unfortunate.
Surely they could have KIIS92.9 and keep it as an alternate format like it currently is - maybe with less rock, leaving that for 96.
⌠Then again, it is ARN. Given the chopping and changing theyâve done with 96FM in recent years, who knows whatâll happen.
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Ah, 92.9! I kept trying to say PMFM very fast and⌠i now realise why it was junked 
Heh Heh Heh!
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personally i hope they dont touch 96FMâs format, and only change it by moving it to MMM network wise and remove all the little KIIS influence it has.
as for 92.9 its bittersweet as their format is so good, but the idea of keeping the music format as is, and making it into KIIS could work out.
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When the deals (incl. K/JOâs) were announced, it was clear they were with ARN rather than a specific station, which will give ARN the flexibility to move them around to suit whatever they end up with in the merge and resplit.
I do wonder though whether theyâll shift to a multi-city arrangement (similar to whats happening with KIIS) for the second station as well.
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