I was at least expecting ARN to retain Laurel, Gary & Mark rather than completely boot them.
They could’ve been utilised on localising KIIS97.3 drive, or even at least popped up on River94.9.
ARN’s loss is Nine & ACE’s gain in this case.
5 Likes
Never applied for a job in Newcastle. My sources that they were desperate for him to be on the breakfast show. Not the first time they’ve offered him a job either.
2 Likes
Or maybe they are not worried as they own 4 stations in SEQLD and don’t see a need to have River on DAB?
I agree it would be a good idea, but to say they are delusional because they haven’t done it is a bit silly.
ARN have already said the revenue from River and Hot 91 is larger than that of 4KQ which is why they didn’t keep it, so it’s perfectly reasonable for them to sell it.
If you don’t like it, you can always stream Gold 1043 or Cruise on the Radio app or listen at work online.
1 Like
5 Likes
Interesting the comment that the Gold Coast revenue is similar to Perth and Adelaide.
2 Likes
Yeah it doesn’t surprise me it’s comparable to Adelaide at least. GC really is more a metro area in its own right, and taking into account it basically merges into Brisbane these days. Hard to really determine where one stops and the other begins.
The quoted population figure excludes tourists as well which can bump it up significantly in peak periods.
2 Likes
5 Likes
Did AMI Radio eventually turn into ARN or was it sold into ARN? The QLD Zinc station (I think it’s in Maroochydore?) appears to be licenced to AMI Radio.
Doesn’t seem to be much info on where their assets came from to form the joint-venture between APN and Clear Channel.
1 Like
There may be some details about it from this below document re AMI Radio:
Investigation into the Control of Commercial Radio Broadcasting Licences Held by Elmie Investments Pty Ltd - November 2007
AMI acquired Hot 91 from DMG after the latter had to divest the station after having bought the new Brisbane FM licence (Nova 106.9), and then acquired the 96.1 Gympie licence (now Zinc 96) from BOG in exchange of the latter acquiring the three AM licences in Coffs Harbour, Kempsey & Orange. AMI then sold the AM licences in Bendigo, Mildura, Mackay, Cairns & Bunbury to Elmie Investments.
AMI sold Hot 91 & Zinc 96 to Prime in 2007, which was then acquired by Grant Broadcasters in 2013 before being acquired by ARN in January 2022.
5 Likes
what was the licences for bendigo?? which radio station
1 Like
Easy Listening 1071, later Easy Mix, now Gold Central Victoria. Grant Broadcasters acquired the station in January 2007.
3 Likes
Oh Ok 
that is something I didn’t know. well, I knew about the gold central victoria part. just not the first and 2nd parts
3 Likes
And before the Sleazy Mix, it was 3CV.
I can’t remember what happened with 1089 Orange: was there a period where the frequency was dormant? 2GZ converted to FM in 1999 iirc.
2 Likes
1089 became Easy Listening soon after 2GZ moved to FM before being sold to BOG in 2005.
4 Likes
Yes 3CV was on Gold CV’s frequency, but 3CV’s licence converted to FM and became Star FM Bendigo (3CV and 3BO were co-owned at the time) as 3BDG. The 1071 licence was a “new” licence going to AMI as 3EL (easy listening).
4 Likes
Thanks for that info. So identical to the other ‘EL’ markets where the heritage AM converted to FM (Mildura, Orange, Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour).
3CV focused on the Castlemaine area, correct? So originally it had a distinct service area to 3BO/Bendigo.
2 Likes
The licence area for 3CV (and Gold CV at present) was Maryborough (Vic) RA1.
I remember seeing a print ad for the station on a Ballarat Visitors Guide from the 90s, in which due to its transmitter location near Maryborough, it could be considered a de-facto local commercial radio station for Ballarat as an alternative to 3BA.
This was similar to when Power FM was considered a de-facto local commercial radio station for Wollongong back in the 90s/early 00s due to its transmitter being at Knights Hill with Wave & i98.
3 Likes
3CV was licenced to Maryborough so it had coverage across Bendigo and Ballarat as it was right in the middle between the two. From memory, its studios ended up in Bendigo.
5 Likes
Actually, it was 3BO that was a straight AM-FM conversion in 1993 (being one of the last conversions under the prior to the auction and supplementary licence regime). Radio 3CV Pty Ltd won the auction for a second FM licence (being 3BDG) for $1.22M in 1998. The ACMA register still identifies that it is the original Maryborough licence based on the licence start date:
As for why the call sign was changed, maybe it was part of the deal with AMI not to use existing OnAir IDs. In terms of history, I think 3CV was previously 3MB (Mallee Broadcasters) Birchip…one of the stations that moved to find more profitable towns.
5 Likes
Thanks for clarifying. That’s what I thought happened. There is often some confusion around stations “converting” to FM when in fact all they did was change callsigns when a new FM station launched.
3 Likes