Nine Radio (Music)

So they’re really trying to chase away those last 5 listeners of Magic 882 clinging on for dear life in the hope that they’ll play an easy listening song again one day… RIP 4BH.

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Yep, I’m definitely willing to predict that there will be some sort of “Lifestyle Radio Network” within the next 6-12 months consisting of the current 2UE and Magic 882/1278.

This probably confirms that Magic 882 won’t be sold as a package deal with 2CH.

It’s already been said by Macquarie that John and Gary’s 2UE Breakfast show will be national, so yes, not a huge step at all.

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Ah well, if that is the case I will delete the AM favourites page in my car. Only 4KQ and 612 worth listening to on AM.

Even the relatively high rating Smooth FM is networked in all shifts bar brekky.

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Magic 1278 now using the generic ACE radio theme for weather.

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Some staff at Magic 1278 have been made redundant, effective from 27 February 2017.
https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/mass-redundancies-magic-1278

The Magic network is gone, hello Talking Lifestyle?

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If Magic is replaced by Talking Lifestyle in Brisbane, I guess that will mean the end of 4BC’s final on air link with 2UE as I assume the Sunday evening programs 4BC currently takes from 2UE (Dr Ross Walker and Sharina) will move over to “Brisbane’s Talking Lifestyle”. A landmark moment in some ways as 2UE was for so many years the provider of 4BC’s overnight and other off-peak programming.

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I can’t see Brisbane being able to support 2 commercial talk stations, even if they are complementary formats.

4BC’s ratings are ordinary as it is… it can only go backwards if 882 goes talk as well.

Even Melbourne would have question mark on it after the MTR failure, even if 3AW is rating well now.

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Confirming these stations will now officially simply be the poor cousins of the talk stations. An automated music playout would be more creative than ‘lifestyle’

I can’t help but think Macquarie never had an idea of what to do with the second licences in each city when they bought Fairfax radio. All they’ve managed to do is gut 2UE, 1278 and 4BH, and now have a half-cocked idea for a format for them. Meanwhile they still haven’t found a way to get rid of 2CH. It’s like they forgot they were buying more than one station in each market

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MRN should keep Magic on digital radio in Melbourne, Brisbane and put it on in Sydney. Anything would be better than NTS.

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Since they brought Fairfax Radio, it seems that MRN have ruined every station except 2GB…and maybe 3AW and 6PR.

I agree. At the very least, Magic should be kept as a digital only station. NTS is a total waste of bandwidth (at least here in Sydney) IMO!

As for Talking Lifestyle, personally I don’t think that format will last overly long. 2UE’s ratings in the last Sydney radio ratings survey (the first to at least partially cover the new “Talking Lifestyle” format) weren’t exactly a promising sign for the format, to say the very least!

The reality is the with Talking Lifestyle already running, it is cheaper to also run it in Melbourne and Brisbane rather than people more people to run another format in Magic. That’s why Magic won’t be moved to digital, because it would still cost them money (even if it was 100% automated it would require a music director). It’s not like Magic is getting much in the way of listeners anyway.

At the end of the day, I think Macquarie are more than happy with just running 2GB, 3AW, 4BC and 6PR - they are merely holding onto to the other licences to prevent them being used to create a competitor.

I also think that dropping the Magic brand is Macquarie finally coming to terms that there’s no possible outcome that will see them providing content for 2CH.

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It’s only cheaper if revenue doesn’t also take a dive in the event that it ends up rating considerably less than Magic does (which is quite possible).

There’s not far for it to dive.

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It makes commercial sense to network Talking Lifestyle around the country. Each show makes the network revenue.

And didn’t John and Gary say they’d be heard around the country some time ago? Mind you it’d be sad to see John and Gary and George and Paul become generic national programmes.

Maybe they could keep breakfast local?

And 1278 and 882 have already been run into the ground. There’s nothing for them to lose by biting the bullet and networking Lifestyle. I can’t see it rating any better though.

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I can’t see it rating any better either. However, having one less brand/network to operate will undoubtedly result in operational cost savings - although as others have noted, if ratings drop too low, the danger of course is the advertising bottom line will take a hit.

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Are there some rules they need to have one show a day that is not networked?