It was full time talk from about 1997, possibly as early as 1996. John Laws started on 2CC in 1995 and branded 2CC as “Canberra’s home of John Laws in the morning and continuous easy favourites all day”. Interestingly, a few years earlier when John Laws was at 2GB and 2CA was part of the Macquarie Radio Network, 2CA aired John Laws highlights on weekend mornings.
I recall David Young’s Garden and a bunch of other weekend shows starting in 1996, and Stan Zemanek started on 2CC in 1997. I believe, but can’t quite recall now, that Stan Zemanek’s addition to the lineup removed the last of the music timeslots.
2CA was more of a Classic Hits/Oldies station. It should be noted that prior to 1997, 2CA & 2CC were rival stations, with the former owned by Austereo.
2CA had Jukebox Saturday Night through the 90s, featuring 50s and 60s oldies. I am assuming their day format was similar.
Canberra is probably the least dynamic (read:most boring) radio market in the country, at least for analogue radio. At least Wollongong (the other main contender) has had 2RPH switch on in the last decade!
At least you have an excellent community station in 2NUR and a couple of other good ones in the vicinity (Port Stephens, Lake Macquarie, Coast FM). We don’t even get that in Canberra. Valley FM Tuggeranong has some good stuff on but it lives up to its name: it cannot be heard outside the Tuggeranong valley. QBN FM is all over the shop music wise but does have the coverage across Canberra, being on Mount Jerrabomberra. If I was in charge of QBN I’d make it sound like 2NUR or SWR FM; the commercials could have a whinge about it but I wouldn’t care.
Just got back from Canberra, Mountain Biking trip, and the car radio was on DAB+ the whole time in Canberra
Canberra DAB+ coverage is excellent in its coverage area. I had perfect drop out free reception all the way to Corin Forest and some Sydney weak fm reception just before Corin too.
Only complaint about the Commercial multiplexes is it sounds distorted like the audio levels are too high on my car radio. Snow Digital is the worse for this.
Yeah, there’s a hairpin bend just as you hit around 1000 m ASL where Sydney and even the Central Coast comes in well. I’ve only been up there in snowy weather so conditions would have been much better today.
Would love to try a serious FM antenna up around Mount Ginini. I need a better vehicle for that, though.
I don’t listen to Canberra commercial radio at all so can’t comment on how loud the DAB sounds; the ABC/SBS stations seem fine.
Yes ABC sound fine but most of the commercials sound distorted, particularly 2CA, Hit 104.7 and Snow Digital.
Sydney DAB+ with the lower bit rate sounds better to my ear through my car radio.
If they could get the output levels right and with the high bit rates Canberra DAB+ could sound very good.
BTW on the way back to Sydney I had near continuous cover to around Collector and then patchy reception to the southern side of Mt Gray.
Exactly the same as what I achieve with my car radio. Going south, the hill just before Michelago is the limit of continuous coverage; patchy to Colinton. Northwest, continuous coverage to Bowning and then patchy coverage around Bookham, last gasp on the hill after Jugiong where 2BRW can also be received well.
Canberra is in desperate need of a shake-up. Would 2CA changing to FM help? It feels like that music format rates well across the country, but not in Canberra at this stage.
The real shake-up that it needs is a new competitor to challenge the ARN/SCA joint venture, but that’s highly doubtful
I think the issue with 2CA on AM and probably on Fm is the format is a too close to Mix 106.3 so it would not challenge Mix 106.3. Best would be to blow it up for an Fm conversion and have a music format similar to what Star 104.5 on the Central Coast so it would fit in nicely between Hit and Mix.
Regarding 2CC right wing talkback does not rate in Canberra so maybe they could adopt an Easy listening format similar to Magic / 2UE so they are not trying to be Mix106.3 on AM.
Either Tapt or NOVA ENT could run 2CC as a talk station. It’s odd for Capital Radio to have this one and only talk station among all their Forever Classic stations.
Yes TAPT could buy them out, but from memory didn’t 2CC take some 2GB programming at one stage, Jones / Hadley without rating success?
I think best chance of success for 2CA / 2CC would be for Nova Ent to purchase the stations if fm conversions were available, and relaunch them as Nova and Smooth. That would make the Canberra market competitive.