Gold Network

[Rossco]

@radio_nerd

Has anyone got any news on 4KQ? I thought we would have heard who the new buyer is by now.

Well you claimed a few weeks back that SEN had it in the bag!

[thesub1]

Not 4KQ Super Digi? Haha…

[radio_nerd]

@Rossco

Well you claimed a few weeks back that SEN had it in the bag!

Where did I say that @Rossco? I said I hope they don’t get it. What I did say a month ago is I was told from someone at ARN that they have found a buyer. Who? Anyone’s guess.

[Moe]

I would really hope that the fact that ARN aren’t desperately trying to migrate their listeners to 4KQ on DAB or streaming means that they’ve made a sale that is to someone who will keep the station in a similar format to now and thus is buying the 4KQ brand and “listeners” and has an agreement with ARN to not try and pinch them all.

If that’s not the case, and it’s just negligence from ARN that they are doing nothing to maintain the market position 4KQ has, then they’ve not learned anything from SEN torching the listeners of 2CH by not proactively migrating them to DAB.

[Brianc68]

Yes true. Wondering if they are holding off until a possible change of government. It’s a longshot but a couple of years ago there was industry speculation that AM stations might be exempt from the 2 station rule. I would support a change here which allows an operator to hold 3 stations if one or more are on AM.

[hemi340]

@Brianc68

Yes true. Wondering if they are holding off until a possible change of government. It’s a longshot but a couple of years ago there was industry speculation that AM stations might be exempt from the 2 station rule. I would support a change here which allows an operator to hold 3 stations if one or more are on AM

It would be great if ARN could keep 4KQ.

Someone told me a year or two back that the Government was looking at changing it to a 3 or 4 station rule, AM and FM. I can’t remember if it was the 3 or a 4 station rule.

[Brianc68]

@hemi340

@Brianc68

Yes true. Wondering if they are holding off until a possible change of government. It’s a longshot but a couple of years ago there was industry speculation that AM stations might be exempt from the 2 station rule. I would support a change here which allows an operator to hold 3 stations if one or more are on AM

It would be great if ARN could keep 4KQ.

Someone told me a year or two back that the Government was looking at changing it to a 3 or 4 station rule, AM and FM. I can’t remember if it was the 3 or a 4 station rule.

Yes agree. My opinion is the 2 station rule is actually the major reason for the lack of diversity of formats on Australian (analogue) radio. If a company has 3 or 4 stations there will be 3 or 4 distinct formats. If you have multiple operators with 2 stations each, they all tend to have the same 2 formats replicated and competing with each other, resulting in fewer different formats overall. The listener loses.

[lovemusic]

Theoretically ARN can keep hold of 4KQ for up to 12 months with a further 12 month extension, before offloading it.

It is a possibility once 4KQ is sold, ARN will move River 94.9 to the pure gold network and put it on DAB as ‘River digital’ similar to what they did with the Edge in Sydney.

[lovemusic]

I couldn’t disagree with you more on this point. The 2 station to a market rule as made Australia one of the best radio markets in the world, and very competitive.

The alternative is NZ where two companies control the majority of the radio stations despite having 8 or 9 distinct formats each. There is no competition and the listener loses (and probably so do the advertisers).

The only way that a 3 station per market cap would work would be to licence another 4-5 commercial FM stations in each market but this will never happen.

[hemi340]

@Brianc68

Yes agree. My opinion is the 2 station rule is actually the major reason for the lack of diversity of formats on Australian (analogue) radio. If a company has 3 or 4 stations there will be 3 or 4 distinct formats. If you have multiple operators with 2 stations each, they all tend to have the same 2 formats replicated and competing with each other, resulting in fewer different formats overall. The listener loses.

I agree…I always wondered how the radio landscape would sound these days if SCA were aloud to keep the 4 radio stations in each market in regional Queensland they brought back in the 00’s.
For example in 4TO, 4CA, 4MK, 4RO and all the other original SCA AM stations call signs stations could be part of the SCA Classic Hits Network.
Hot FM stations could be part of the SCA Hit Music Network.
Power100 and the other Queensland Sea FM stations would be part of the SCA Triple M Network. (Rock Music)
Star FM and 4CC stations could of become a Female leaning AC music station.

[Moe]

@lovemusic

It is a possibility once 4KQ is sold, ARN will move River 94.9 to the pure gold network and put it on DAB as ‘River digital’ similar to what they did with the Edge in Sydney.

That’s likely, but way too late. Move the listeners to Digital now, while you have them listening to your top rating AM station, then you can promo listening to River later.

Absolute Radio do something smart to push making an account on their app, they pick a few ad breaks and have promos when they start telling you “if you were listening with an account, you’d be hearing another song right now”.

Do the same but with all digital, sacrifice an ad break or two each hour to be an extra song on digital or streaming, while analogue has promos for switching to digital or streaming on iHeart.

[Brianc68]

@lovemusic

I couldn’t disagree with you more on this point. The 2 station to a market rule as made Australia one of the best radio markets in the world, and very competitive.

The alternative is NZ where two companies control the majority of the radio stations despite having 8 or 9 distinct formats each. There is no competition and the listener loses (and probably so do the advertisers).

The only way that a 3 station per market cap would work would be to licence another 4-5 commercial FM stations in each market but this will never happen.

I couldn’t disagree with you more on this either. How is having 8 or 9 distinct formats bad for the listener in any way?

How does the listener in say Auckland or Wellington “lose” with so many different formats available to them? Compare that with the situation in Adelaide or Perth or Brisbane who have zero formats (at least on FM) aimed at anyone over 45, no soft AC format at all, and no classic rock station on FM… I could go on.

But really you need to properly analyze what formats are available in Australia on analogue radio and then tell me how Australia has one of the “best radio markets in the world”…??? Certainly not for the listener IMO.

[Brianc68]

@hemi340

@Brianc68

Yes agree. My opinion is the 2 station rule is actually the major reason for the lack of diversity of formats on Australian (analogue) radio. If a company has 3 or 4 stations there will be 3 or 4 distinct formats. If you have multiple operators with 2 stations each, they all tend to have the same 2 formats replicated and competing with each other, resulting in fewer different formats overall. The listener loses.

I agree…I always wondered how the radio landscape would sound these days if SCA were aloud to keep the 4 radio stations in each market in regional Queensland they brought back in the 00’s.
For example in 4TO, 4CA, 4MK, 4RO and all the other original SCA AM stations call signs stations could be part of the SCA Classic Hits Network.
Hot FM stations could be part of the SCA Hit Music Network.
Power100 and the other Queensland Sea FM stations would be part of the SCA Triple M Network. (Rock Music)
Star FM and 4CC stations could of become a Female leaning AC music station.

Yes exactly. If SCA or someone else had all four FM stations in Townsville there would be four distinct formats. Instead there are 2 sets of similar formats (Hit/Star and Triple M/Power). The listener loses.

This is what happens in smaller markets in North America. One operator has 3 or 4 stations offering the listener a proper choice.

[shanosV8]

I couldn’t agree with you more. 100% agree. And to those who disagree with you … well i couldn’t disagree with them more (to keep the theme going). Surely our media markets are concentrated enough? Be careful what you wish for if you think we should allow any owner to have 3 or 4 licences in a market. The quality of owners/operators is such a random. Can’t wait for BOG or SEN to own 3 or more licences in a market. Those clowns cannot even run what they have already.

[Moe]

On the narrow thing relevant to this thread, I’d certainly not think there’s anything the consumer benefits from by ARN being forced to sell 4KQ because of slightly too much market overlap.

I certainly don’t think the situation where Nine are able to own 2 radio stations and a TV station, but ARN can’t own 1 and a half stations in Brisbane achieves any media diversity goals.

[Brianc68]

@Moe

On the narrow thing relevant to this thread, I’d certainly not think there’s anything the consumer benefits from by ARN being forced to sell 4KQ because of slightly too much market overlap.

I certainly don’t think the situation where Nine are able to own 2 radio stations and a TV station, but ARN can’t own 1 and a half stations in Brisbane achieves any media diversity goals.

Agree. It’s all downside with ARN having to sell 4KQ.

[Brianc68]

@shanosV8

Be careful what you wish for if you think we should allow any owner to have 3 or 4 licences in a market. The quality of owners/operators is such a random. Can’t wait for BOG or SEN to own 3 or more licences in a market. Those clowns cannot even run what they have already.

The 2 station rule is why operators like BOG and SEN even exist in metro markets!

If the rule didn’t exist then 2CH would still be as it was under Nine ownership along with 2GB and 2UE.

ARN would still own 2SM today along with WS and KIIS, with 2SM likely being a “4KQ”. 2SM was also sold due to the 2 station rule - allowing BOG to operate a Sydney station.

See what I’m saying? SEN and BOG wouldn’t have any Sydney stations if not for the 2 station rule.

And if SEN (or even BOG) get their hands on another metro station in 4KQ, again it will be solely because of the 2 station rule.

[Viclistener]

It’s an interesting call on the competitor impact of the two station rule. In the case of the Townsville example Power100 I would say does target a harder/modern rock lean than TripleM which targets an older audience. Would like Power to be in more markets like Geelong or Darwin but again number of licenses restricts that possibility

[hemi340]

@Viclistener

Power100 I would say does target a harder/modern rock lean than TripleM which targets an older audience. Would like Power to be in more markets like Geelong or Darwin but again number of licenses restricts that possibility

True…Personality I wish it was in all markets. Power100 is a 1000 time better then Triple M.
Maybe they could put it on digital in some markets.

[Radiohead]

Personally I wish Power100 would add the “point 7”. Maybe it’s the schitckler in me, but I’m not a fan of rounding frequencies in this day and age, particularly when it’s rounded the wrong way,