Radio History

[Ant5476]

@TV-Expert

After his stint on 2SM, he went over to 2WS to do drive the following year, where he lasted for about a year & a half. He was somewhat indirectly

Thanks @TV-Expert you beat me to it.

[dxnerd]

@Ant5476

Thanks @TV-Expert you beat me to it.

Join the club

[anon36025973]

@shanosV8

Later came back to do Ric Melbourne’s Nightbeat on UW nights.

I certainly remember Ric Melbourne’s Nightbeat on 2UW. I was doing a lot of DXing around that time and 2UW was always a very easy catch here in New Zealand. Funnily enough, Ric ended up doing breakfast on Auckland’s Classic Hits Twelve 51 for a time in the late 1980s too.

[SydneyCityTV]

@TV-Expert

After Mulray departed, the station fell even further, ultimately getting down to as low as 5% overall share in S2/2000.

S2/2000 was a rather dark one for 2WS, as they were outrated by 2CH across all weekday timeslots!

While improving somewhat by the end of 2000, it’d take many years for 101.7FM Sydney to again receive a 10%+ share.

@Ant5476

I remember reading that when Austereo purchased Triple M from Hoyts Media in 1995 in the hostile takeover Doug Mulray resigned and did not want to work for Austereo.

If I’m not mistaken, Doug Mulray left Triple M at the end of 1993? This being a period of time that the newly converted 2WS-FM 101.7 would’ve been outrating the Ms and even starting to give 2DayFM a run for their money.

[shanosV8]

Wow I never knew Ric did NZ radio. He’d certainly been through quite a few stations in Oz. Came from 3DB breakfast up to 2UW. Also was on 6iX Perth at one stage. I believe he is happily ensconced around Qld gold coast hinterland these days. Still active online and for VO work etc. Ric is a legend !

[TV-Expert]

@SydneyCityTV

If I’m not mistaken, Doug Mulray left Triple M at the end of 1993? This being a period of time that the newly converted 2WS-FM 101.7 would’ve been outrating the Ms and even starting to give 2DayFM a run for their money.

Yes, Doug Mulray left 2MMM at the end of 1993.

As for 2WS giving the Ms & 2Day a run for their money, in their first survey since converting to FM (S4/1993), 2WS got a 13.8% share, not far behind 2Day’s 15.2% & smashing 2MMM straight away, who got only 11.8%. In the following survey (S5/1993), 2WS beat both 2Day & 2MMM, and was only 0.2% behind #1 overall station, 2UE.

Up until early 1998, 2WS was generally the #2 FM station behind 2Day (with an occasional #1 FM position in 1994 & early 1995), and has consistently outrated 2MMM.

[Ant5476]

@SydneyCityTV

If I’m not mistaken, Doug Mulray left Triple M at the end of 1993? This being a period of time that the newly converted 2WS-FM 101.7 would’ve been outrating the Ms and even starting to give 2DayFM a run for their money.

Thanks for clearing the dates up.
So basically it only took a year for the 2day fm morning crew to knock off Uncle Doug as they started in 1992. Agro must have been on 2day fm for only a short time before Joining B105?

[SydneyCityTV]

@Ant5476

Agro must have been on 2day fm for only a short time before Joining B105.

Yeah, I believe Jamie Dunn moved back North (and to B105 where of course, he ruled the Brisbane brekky ratings for ages) at the end of 1993.

The Morning Crew with Wendy Harmer, Peter Moon & Paul Homes would’ve been Sydney’s top FM brekky show from 1994 until around 2001-02ish when Nova launched and 2DayFM’s brekky team began to break up.

[TelevisionAU]

this was posted to Facebook back in June (2011?!?) but I’ve only just seen it today, from the old 3XY it appears to be a sales reel that must have been played to potential advertisers. I would date it as from around 1981/82 when it was hovering around the top 3 in the ratings

https://www.facebook.com/nigel.haines.14/videos/234107316600365/

[Ant5476]

@SydneyCityTV

The Morning Crew with Wendy Harmer, Peter Moon & Paul Homes would’ve been Sydney’s top FM brekky show from 1994 until around 2001-02ish when Nova launched and 2DayFM’s brekky team began to break up.

When Peter Moon left and Greg Fleet took over was the demise of the Morning Crew. Nova launching in 2001 did not help either. The morning crew ended in 2004 and Harmer joined Vega in 2005.
2day then launched the Judith Lucy Breakfast show and their first taste of poor Breakfast ratings.

[SydneyCityTV]

@Ant5476

The morning crew ended in 2004

If I’m not mistaken, The Morning Crew brand would’ve been retired (the first time around) in 2003 with Wendy Harmer leaving at the end of that year? Or was it Early 2004?

AFAIK, the Judith Lucy Breakfast Show with ​Pete Helliar & Kaz Cooke was definitely on in 2004. While Nova had the top Sydney brekky radio show during the entire year, 2DayFM’s brekky ratings were OK in Early 2004 (scoring 9.2% in the 2nd survey, compared to Nova on 11.9%) but fell behind Triple M, Mix 106.5 and even WSFM breakfast by Survey #8!

And of course, Kyle & Jackie O: 2DayFM, 2005-13. KIIS 1065: 2014-now. Their first ratings win at breakfast (of many during the last 15 years) was Survey 1, 2006. Although they came pretty close in S6/2005, just 0.1% behind Nova 96.9’s Merrick & Rosso during that one.

[nickatnights]

Let’s go back to the 80s: link:Paul's "Sounds" - Soundboard.com - Create & Download Free Sounds, Sound Effects, Mp3, and more

I love the radio ads (especially the one for Mellow Yellow) as well as the “Rock of the 80s 2SM” jingles.

The 80s should not have been limited to just one decade.

[anon36025973]

I like those Rock Of The 80s 2SM jingles too. The same jingle package was used by Auckland’s 91FM but theirs was re-sung as “Rock Of The 90s 91FM” as they didn’t air until 1990.

Incidentally, I’ve been thinking about putting a 2SM jingle montage together. I’m sure that would rekindle a few memories for former 2SM listeners.

[nickatnights]

I am begging you - please put together a 2SM jingle package!

[anon36025973]

@nickatnights

I am begging you - please put together a 2SM jingle package!

I’ll put your name down as being interested then?

[TV.Cynic]

Michael Smyth

[TV-Expert]

@Narrowcast and AM Narrowband Radio

3GL’s transmitter was originally in Grovedale, a southern suburb of Geelong. The signal was okay into Melbourne but nothing special once you got away from the bay.

@tamago_otoko

I had heard many years ago that they broadcast from Grovedale but just presumed the information to be incorrect - you are right that the signal wouldn’t have been anywhere near as good into Melbourne from out there. Do you know more about where abouts they were located? I had been told it might have been somewhere near the library off Heyers Road.

@Vidiot

That’s right. Heyers Road. But I don’t know exactly where.

Here’s the location of the old 3GL site at Grovedale from the 1982 Melway (published in November 1981) that I found on the web:

Source: https://digitised-collections.unimelb.edu.au/handle/11343/23964

And how the site looked in 2018:

Looking at the 1984 Melway (published in September 1983), the 3GL transmitter was moved to Leopold by that time.

[Radiohead]

Ah miss the days that street directories would list radio and TV studio locations (and in some cases show the TX sites on the maps too).

Yes, you can see it on Google Maps now, but seeing it in print was something special.

[tamago_otoko]

That’s a fantastic discovery! And it’s precisely where I was told it was too - where the Grovedale Library and Community Centre now is, on the corner of Bieske Road. Excellent detective work @TV-Expert - thank you!

That shift date of the early 80s makes perfect sense too. The library was a well-established (and already dated) building during my childhood in the 90s. It’s since been redeveloped and expanded a bit again. It also makes a lot of sense as to why 3GL would have shifted given their FM conversion was likely still a fantasy at that point, so investing in new transmission infrastructure with higher power/better reach would have been sensible.

Once again thank you @Vidiot and @TV-Expert for sharing this info here - it is very much appreciated.

[TV-Expert]

@tamago_otoko

That’s a fantastic discovery! And it’s precisely where I was told it was too - where the Grovedale Library and Community Centre now is, on the corner of Bieske Road. Excellent detective work @TV-Expert - thank you!

That shift date of the early 80s makes perfect sense too. The library was a well-established (and already dated) building during my childhood in the 90s. It’s since been redeveloped and expanded a bit again. It also makes a lot of sense as to why 3GL would have shifted given their FM conversion was likely still a fantasy at that point, so investing in new transmission infrastructure with higher power/better reach would have been sensible.

Once again thank you @Vidiot and @TV-Expert for sharing this info here - it is very much appreciated.

You’re very welcome.

Also, another interesting thing that may have coincided with the change of transmitter location for 3GL from Grovedale to Leopold.

According to the ABT 1981-82 Annual Report, 3GL was broadcasting on 1350kHz as of 30th June 1982. By 30th June 1983, it had moved to 1341kHz (Source: ABT 1982-83 Annual Report). When the station was still transmitting out of Grovedale on 1350, it had a maximum ERP of 5kW.