I wonder if you can receive XLFM from the blue mountains now. Perhaps at the transmitter site.
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Also came here to check if there was any news, very strange, has no one at ARN noticed…? Does anyone see it coming back up at 7am Monday, but with a feed of R&B Fridays Radio?
I jest…
Online stream still up, which isn’t a surprise.
Would love to see how far XLFM gets out at the moment, as others have said.
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At 8:32pm The Edge 96.1 is back on air. As there was no thunderstorms around Wentworth Falls today, and 2LT / Move fm stayed on air the whole time I assume it was either a transmitter fault or planned maintenance.
I went for a drive up to the Acacia Gardens water tower, this is the best spot for Canberra dxing in my area. Nothing on 96.1 or Canberra fm, but some moderate Eagle fm which is permanent at this location. Maybe if The Edge 96.1 was off air and there was strong inland tropo XL fm might be a remote chance.
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According to Tim Burrows’ Unmade newsletter, the new station will target the 15 - 29 demographic and focus on new music. It will launch at the end of next month and the talent for it has already been hired.
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So it is not going to be purely hip hop???
Why let Mike E & Emma go, they connected, and were popular with The Edges target market of 15-29 year olds.
I thought the Edge was a new music station that targeted 15-29 years olds, so I wonder what will they do differently after the relaunch??
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The station will initially focus on new hip hop and RnB music. It’s unclear though whether it’ll eventually go beyond that.
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Probably wanted younger talent
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Actually reading further into the article speculating here, the new station could be very similar to the format Nova launched with in 2001, a commercial sounding version of BBC Radio 1. Considering the new CD was from Indy radio station FBI. According to the article the station will be blown up and relaunched with a brand new name.
This could really shake up the Sydney market and possibly even push Nova younger.
I wonder if they will play some Indi rock as well as dance music and hip hop?
I do find the current Edge 96.1 playlist to narrow focusing mostly on hip hop and RnB. Currently BBC R1 is spot on for me.
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That is what the station is now, why go to the effort to blow it up and relaunch it with exactly the same format?
The Edge rates close to if not #1 in the dab+ ratings in Sydney, a lot of that is probably fm listening , why do they need to relaunch the station if the music is only going to skew slightly younger??
Could ARN be looking at getting 96.1 into the Sydney radio survey?
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I’d say ARN is looking to introduce a younger brand to go national on the new Grants stations.
That way, have 3 networks. New one, KIIS and Pure Gold.
After all, why only have two networks when you can run three?
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Can’t imagine they’d use an even younger skewing brand in any regional areas, just the nature of them means it’d be too small of a demographic target.
I’d still think their use of it in regional would be either as a nights show or branding for new music.
Abandoning their current niche seems a bit of an odd idea though, especially for the FM product into Western Sydney.
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I’m not really in the demo or a CHR listener but when I’m in the UK I actually find BBC R1 quite good. It’s probably the only CHR station I would listen to. They just do it well.
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KIIS is their number 1 brand and network. It’s got the most expensive talent and biggest advertiser spend. This is the network they will want in as many markets are possible - so all the Grant CHR stations will align with KIIS.
The only hope of getting Edge or whatever it’s new name is on FM is if they switch some of the KIX narrowcast transmitters (assuming they can make it meet narrowcast requirements).
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Same, being in my mid forties I don’t fit the demo either. But the music is better then any of the CHR offerings in Australia. They have a good news service, and the station is well put together.
They also have lots of specialty music shows outside of prime time such as chill anthems, dance etc, this is what the station replacing the Edge 96.1 should be, not a station with 30 RnB / Hip Hop
Tracks on high rotation which is basically what the Edge 96.1 is now.
With The Edge 96.1 not being in the ratings, the new station can take risks. Like in 2001 there is a gap in the market between Nova and Triple J with most of us who listen to CHR stations sick of the same safe playlists.
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Unfortunately from experience with several under 18’s, R&B, hip hop and urban seem to be the predominant genres these days amongst that demographic.
I’d love to see The Edge become a dance station but unfortunately I don’t think dance based stations work well on radio. Some would argue that a lot of pop these days is dance so in essence it’s gone mainstream (not counting all styles of dance).
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Edge to go national?
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Yes, but not on FM.
FM in Sydney, national of digital platforms.
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“To launch in the last part of this year”?
Wow. So they’re just going to butcher 96.1 and let their listeners go elsewhere until then?
That’ll give SCA enough time to see out Hughesy, Ed and Erin in time to put Mike E and Emma on 2Day Breakfast at the same time.
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I think it’s just the national launch that will be later in the year.
They have said the 96.1 relaunch will be at the end of March and the talent have already been hired.
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From the article I read on Radio Today it is going to be 100% Hip Hop and RnB.
This is going back to the future… When The Edge 96.1 originally launched after ninety6.1 which was more alternative skewed it was 10% RnB and Hip Hop. ARN then made changes soon after to add more pop and dance songs with the new positioner Hits / Beats that move you.
I don’t know if the new station will be as successful as the current installment, Mike E and Emma was very popular and extremely out there, they were the only Sydney breakfast show that talked about Pegging!!!
There already is RnB Friday on dab+ With Mike E and Emma, and with the new station launching without them, and a narrower format and probably a tighter playlist. I cannot see it rating as well in the Sydney dab+ ratings, and the unknown other fm ratings.
I understand ARN want to make the new station clean and more family friendly, but SCA poaching them for RNB Friday’s may be a masterstroke of a blocker, even if they don’t end up on 2day or another Hit station for quite some time. Remember breakfast is what sets up a station for success.
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