Outgoing ARN CEO Bob Longwell was there, bright and early in Martin Place, Sydney on a crisp winter’s morn. But his stations WSFM and MIX106.5 were nowhere to be seen. Neither were Sonia and Todd. ARN and their stars Grubby and Dee Dee were a no-show in Melbourne too. ARN stations weren’t part of Radio United in Adelaide either but in Brisbane, 4KQ was at the broadcast – with Gary Clare and Mark Hine and Laurel Edwards was online from London. But The Edge, the old Katoomba license that moved to Penrith, and was bought by ARN which turned it into a dance station was there with its slogan “Live and Sexy”. Now on the digital platform, The Edge which on FM is reputed (without the benefit of a survey) to have an audience bigger than vega’s, is ready to take on Australia.
Also missing in Sydney was the nation’s most talked about breakfast duo Kyle and Jackie O. Instead the 2Day stand ran wholesome promotional games with passersby while doing live crosses to the studio.
It would’ve been fun to see 2UE’s Mike Carlton and 2GB’s Alan Jones literally head to head in broadcast tents directly opposite each other, but with Jones away ill, any potential confrontation was avoided.
While 2SM wasn’t there live (it had a tent) its new Gorilla Radio was represented by a guy in a Gorilla suit handing out bananas. Rumour has it that reclusive owner Bill Caralis who had hinted that he’d be at the launch incognito was in fact the guy in the gorilla suit. If true, it was a masterful disguise since no one was brave enough to approach the gorilla to find out.
A bit of a dark horse on show at Martin Place was the old 2KY Racing Radio, now SKY Sports Radio. Having pulled out of the official ratings four years ago, it now has much to gain with the ability to post odds and results on the screens that are fitted to digital radios.
Despite the no-shows there was a vibe at the launch of DAB+ What vibe did you get? Did it feel like the dawn of a new era or just an early start on a cold winter’s day?
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