I don’t give a flying f*** what people will be listening to in 2050 all I want is SEN back to what it used to be. And also the great DAB+ stations they had. We’ve had discussions in the past and I respect your views @tonks8526 but this man has ruined these stations and someone else needs to take over. SEN needs to be a Melbourne only station. The Melbourne ratings for SEN are a lot lower than they used to be!
This was what I waited for all night the night before it launched like a kid waiting for Christmas!
On 19 January 2004, SEN 1116 launched onto Melbourne’s airwaves, with former AFL footballers Garry Lyon, Tim Watson and Billy Brownless heading the station’s “Morning Glory” breakfast show, Richmond Football Club premiership player Kevin Bartlett in mornings, Radio National’s Francis Leach in afternoons, and Dermott Brereton and Anthony Hudson in drive. The station evolved over the years and had many problems but was always listenable to me until it was ruined by Craig Hutchison to satisfy his ego!
I must be in the minority but I listen to 1170 SEN most days being a mad league fan and really enjoy the content they pump out.
I find all of the shows during the week to be really good and entertaining and it gets me through a long work day.
I will admit I don’t listen all day every day and at this time of year there isn’t a heap on until the cricket starts.
The one issue I had especially this year was they didn’t broadcast 2 of the allocated 4 nrl games they had this year opting for accompaniment show “let it ride” on Saturday and varying shows on Sunday. Live sport should be the cornerstone of what they do and they could sell their call to regionals like they did in the past.
Fair enough and good on you if you enjoy it. But it certainly is an exclusive club and very much the minority as 99.4% don’t listen to it here in the magnificent Harbour City. And that’s really a key failure of SEN … its basically a vanity project plundering formerly mostly successful AM frequencies and then narrow-casting to a tiny minority. SEN content should all be DAB+ imho.
For mine, and I’m sure I’ve said this before here, SEN was really at its peak in the late 2000s/early 2010s just after they got AFL coverage rights and had moved on from the disastrous Adelaide experiment that nearly sent them broke (and boy doesn’t ‘SEN in trouble due to failed expansion plans’ sound familiar??)
I loved that era of SEN - I listened to so much of KB in particular (his chats with the now late Patrick Smith were enthralling radio), Marko and the Ox on drive, and of course who could forget Finey’s Final Siren. It was good radio all day long, if you were a sport (mainly an AFL) fan.
It might be for that reason I don’t have the hatred of SEN, even in its new form, that others (particulary those in the northern states) do. But then again, it didn’t come along and destroy one of my favourite music stations either.
I agree some of the decisions of recent years, and the treatment of some of the former hosts by current management, were poor and have rightfully been seen as that. But I certainly don’t wish for the station’s demise as a result - there’s still good programming and a number of good people involved with it whom I wish success.
Perhaps a small stumble that sees a change in direction, if not management, is inevitable and quite possibly necessary. Again, like in the aftermath of the Adelaide debacle, it could make the station cut back the excess and the delusions of grandeur, focus on its loyal core audience (which may only be in a smaller number of cities/states), and in time allow it to become a really good radio station once again.
IMO the change of management is also needed. I mostly agree with your assessment but I didn’t ever listen to Finey, the rest I enjoyed. I really liked Francis Leach in his times on SEN. I know he wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea but I enjoyed his knowledge and intelligent talk on sports other than AFL too. I also loved their DAB+ station Classic Rock, sorry @tonks8526, I’ve mentioned it again!
I’d cut back to the AFL markets and SEN-Track broadcasts only. Concentrate on being the go-to stations for those markets and absolutely own them. Some of their problem has been growing too quickly.
NRL markets simply don’t have the relentless sporting pulse of an AFL town and the other sports they broadcast/talk about don’t make up the difference enough.
We can’t always live in the past, ans with rose coloured glasses. Francis Leach left of his own accord to go back to ABC. SEN was not gong that flash prior to business combibation with Crocmedia.
Melbourne radio is a tough business, especially aginst 3AW.
Francis had 3 stints on SEN. Left first time to join Vega. Came back and did Drive with David Schwartz, then went back to the ABC. He came back and did breakfast with Schwartz. Don’t get your point about him leaving of his own accord as he did that 3 times! He is now (or was) sporting editor of The New Daily. No rose coloured glasses here just remembering what was a good station.
I enjoyed Francis Leach on both the ABC and SEN over the years. Alternated between the two like you say many times. (Including a stint at Vega which I had forgotten about.)
This is a fair point, they’ve very much tried to run before they could walk it would seem. Part of that of course is the opportunity they had with both 2CH and 4KQ coming up for sale when they did, but perhaps slower, more organic growth in the southern states first, then expanding elsewhere might have served them better.
And I get your point @ALH but I wouldn’t call it living in the past. It was just sad what they did to long-term presenters who’d been with SEN for years and who a lot of listeners had a connection to. And they had, purely as a Melbourne-based station, carved out a solid little slot in that sporting radio space that did stand up against the big guys like 3AW and Triple M. It’s sad that the changes of the past few years appear to have, to an extent, undone that.
Good to see a “real” radio person, Graham Mott, speaking the truth. Sell everything to someone who knows how to run a successful radio “Hutchy”! That’s how he signs his mail. Before anyone comments, I admit. I dislike “Hutchy” a lot.
Agree with these comments. Also Matt Hardy ( a comedian) was also on the show with Dermott and Anthony Hudson. Those first few years were great. The station began to go downhill with more live sport (non-AFL). Weekends on SEN are now unlistenable with the racing content. Even on Sunday mornings during football season there is very little football content.
Lets not forget many presenters including Dermott left because they were not being paid on time. SEN’s earliest days were some of its darkest financially.
Yes, I recall the day around that time when management were to meet to decide whether the station would stay on air or fold - from memory, the presenters spoke openly about the predicament on air. I got home from school to check whether there was still programming being broadcast, and pretty sure it was Anthony Hudson confirming that they would stay on.
This was all just after the failed Adelaide experiment, and well before they ever got rights to call AFL.
Before anyone comments, I admit. I dislike “Hutchy” a lot. 
