The super in that video for āStevieā Jacobs says Radio host 2UE 95.4 Sydney 
Very disappointed by this. Over the past couple of months, i98fm have been trialing a number of different combinations for the breakfast program and when Christian & Bella joined Marty for a couple of weeks, I wasnāt able to take to them at all.
This is nothing more than a cheap ploy to try and replicate the success of the Marty, Crammy & Lyndal combo. Also, considering the fact that Wave FM also have two men and a woman hosting a breakfast program, the decision just comes across as very derivative. They should have went for a point of difference.
Christian & Bella had been doing breakfast on sister station C91.3 over the past couple of years, and were doing drive for a few years before that. Ally Redondo has taken over C91.3 breakfast, in which she had moved over from drive.
I agree. Poor decision. They shouldāve pushed for a bigger personality, OR somebody with a greater local connection.
Theyāre lucky thereās not too much competition up the road.
My bet is Marty will be gone in the coming year or two.
Iām predicting Wave will axe their brekkie show and eventually shift Lyndal & Crammy into the role. Either that, or swap the two shows.
No better way to take on i98 than with their own former talent.
According to the article below, Wave FM will relaunch with a new sound on Monday to coincide with the launch of the new local drive show with Crammy & Lyndal.
Also, Adam Straney will leave the breakfast show on 31st December, with Dean āDeanoā Kesby leaving the role of Content Director/Regional Content Director NSW to move into the new anchor/breakfast producer position.
With Wave fm relaunching with this new sound on Monday does this mean they will be on a different music log to 94.9 Power fm??? / Skew younger / older.
Or is it just the new drive show, and Dean Kesby anchoring the breakfast show?
BTW i98 was doing weather forecasts for Nowra and the Southern Highlands in their 2pm bulletin today. Must be for all the Power fm listeners who have gone to i98 since their station became a clone of Wave fm.
They had Wave FM on at my workplace this morningā¦ the breakfast hosts were singing some horrible Christmas Carol they had made up. Once was alright, but then they played it again a while later. I changed the radio to i98.
I remember seeing an ad for i98 via WIN9 Wollongong a few weeks back, in which thereās various listeners having their āFeel Goodā moments. One of those came from Tomerong, which is south of Nowra, well within the 2ST/Power FM licence area. Also, back in late April, I heard i98 ran an ad for Stockland Nowra.
Itās funny how things turn out. Back in the 90s, Nowra-based Power FM had a following in the Illawarra, and now i98 is kind of doing the same thing in reverse.
Hereās the thing, i98 / Wave fm signal is actually quite good around Tomerong, Huskisson, Sussex Inlet, and Vincentia as you have LOS, and in some places around Jervis Bay you can actually see the Knights Hill towers.
In these areas the signal strength is Suburban Grade 66dbuV at 4KW DA towards Nowra according to Nautel.
Coverage is patchy further south but can be received in Ulladulla at Rural Grade. I once heard a caller on i98 from Ulladulla.
Coverage in Nowra of i98 / Wave is at Rural Grade as the 4KW signal from Knights Hill is shaded by Cambewarra Mountain. Power fm is at 50KW towards Nowra to overcome that shading.
With both Power Fm and Wave fm overspilling to such degree into each otherās licence area makes the music programming on both Wave and Power fm so ridiculous. It would be helping i98 build an audience in the Nowra LA, that is why we have been hearing ads and Weather for Nowra and Bowral on i98.
Maybe the new sound of Wave fm may allow Power and Wave fm to breakaway musically, but I doubt that will happen. The best solution for the Illawarra market is to keep Wave AC, move Power fm to the Power 100 active Rock format, and i98 continues to do what it does.
Plus in the Highlands, young people can also listen to Eagle FM Goulburn and the Sydney Stations as Alternatives to Power FM. Besides about i98, reception is not as good in Moss Vale. Sydney is stronger there. But the signal around Bowral/Mittagong is pretty decent but again not as strong as say KIIS or Nova.
I actually agree about 94.9 taking the 100.7 Townsville Log. Would provide a good alternative to Wave/i98/2ST/Sydney Stations in the Illawarra and Southern Highlands.
I find that i98 / Wave are best just north of Mittagong, they are not quite as shaded by the Gib, and they are at the higher ERP of 10KW v 4KW towards Moss Vale and Bowral.
Sydney is very good around Mittagong/ Bowral, yes the Highlands are spoilt for choice with Goulburn, Sydney and Nowra / Wollongong.
Power fm going Active Rock would add extra variety, and probably take some listeners off Wave / i98 in the Wollongong radio ratings if it was to go that way.
Power 94.9 going rock would benefit me down here as well as itās signal is half decent; Wave and i98 are only receivable during tropo. Rock on Wave FM doesnāt really suit, however they could modify an old slogan:
āLet The Good Times Rock and Rollā.
Wave fm have had a couple attempts at rock, and the jack format as well.
Power fm had an active rock format back in 2001 from memory.
Re Tropo reception of i98 / Wave fm, I have never been to Bungendore but I have had i98 along Lake George to the lookout just above Lake George on the car radio.
Yes, itās strong there (I think even with RDS) but the hills block reception in Bungendore, even on a Yagi.
My experience of i98 FM in the 90s when I use to listen regularly in Sydney. Carlingford/Castle Hill had pretty good reception. Especially Castle Hill Road.
I found the reception was ok up to Illawarra highway. Probably the best reception the hume hwy was around Picton Road. The Hume Hwy overall didnāt really great reception of i98fm.
I use to holiday at Crookhaven Heads as a young teenager and got pretty good reception but the ABC heavy hitters use to interfere with my walkman reception (didnāt have digital tuning back in the olden days). The reception was average around Nowra. The best reception was at Kiama but it deteriorated from Gerringong and beyond. South of Nowra it does improve especially as you go towards the coast. Some vantage points around Jervis Bay had good reception.
Anything south of Ulladulla was patchy. I did like i98fm when it converted to FM, brings back good memories of my youth hearing a classic hit station on FM.
Along the coastal fringe is usually no problem; reception of i98 and Wave often stretches south to about Narooma on the beaches, and with tropo even further.
Pulse 94.1 from Saddleback actually does pretty well to the south, worse than Power FM but better than i98 and Wave. Itās weak permanent in Bungendore. I think its licence covers both Wollongong and Nowra, though possibly not the whole Shoalhaven.
I really hope the new sound of Wave is something clearly defined. Not just another boring variety station.
Either go young, male, or female skewed. Pick it and stick to it. Thatāll drive i98 to go the other way and will give listeners choice.
Please Wave, donāt transition to another i98 clone. This is your chance to be different not only in the Illawarra, but also for some Sydney listeners (similar to how Star104.5 gives Sydneysiders something different).
I doubt there will be any change to the music considering all Grant AC stations use the same Todays Best Music log, except 7HO on weekdays. Is Grant going to produce a log for Wave fm only??? I reckon the new sound of Wave fm refers to changes at Breakfast and the new Drive show only, otherwise same old same old.