FiveAA Adelaide also has that (still) 8223 0000.
I’m surprised it’s not 13 1395.
FiveAA Adelaide also has that (still) 8223 0000.
I’m surprised it’s not 13 1395.
I guess advertising a local landline number helps to boost that local image. And also 13 numbers are $$$ and really only benefit long distance callers or useful for masking that the studio is in another city
Very true.
ROX FM Port Macquarie used to have a 13 number (13 11 90) because they spanned both the 065 and 066 area codes back then.
They swapped it out for a 1300 number (1300 36 1190) around 1997-98 for $$$ as you said.
2NM Muswellbrook back the in 80s mentioned the area code on air for their studio number (065 43 1588) as they covered parts of 049 and 067 as well.
2KA used to announce its studio number with the 047 area code prefix as the coverage area included the 02, 045 and 046 areas. Not long after they went to FM, the number changed firstly to 13 1196 and then to 131 961.
Of course the Sydney stations when promoting their studio phone in numbers never ever mentioned 02 when announcing them, just the 7 digit number. And if you lived in an area code surrounding the old 02 area and you tried to ring in for a competition, you rarely got through. I guess the old crossbar telephone exchange technology didn’t help either. Took at least 20 seconds to be put through to a Sydney number from memory if you were calling from Richmond.
And now The Edge is 13 10 96; think they were 961 11 961 before that
Back before toll free numbers Australia All Over with Maccas on ABC Local radio would mention the 02 prefix and invite callers to reverse the charges.
I vaguely recall that when 3XY was a simulcast with Bay FM from Geelong, it was an 052 number to call the studio, which meant long distance call charges for anyone calling from Melbourne. It’s unlikely they were in a position to be paying for 008 (1800) numbers and I don’t think 13 numbers were around then.
Mix and Sea on the Sunshine Coast just went back to their old phone number after the sale. They are now 545 11 xxx where xxx is the frequency (919 or 927). I imagine before the numbers were reshufffled they would have been (054) 11 xxx.
And WSFM was 96 11 1000 which I’m told dates back to the 1224 days.
Minus the ‘9’, which was added when Sydney phone numbers increased to 8 digits in mid-1996.
WSFM’s old 9611 1000 phone number lasted a very long time as well - I think it wasn’t changed until the very late 2000s or 2010-11ish?
Actually, it would be at early 2014, when WSFM went from being “Classic Hits” to “Pure Gold”. At that same time, the number changed to 13 97 36, which the last four numbers spell ‘WSFM’.
Interestingly, Gold 104.3 in Melbourne maintains a local number, which they still use to this day. It’s also the only commercial FM station in Melbourne to still use a local number.
What did the ABC have before their well planned 1300 numbers? ABC Brisbane still use 3223 0612 for their “cereal box” segment which is a voicemail service.
3AW still has its phone number as 9690 0693 which it had since the frequency switch with Magic in 2006. 9690 is usually the prefix for South Melbourne where 3AW’s studios were back then. They kept the phone number when they moved to its current site at Media House on Spencer Street. For callers outside the Melbourne suburban area they have a 13 number: 13 13 32.
Thanks @radioengineer
The three ARN Sydney stations all got 13 numbers at the same time as the KIIS launch - Mix Melbourne dropped their local number (9414 1011) at the same time, but opted for 13 10 65 (said thirteen ten sixty-five) until 2015.
It used to be 621 1224 on AM.
Who would have thought a whole day of posts on radio station phone numbers would be so interesting?
To this day I am intrigued at the strategy at KIIS. Quite clever and coincidental that they were able to secure 13 1065 given their [now] former opponent has the number 13 10 60.
That, combined with everything else they have taken from 2Day is perfect for creating brand confusion.