I totally agree. They own several media outlets, not a lot on 2ue. Anyway they can wait until 2CH is switch and spend a bit of money. Hopefully they can get some of the staff from 2CH across.
I think the increase 4BH got shows the potential for that particular station out of the 3.
If they softened the music to soft AC/easy listening and put on a local low key breakfast show (not yappy sounding Stevie) and promoted it they could easily rate 6% in Brisbane.
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This article makes a brief mention of Nine’s music radio stations.
Here’s an interesting bit of the article, particularly in context of the Sydney market:
Malone said there could be an upside for 2CH giving up its AM frequency and becoming a DAB+ station. But he warned, “We have to remember that for many people their app is their radio. We have to stop being defined by the way we distribute our content and instead be defined by the content however the listener gets it.
“There is opportunity to get some 2CH listeners, but our music mix is about 10 years younger than theirs.
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It’s interesting how they profile the listener’s of 2CH as 10 years younger almost to say those listeners will be way too old to enjoy the station. Sure if it was playing heavy metal on 2ue then I do understand then but the genres are pretty much in common. Maybe the odd 90s song and 80s may not be in common. Nothing too ground breaking.
I am sure an 80 year old would still enjoy 2ue as the same as a 2ch listener. It depends on the 80 year old. Maybe some may enjoy the music more. Maybe they will like the less ads. I think my grannie likes 2CH because it has Macquarie national news (not anymore 9 News :)), 2ue has this too. On the FM Band not so much… It sometimes not all about the music. Maybe if WSFM/Smooth had 9news every hour 24x7 then she could listen to that even if it targeting a younger audience.
Indeed it was. Even on weekends when there were fewer scheduled bulletins (to make way for more music and the footy with Frank Hyde!) the newsroom was always ticking away in the background in case it was needed. Syndicated news, though an economic necessity these days, diminishes the authenticity of a station - especially a city-wide operation. This is also where experienced presenters come into their own… people like John Pearce (remember him?) who could play records, read the news, call a cricket match, argue the toss on talk-back, or step in and charmingly host a kids’ show at a moment’s notice!
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yeah i miss those days, and I think it was before my era of radio. By the 80s when I got interested , I think from 82 onwards (I was still 6 or 7 years old) I think that style was almost outdated.
Yes, this is probably a decade earlier. I once remember listening to John on 2GB and the newsreader took sick and he had to read the news (inserting the live reports) with almost zero warning. A lady called shortly afterwards to say what a professional job he’d done, and he replied self-effacingly, “Thank you, madam. I’ve been in this trade for a long time now.”
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The Sydney Morning Herald has an ad for 2UE today…
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Classic John Pearce. I do miss him. I rung him for the ask the oracle program. Anyway way off topic. But I do miss these types of personality in radio and I wish stations like 2ue get some personalities to the station and become more like a “2SM” in the 70s,80s and have some flexibility in the format. Doesn’t matter they play Elvis or Jennifer Lopez its about listing to the new “John Pearce”. I think BBC radio 2 was mentioned by others as an example of a modern station using the older style format.
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And The Age had a huge one page ad for Magic 1278 yesterday
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There was an ad in the Sunday age last week. Makes a regular appearance.
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I’ll be curious tonight to see how 4BH goes with the southern states switching to Daylight Saving Time. During the switch over in April the station went a bit whacky for a bit, but that was when they were still having regular issues with the automation, which seem to have been fixed up over the last few months.
Update 2am AEST: Well nothing’s gone wacky yet, they haven’t split the feeds yet, 4BH is continuing to take the live 2UE/Magic1278 feeds. Maybe when I wake up later today I’ll find they’ve introduced the hour delay then 
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In light of this news:
I wonder if Nine Radio will experiment more with their music stations (such as 2UE, which air/ed the cricket) over Summer?
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Hopefully it means there is a possibility that SEN will take the AFL rights in Sydney and Brisbane so that 2UE and 4BH can be 100% music next year.
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Even on SEN Track in the Latter?
I know SEN Track is narrowcasting in the proper sense, but I can’t see it ever taking over from the full-power and very experienced teams like 4TAB or SKY (2KY & relays). They might as well use it for spill-over football or cricket… at least it might then be filling a need.
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In Brissy how will you be able to listen to the BBL this summer or “normal” radio. Will it be like Hobart? How about in Perth and Adelaide too? Let the ABC bring the BBL too is my vote, at least in the cities without an incumbent.
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No mention of DAB+ digital radio I noticed.
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Looks like no expense was incurred for the Magic1278 logo.