May 1 sees the official handover of the Nine Radio stations to Tapt Media, a new company owned by the Laundy family, who’ve made their fortune in the pub trade.
What they get for their money is a news-talk network comprising 2GB, 3AW, 6PR and 4BC, plus music stations Magic 1278, 2UE and 4BH (which have been operated by ACE Radio since 2022 under a 10-year lease).
I have no idea whether the Laundys expect to make serious money from the talk stations, but they must be aware that they were sold because Nine Entertainment couldn’t really make a go of them — despite the huge ratings success of 2GB and 3AW.
Various media reports suggest the new owners will sit on their hands for a while before making any major changes., but that those changes would probably involve cost-cutting, including trimming some salaries.
So, for now at least, presenters, producers, journalists, sales staff, local management and the senior management team — big boss Tom Malone and content director Greg Byrnes — remain in place.
So, what does it all mean for Brisbane?
Sydney-based Byrnes was quoted by Radio Today as saying 4BC is ahead of 612 ABC Brisbane in the Morning and Afternoon shifts. Given the ABC is also at a ratings low point, that prompted one social-media commenter to suggest it sounded like “a race to the bottom”.
In the interview, Byrnes added: “Plenty of work to do, though. Don’t get me wrong.”
Well, yes. And after more than six years of mostly declining numbers amid a slew of unsuccessful line-up changes, the new owners and audiences have a right to wonder when, if ever, that “work” is going to pay off.
Save for a small uptick in survey 2 this year, Tapt Media — which also launches a new brand logo today — will be taking over 4BC at its lowest ebb in recent times.
The station’s most recent “live and local” relaunch began with Neil Breen bringing the Breakfast show back to Brisbane in June 2020. It was the same day that, on 2GB in Sydney, Ben Fordham made his debut. Both were replacing Alan Jones.
It’s fair to say that Fordham, who is regularly number one in the Sydney market, has had the better ratings results, but Breen started off strongly and for a while improved on Jones’s numbers in Brisbane by addressing local issues and interviewing local people.
Despite his stated aim to be in the job for a decade, Breen moved from Breakfast to Drive, and then went back to Sydney, within a couple of years.
Hiring Laurel Edwards, Gary Clare and Mark Hine from the defunct 4KQ gave 4BC a ratings boost but that faltered amid network-imposed changes to that trio’s proven formula, which included “classic hits” music. (History shows us that 4BH picked up the golden oldies, and LGM’s former colleague Bob Gallagher, and made a red-hot go of it.)
Peter Fegan, who had long wanted the 4BC Breakfast gig, was hired and then fired after moving the ratings dial in wrong direction.
It’s too early to tell whether Sofie Formica and Dean Miller will succeed. The graph is pointing up for the first time in a long time, and I really do hope they kick on — but it’s a long haul back from the fallout of a series of bad calls made in Sydney.
If the Laundys want to succeed with 4BC, perhaps they will do what Nine failed to do and start drilling down into what makes Brisbane unique, and listening to people who know and care about this market.
Footnote: I was glad to hear Miller and Formica supporting vaccination on air on Thursday, and I’m happy to report that 80% of their listeners said in a poll that they would get the flu jab. Their colleague who said he believes in “natural immunity” obviously hasn’t looked at the science or the stats regarding flu-related hospital admissions and deaths — especially among older people (i.e. the 4BC audience). Yes, getting vaccinated is a personal choice, but radio stations have a responsibility to inform with facts not feels.
A long gong show
A glance at the shortlist and the sheer number of categories involved suggest the inaugural Australian Audio Awards ceremony on May 28 is going to be a very long night. (And, at $249, plus GST, per ticket, also an expensive one.)
The awards will be mostly judged by a panel of experts, but one category will be decided by the public. For information on the People’s Choice Award, click here.
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Free for all
In other radio news, Thursday April 30 saw the launch of Free FM. Here’s what the media release says about it:
Built in Ipswich and designed for today’s digital audience, Free FM is a new independent station aiming to reconnect listeners with real radio — programmed by people, not algorithms.
Founder Daniel Thomas, a former Brisbane radio announcer with more than 20 years’ experience – including hosting a number one rating afternoon program – said the station is a response to growing frustration with automated playlists and repetitive formats.
“Radio should feel alive,” Thomas said. “Free FM is about real people, real music, and giving listeners something they don’t hear everywhere else.”
You can find the live steam here.
I’m not sure what its target audience is, but its location in Ipswich will inevitably draw comparisons with the established online station West Bremer Radio and the popular FM station River 949.
Meanwhile, via a hookup with sports network SEN, Australia’s biggest hardware chain is taking to the airwaves, targeting tradies.
Bunnings Tradio (get it?) will be playing the likes of Pearl Jam, Teddy Swims, The Killers and INXS, and providing regular sport updates, presumably putting it into competition with Triple M. It will occupy one of SEN’s DAB+ channels and be accessible through the SEN app and online here.
P.S.
Back to 4BC. If you listen to the station on the app or website, you may need to log in again or change your password. It’s a bit of hassle, but it’s a consequence of the switchover to the new owners’ IT. Details are here.
Disclaimer: Brett Debritz used to work at 4BC, where he produced shows which enjoyed higher ratings than their current equivalents. He realises the people in the AI image are looking the wrong way. Perhaps that was intentional. Perhaps not.
Nice to see someone’s got Bunnings to copy the UK’s Fix Radio as a dedicated radio station for tradies. If only we could only get someone to licence (or “be inspired by”) the Boom Radio format and launch that here.
SCA has previously had a "tradie" radio station on DAB.
And with the former Nine Radio exec team still onboard, it's hard to imagine any significant change of fortune at 4BC.