Nine Radio boss Tom Malone on transforming MSR back to music stations:
We had a good look at what the alternatives could be. One of them was continuing as a sports format or even possibly a news format. The best complement to our news/talk network is a music network. Just look at how successful Magic and 4BH were only four or five years ago running a music format. It soon became pretty obvious that was the best solution for those stations and then add 2UE to those stations.
By targeting that demographic with music from the 70s, 80s and 90s we feel there is a gap in the market for that music. It also complements, not cannibalises, what we are doing on the news/talk network.
The momentum has been lost now. The audience has moved on and found an alternative in stations like Smooth FM. It’ll take a miracle for them to regain the audience they had before the music formats were abandoned on Magic and 4BH.
That was mostly because Mix were the station with the blue globe/Today Network logo at the time, 92.9 were nominally part of the Triple M network, including having a “Freq Club”.
It would make sense to me for Nine to just do a deal with Crocmedia - have them program an ‘SEN’ or a ‘Nine Sports Radio’ that would replace NTS on digital, and carry any of the remaining sports content that MSR still haves (the bulk of it is from Crocmedia in the first place).
SEN get their much desired slots on radio outside Melbourne, Nine would get probably free content, and it wouldn’t be a threat to their ratings.
They could I suppose just slot it all in on NTS and just do it themselves, but they have a good working relationship with Crocmedia on TV, so they could probably do a deal that made them all happy.
Reading through all this just now, but it’s probably the most sensible outcome they could have gone with, which seems to be what Tom Malone was saying too. Lower the costs and try to start repairing the damage of the Talking Lifestyle/MSR days
It will however be interesting to see if they can manage it across the three markets. Is there any indication whether there will be unique playlists, or more likely one across all three stations? In Brisbane they can’t be too much like 4KQ but Melbourne almost demands it with Smooth there, as does Sydney. Juggling that will be difficult, but certainly it seems a step in the right direction
Yes, I agree, the most logical, cost effective way of saving the frequencies. Tom Malone and Greg Byrnes are solid radio people, they actually know what they’re doing as opposed to the previous mob of (radio) looters.
I also understand and accept Ian Parry Okeden’s comments. He, like many of us ache for a quality of broadcasting which stations such as 2UE delivered at the highest level. Led by programming greats such as the legendary Rod Spargo (it’s his birthday today) in the 70s and 80’s.
As much as some suggest that old 2UE announcers should come back, I don’t think that will happen. Look at Smooth as the template for this venture. Smooth is the most cost effective and successful music outfits in the country and it’s run on the smell of an oily rag.
Generic announcers, great marketing, positioning and music. It’s demo’s are astonishing. i think this format is a terrific start which has the option to grow with time - and that’s one thing it will have, no more chopping and changing at Nine Radio.
The loser: 2CH - they have nowhere to go except older and that’s a huge problem for them being so top heavy 65 plus already. Also they have no money to spend on marketing unlike Nine Radio. They’ve wasted the past couple of years treading water. Cannot see a future for them as a viable music station.
To succeed 2UE can’t offer the same music that is on FM radio.
They should focus on the fact that they are on AM and a point of difference is crucial.
I am not sure that INXS, Roxette or Fleetwood Mac is the way to go.
Maybe Kajagoogoo or Fox (singing “Single Bed”) is the way to have a point of difference.
Black and white TV would still work but you have to have the rights to Game of Thrones. Same with AM music radio - make it different and the audience will be there.
I have read the comments with much interest and am not at all surprised of the abandoning of the costly sports format for the oily rag of music on a soft launch. I don’t know enough about 4BH and 2UE, but to para-phrase the Castle in relation to Magic “tell 'im e’s dreamin”… Looking back over the last 20 years
From 2000 - 2005 Magic693 rated well, reaching as high as 8.1% in Survey 3 of 2000. In 2002, Nova100 began - appears with no impact, whereas in 2005 Vega91.5 began potentially the first decline.
in 2006, Magic switched frequencies with 3AW. Worse reception (or alternatively listeners not desiring to switch to 1278) meant lower ratings.
In 2010, Macquarie had the brainfade called MTR1377. The 3MP listeners moved to Magic.
Between 2012 - 2014, showed some volatility for unknown reason. Basically I think this is the target level for what a relaunched Magic1278 should be achieving. Worth noting that MTR1377 ceased in 2012 and Smooth91.5 began. The 2014 uptick was a good outcome considering Smooth’s launch.
In 2015 Macquarie acquired Fairfax and networked Magic, so the audience began to leave.
From 2017 to 2019, Macquarie had the brainfade of TLS, followed by the brainfade of MSR. No-one’s listening now.
Now the reality check:
IMHO, Classic Rock Radio 1377 was a good idea targetting a potentially untapped area of the market. Its structure seemed very similar to what is proposed with the Magic1278 relaunch - soft launch, no promotion, minimal announcers. It died in the arse (sorry a bit blunt here) because no-one knew of it (regardless of the benefits of any DAB simulcast).
Absolutely concur with many of the comments on here that a Fleetwood Mac style music station as a softer version of Smooth and Gold with more 70s is probably too safe and not different enough.
Magic has an image - very soft and inoffensive - so it does fit with the music positioning of the previous point. However for many that image is probably further back in time to the era of “the best songs of all time”…ie from the 40s and 50s (ie when the station had ratings higher than 5%). If the music is “rockier” or more modern Magic might not be the brand to get people sampling. Instead a deal with Radio Hellas to frequency swap and relaunch 3XY would be more appropriate.
Bottom line - no marketing, brand mismatch and too similar a music format will be a long and winding road (cue The Beatles) up the ratings ladder. On the plus side, operating costs will be no-where near as exxy (or should that be XY?) as a sports radio format. And good on the new management team, for having a go at something new.
Something the management at MML didn’t realise when they were initially deciding what to do with 2UE follow the merger, is they shouldn’t had been looking at Sydney for the answers on how to “compliment the talk network”, rather they should’ve looked at Melbourne & Brisbane for the answers.
Unless it is true about a clause whereby 954AM could not switch to a music format because of 2CH, well IMO it was a ridiculous idea to tamper with a formula that was never broken.
4BH never clashed with 4BC. And Magic never clashed with 3AW. They co-existed for years before MML changed the formats.
It’s simple. Compliment your talk station with a music station. Nothing else. It’s chalk vs. cheese. Had management not been so Sydney-centric then who knows where the network would’ve been by now.
Had they left Magic and 4BH untouched then the only basket case station would be 2UE… but instead, 9Radio now have three stations they need to urgently rescue.
They should have a listen to Radio Caroline in the UK. A great music format using AM 648 and DAB. Apparently 2GB did go with album rock for a brief period in the 70s…
I would suspect that their various rights deals mandate that at least a certain amount of coverage must air on AM radio. As such, don’t think they can just ‘dump’ their sports commitments to digital radio
Bit of a bittersweet moment. My grandad used to have 882 blaring through the house as he slept for over a decade. I can still clearly remember the “882 4BH” ID echoing through the house at midnight.
Then of course 4BH became whatever it did and he switched to 612 ABC until he died last year.
Now 4BH is back just a few months too late. Brand carries some memories for me.
Yes. There was a mellow rock format on what they called 872GB in mid 1976. It was a spectacular failure. The brainchild of Paul Thompson who would later also have a similar failure with Vega. He had more earlier success with 5KA which apparently was what impressed Macquarie so they enticed him to Sydney, and of course he had success with Nova.
I really don’t think so.
