It depends if they want to replicate the FiveAA concept around the country. At least they have experience in running a No.1 talk station in a metro market.
But it would mean they’d have to offload either the top-rating smooth, or the station that made their network famous, Nova.
I doubt they’d do neither.
i doubt it, too, but the young(er) Murdoch might love to get his hands on an established right-wing talk radio network
Nova would have to get rid of either Nova or Smooth FM. And given they’re doing fairly well, I’d steer well clear of Nine Radio if I was Lauchie.
No, because an operator can only own 2 stations on FM/AM in a single market.
As others have stated on here, Nova would have to sell Smooth or Nova, to buy Nine’s talk stations, which would be highly unlikely.
The only incumbents allowed to buy them would be BOG, ACE (who would have to sell 3MP in Melbourne), SEN, Capital, WIN or even GSL (who would have to sell 1 of their 2 Sunshine Coast stations due to overlap in Brisbane).
they can choose to sell one of their 2 existing stations if they desired it enough. As discussed here a few days ago it would be quite unlikely given the high ratings that the Nova and Smooth stations are earning but if Murdoch had enough desire to buy a talk network he only has to sell some existing licences.
He’s already got Sky News Radio on DAB in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
to miniscule audience numbers, compared to a major established audience on 3AW and 2GB in particular, and he already has 5AA in Adelaide.
4BC and 6PR probably not as high on the desirable list.
As we’ve said, it is an unlikely move for Murdoch but I would not rule it out entirely.
He could theoretically purchase 4BC and 6PR but not 3AW and 2UE, so the network would have to be broken up into 2 pieces, but he could lease some of the DAB spectrum belonging to 3AW and 2UE if he wanted to put more streaming stations in Syd/ Melb, like Nova Jamz or Throwbacks or Smooth 80s.
i don’t think he’d bother with just them. 3AW and 2GB are the big guns of the network.
But why sell the powerhouse that is Smooth for 2 AM stations ?
this is why we’ve said more than once that it is very unlikely he/NovaEnt would do that. But it’s not impossible if (and that is a big if) there was a desire to do it. We know Lachlan Murdoch is as conservative leaning as dad and would he consider the opportunity to tap into the influence of two of the highest rating stations in Australia that already have that audience.
Last night (July 3) was the final time Deb Knight hosting Money News.
Is the show being continued? Have they announced a new host?
Imagine being a media exec and being happy to throw away ownership of two profitable FM stations just for the supposed political influence of a couple of AM talk stations. It’d be a real reflection of the priorities of the Murdochs if it ever were to happen.
Seems like it’s going ahead with someone new though they haven’t named the host yet.
Sounds like someone by the name of Evan Lucas could be the new host.
Money News
(7:00pm - 8:00pm Mon-Thurs)
Source: 2GB
Deborah Knight host until 03/07/25
Replacement host Scott Haywood 07/07/25 – 18/07/25
Replacement Evan Lucas 21/07/25, until further notice
Who’s Evan Lucas?
Evan Lucas is a leading economist and finance commentator. He has appeared on 4BC and 6PR, as well as ABC News Breakfast and Sky News.
3AW line-up for the next two weeks
Breakfast: Jimmy Bartel and Mark Allen
Mornings: Tony Jones (July 7, 9 to 11) / Heidi Murphy (July 8)
Afternoons: Shane McInnes (July 7 to 11)
Drive: Heidi Murphy (Tony Jones on July 8)
Wide World of Sports: Bruce Eva
Nights: Peter “Grubby” Stubbs
Overnights: Pat Panetta and Simon Owens
I believe Tony in Afternoons has this week off too. Just one.
