Throw another classic hit on the barbie!
The rise of Bob Gallagher and 4BH's oldies music format is no surprise. Also: Lost TV.
A few months ago, I noted on social media that Barbecue* Bob Gallagher was delivering the “best bang for the buck” on Brisbane radio.
Not that I know how much he’s earning to host Breakfast on 4BH, but I do know that the station is run on a shoestring — much cheaper than the FM music and AM news-talk stations. (Yes, I know they are all also on DAB+ and online, but the AM-FM distinction is still a reality for many listeners.)
The results of GfK radio ratings survey 6 confirm that opinion. It would appear that 4BH has inherited the audience of classic hits station 4KQ (which was sold and is no niche sport station SENQ) — and then some.
Thanks to a familiar voice, and a playlist of bangers from the 60s, 70s and 80s, 4BH is now the third most popular station overall (after B105 and Triple M), and Bob’s brekkie is a close fourth in the all-important sparrow-fart stakes.
Full credit to him and the station, which has swept up the lion’s share of the audience aged 55-64 and, especially, 65-plus. They are punching above their weight for sure — and, to be fair, that’s partly due to other stations that ought to be serving those demos not doing their jobs properly.
Before anyone rolls out that chestnut about advertisers not being interested in seniors, consider this: many of them are Boomers who are sitting on a fortune in real estate. Some of them — particularly the early enthusiasts for superannuation (compulsory employer contributions came to be in 1992) — also have a nice pile of readies.
So, when you ask who’s doing commercial radio the right way, 4BH really should be a part of the conversation.
It’s also worth having a look at recent DAB+-only ratings results, where Smooth, which doesn’t have an FM frequency in Brisbane as it does in other capitals, has been doing quite nicely. Part of its success is a local Breakfast show hosted by Nick Michaels — also formerly of 4KQ.
NO LONGER CURRENT
I was reminded last week of a brief period c.1980 when all three Brisbane commercial television stations had local current affairs programs.
Today Tonight, A State Affair and Haydn Sargent’s Brisbane shone brightly for a while, and then disappeared to be replaced by national programs and, eventually, but the idea of hour-long news programs.
Nothing stays the same forever.
Do you have any fond memories of local television to share? If so, let me know.
*I refuse to write “BBQ” — sound it out and it creates the non-word “bee-bee-kew”.
Not a fond memory as such but the other day I remembered that little infomercial that the Bjelke-Peterson govt used to put across all commercial tv stations. Was it 10 to 6 on a Sunday? They would spruik all the wonderful things the govt was doing. Amazing that they got away with it