I think that as a whole Jase & PJ are probably the only thing that the station has going for it. When it started five years ago the format wasn’t unique, and 5 years later it’s unique but is still chasing an audience which (apparently) doesn’t exist and/or want radio anymore. There was never a reason to switch from competitors and now there are no competitors to switch from.
The icing on the cake is a very American sounding station with a foreign name and generally uninteresting voicetracks outside of personality driven programs.
Allot of people here think people listen to a radio station based on its name. That’s incorrect. People listen because they feel a connection with it, either the music or the on air talent.
Jase and PJ have a huge online following and an active one too, probably more so than Fifi Fev and Byron but people listen to the Fox because it’s always been the go to breakfast show.
Ever since K&J left SCA all the networks have expected a miracle overnight.
Take Dan & Maz for example, they had a successful afternoon show and 2day thought moving them to breakfast would be an instant success and it wasn’t. They didn’t give listeners time to adjust
The problem is that for whatever reason (likely one that’s far better known by people who actually live in the market), 101.1FM hasn’t had a breakfast show which has been able to truly connect with Melbournians for at least two decades, possibly longer.
Agreed. I think the problem is that ARN don’t know what to do. They put holes in the boat when ditching TTFM’s Melbourne identity and launching MIX and MIX was then revamped and repositioned umpteen times. KIIS is just another relaunch that has failed to wow the punters.
Using Edge, whilst an option, just makes me think of ACE Radio’s Echuca station - which I don’t find inspiring. If the aim is to give the station a more Melbourne feel - using the name of another station in Western Sydney (or Echuca) doesn’t really sound credible. Similarly you can tell you have been relegated to “branch outlet” status when your phone number is for the Sydney frequency - I suspect the reason why Triple M and others have non-station frequency specific 13 numbers is so there is no perception of “head office”. But this all depends on the question of whether ARN wants a Melbourne identity for 101.1. I’m not sure they do.
From a cost perspective, networking is cheaper. Take Smooth - in my opinion, it does some basic promotion for each city based on brekky but the rest is designed to be city agnostic. A well run, low cost, high networking and, I suspect, very profitable operation. Once again, what is it that ARN wants for 101.1 - because local profile and high networking tend to be opposite ends of the spectrum. ARN would probably argue that Gold104 is their “Melbourne focussed” station which has the associated spend and brand focus.
Changing the station name without modifying the format or brekky show would seem equally pointless (listeners want it all as one complete package in a bow!). And of course changing stations and formats is costly. Its not like there’s heaps of surplus cash for such launches in the radio industry with current economic conditions. Hence ARN are effectively dog-paddling. But I would ditch the 131065 number - that is a bit rubbing the wrong way and that wouldn’t cost much to fix.
Personally, I think they have two basic options and that does not include further dog-paddling:
i) Do a deal with KISS FM and buy the KISS FM name for Melbourne and take the old analogy that Melbourne is European (KISS) whereas Sydney is American (KIIS). Make the Melbourne logo similar to the UK logo and the format more dance and independent (ie back to the original Nova100 “sounds different” positioning between Fox and Triple J ).
ii) As many have commented on here, ARN essentially have three networks - KIIS, Pure Gold and Classic Hits. If Fox and Nova100 are viewed as owning the CHR space, then move 101.1 to the Classic Hits format with 4KQ and Cruise1323…and then you could re-use TTFM. The logo is already down (albeit blah in design). KIIS could continue as a DAB only station in Melbourne. In part this depends on ARN’s assessment of the “ageing” of the radio audience (a little bit beyond the space of this post!)
96FM uses 131065 as well, but they say “thirteen, ten, sixty-five” on air. Does KIIS 1011 say “thirteen, one, oh, six, five”? I find it interesting that Mix 102.3 and 97.3 don’t use it, but 96FM does.
Do what smooth does but with rock music. Triple M is too busy with talk and sport. There is a gap in the market. FM radio was made for music - smooth proves it. 24/7 Rock.
