It’s interesting they use the term “music MIX” with Mix106.5 in the market.
Yeah I remember that ad 
.
It was the summer of 1981 and 2SM and Triple M were busy playing some album tracks and sounding very adult. So 2UW relaunched as The New 2UW and filled the gap in the market for pure fun Top 40 radio.
In the first survey of 1981 the New 2UW surged in the ratings form an 8 share to 15.8%. It was now the No.1 music station in Sydney. This is from one of the promotions the station ran in 1981. It letterbox dropped every Sydney household and asked for their thoughts on Sydney radio. They would use the positioner “We Listen To You, Because You Listen To Us”.
3 Likes
I thought 2Day dropped the ‘mix’ wording once Mix106 5 was launched.
2 Likes
Given the recent conversation about radio in Noosa on the “Random Radio” thread, this is pretty timely to have this uploaded on the 'Tube:
Credit: @dxnerd
This recording was received via E-Skip in South-Eastern NSW around 1997-98.
Also in the same region, one of the latest uploads from Frankster has the final 30 minutes of 4SS on 31st December 1994, followed by the first 20 minutes of Mix 93FM on 1st January 1995.
4 Likes
And then like now, since when were 2Day FM never not “new”? 
Although the jilt of it kinda makes sense when 2MMM were still a competitor back then. But not competing directly like, according to the stories I’ve read here and elsewhere, Fox FM was doing, trying to out-rock MMM - given, before 106.5 started, 2Day were probably filling a role equivalent to somewhere in between “the Fox” and TT FM.
Probably why it didn’t seem like too bad a listen back then. I can see why they’re going back to that “throwback” formula now out of desperation, it’s just that the things they’re throwing back to… well they are a generation after my time and I never really understood hot late-90s/2000s music much 
An aircheck from a now defunct community radio station in the Upper Hunter, Mount Helen FM (2GGZ), from 2001.
Credit: @dxnerd
The station gained its full-time licence in November 1999, and was broadcasting on 107.3 in Murrurundi & 101.7 in Muswellbrook. The station ceased broadcasting in August 2006 after ACMA found that it had breached some of the additional licence conditions that had been imposed on its licence the previous September. ACMA subsequently cancelled the licence in December 2006.
Here are the Radioinfo articles from that time:
1 Like
An interesting gem being unearthed by The Radio Vault: an aircheck of 102FM (now Mix 102.3) Adelaide from August 1991.
102FM was an FM conversion of 5DN, which had occurred in September 1990. 5KA was the other commerical AM station that converted to FM as KAFM (now 5MMM) back in January 1990.
The ratings for the station were pretty poor, being well behind that of SAFM & 5AD. Its first music format under the 102FM branding, as you would hear on the above aircheck, was Classic Hits, with some newer AC music thrown in.
In early 1992, the station changed its format & rebranded themselves as X102. In December that year, AM music station 5AD purchased the struggling FM station and began to simulcast 5AD onto FM, as well as on AM, until the then ABA instructed the station to discontinue the simulcasting on both FM & AM, which then saw 5DN being relaunched on 5AD’s old AM frequency of 1323AM (5DN was previously on 972AM prior to the FM conversion).
5AD & 5DN was then acquired by ARN in 1996, with 5AD rebranded as Mix 102.3 in 2001, whilst 5DN was leased out to (pre-Crocmedia) SEN in 2005, which saw its ratings tumble. After SEN ceased its Adelaide broadcast, Mix 102.3 began to be relayed onto 1323AM before Cruise 1323 was launched in November 2005.
5 Likes
Great summary. What was X102’s format?
3 Likes
According to the below article link, it appeared that it had an adult rock format.
See: AdelaideAZ
3 Likes
And no relation to Newcastle‘s X107, which was a FM conversion of 2NX (then X13) that occurred in May 1992 which was a Top 40 format.
2 Likes
Brilliantly written.
Could this be Australia’s first and only failed metro FM conversion launch?
3 Likes
Most likely, yes.
5DN was a popular news/talk station prior to the FM conversion, so when it converted to FM as 102FM, it had to change their format quite dramatically to be more music-based. Fittingly, from what I read somewhere, their first song on FM was “We Don’t Talk Anymore” by Cliff Richard.
4 Likes
You could also argue that Mix106.5 Sydney was not a big success either… it’s ratings were only ever average until they reformatted as KIIS.
2 Likes
2001 ad for Mix 106.5
4 Likes
Nothing shows official like the Comic Sans permit number text on the ad.
(I think that’s actually the Mac knockoff comic sans, but the joke works better ignoring it)
2 Likes
I thought KZFM in Melbourne failed initially and might have almost gone under? Of course, they then became Gold 104 and the rest is a very successful history.
3 Likes
KZFM had a spectacular start, hitting #1 (14.6%) in its first survey, ending Fox’s almost 3 years at the top spot. But it was downhill after that, hitting a low of 7.2 in Survey 6/1991. I don’t think it actually went into receivership, though it might have. A revamp as Gold 104 rescued its ratings and it later got bought out by Austereo and then ARN.
EDIT: It went into receivership in 1994 RECEIVER APPOINTED FOR STATION GOLD 104
2 Likes
3KZ’s move to 104.3 was also a lesson in what NOT to pay for an FM conversion… their $31 million was waay more than any other station in the country paid, even both the Sydney ones were under $10 mil I think.
2 Likes
Do we know how it was determined that TT FM got 101.1, and KZ FM got 104.3?
Did KZ get the choice as the highest bidder?
Or did the ABA/ABT allocate them?
Otherwise we could have had Gold101.1 and KIIS1043 on our radios today.
1 Like