ACE CEO Mark Taylor on 4BH: “We’re sticking with what we’re doing”

Four months on from the demise of Brisbane’s beloved 4KQ, the dust is settling.

A new radio landscape has taken shape, with 4BH’s move to a Classic Hits format considered one of the programming masterstrokes of the year, as clearly reflected in Brisbane Survey 6.

And the 4KQ faithful who’ve moved across to 4BH are being assured the more music, less talk format isn’t going anywhere.

In an interview with our sister publication RadioInfo, ACE Radio CEO Mark Taylor confirms they’re not about to go changing things now.

“We’re pushing more music, less talk in that market. We’re very much sticking with what we’re doing.”

That includes efforts to keep commercial content low, and 30 minute sweeps of music out of the news.

“More talk is not what we’re about,” Taylor says.

Despite the station’s astonishing 4 point increase to an 8.6 share in the last book – including BBQ Bob Gallagher’s 3.7 rise in Breakfast to 6.9 and a huge leap in 65+ – the ACE response remains remarkably modest and low key.

“We went in there thinking, well – 4KQ does so well, we’ll go in there with an Easy Listening station and we’ll just eat away and see if we can get a three share. We’d have been pretty happy with that,” says Taylor.

Then, as 4KQ morphed in wall-to-wall sport under the SENQ banner, 4BH saw an opportunity … and moved from Easy Listening to Classic Hits.

“We just wanted to be ready for the battle.”

It’s certainly paying dividends now.

Taylor says radio today is different ball game when it comes to technology, and the current set up offers flexibility for staff within the network, with a number of announcers and sales staff able to work from home.

“We haven’t got a radio station full of fifty, forty staff. In Brisbane I’ve got seven on the ground.”

“We’re utilising the tremendous technology that is around today, that wasn’t around ten years ago.”

And Taylor says the AM listenership remains high.

“We still see that when we get the reports. We’ve had so many emails from the Sydney market saying ‘You’re not leaving 954 on, aren’t you? You’re not going to do what the people did to 2CH?’ And we’re going ‘No, no. 954 is there to stay. 1116 is there to stay.”