ARN announces changes to its daytime line up

So is 3h of local content no longer a requirement for KIIS 101.1? Between KJ and now the workday timeslot to be broadcast from Sydney, what is the point of the Melbourne studio?

Surely the two hour national drive slot for Will and Woody doesn’t count for local content?

Am I missing something here, or are Will and Woody now the only “local” presenters ARN has for KIIS 101.1?

And goodbye to Georgie on maternity leave and Alex Dickson in Brisbane

Surely K&J will roll out in Brissy before too long then.

As much as seems to be a nice bloke on air. I don’t feel for a place like Brisbane will adapt to someone that doesn’t know the city. I know people have had enough of 973 and the weird branding that really doesn’t make any sense… is it a makeup brand for old ladies?

See what happened with nova and the duel networking…
See what happened with Hit105 – B105.
The only kiss rule I know is keep it simple stupid.

Local local local.

Otherwise yes, just go full hog and network everything from Sydney.

KIIS Brisbane only became competitive in workday last year when they abandoned their ‘CHR music’ trial and reverted back to variety and 80s music. Variety is what 973 is famous for. AND they need strong music with a flailing Brekky show.

Wonder how they brand workday with the Sydney music log? with b105 and Nova having such a dominant position on hit music…and triple winning workday. Surely they don’t try and be the 3rd CHR with Robyn on Brekky. If they’re to have any chance they can’t change music, She’s perfect for 80s music, not Doechii…

@Jordan, there are no local content requirements for metro stations, they only apply to regional stations. But if it did apply like it does for the regionals, then Will & Woody would count as local for Melbourne as it is produced and presented in Melbourne.

Yes, we all know how well networking day shifts from Sydney worked out for Nova….

The Americanisation of Australian radio continues, except that even America has local shows and jocks in the major markets (though they do network those shows to the smaller markets).

Get ready for Nova to kill in the ratings – as the only network left that will have local breakfast and day shifts.

Cos you know, I’m sure when – for example – the Westgate bridge is blocked by protestors and no-one can get to work, the people tuning in to hear about what’s happening and relate to others in the same situation will love to hear two Sydney westies naked date.

A day time line up ??? well there you go, there are other shifts beside the brekky show ? go figure

To the following few people who are annoyed with kiss one and kiss 973 dumping of their workday announces here is the option that you can have in Melbourne Nova 100 and in Brisbane Nova 1069

Easy win for ARN – K&J and the pickup are the local Sydney shows, Will and woody for Melbourne and they’ll keep the collective noun guys for nights out of Brisbane. No need for breakky

Id be very nervous if I was a radio host at any of arn stations. K&J are set to be the new Eddie everywhere.

Grim I do wonder if they’ll network all sydney to bris which will bring Mitch churi to Brianne ? Or Christian o Connell across Brisbane nights?

I find it interesting the the leadership of key businesses in an industry that consistently talks up its ability to complete with large international players like Spotify, due to the it’s key differentiator of local talent communicating locally relevant information and stories, are also the same people who seem determined to remove that local differentiator.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the long term. Some of the bold moves that ARN have made have been very successful.

It is, however, a terrible shame that we have allowed large organisations to consolidate local media outlets and then remove the very thing that provides the most benefit to the local community. The programmers at the ABC should consider standing up some local Triple J content in metro markets.

Gordie is a good operator. Look forward to hearing him in melb

@kyle and bruno – i just had a good lol at mr triple barrel name. thank you kyle all makes sense.

The way they operate, ARN should stand for
Australian Regional Network. Such a bunch of amateurs. Mistake, blunders and errors everywhere you look over the past decade.

Duncan Campbell has experienced network difficulties in the past….remember the Richard Stubbs experience? networking from Melbourne into Sydney, at the time Sydney was not familiar with Stubbs or the crew, the audience could not relate to the new kid on the block.

Fast forward to 2024 K&J have already been broadcasting into Melbourne with a best of show for quiet a while, ARN know their audience, the numbers and habits of listeners, they would not be doing this if the research didn’t add up.

If I was Will or Woody I’d be waiting to see when the directive to move to Sydney comes so they can close the Melbourne studio.

Nova networked day time and it was a disaster.

George Santayana wrote ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’

Let’s look at music radio and the decisions being made by ARN.

Pay a select few a lot and network … or lift the industry standard overall, concentrate on radio’s greatest strengths, employ more announcers and avoid radio’s forecast demise? The decisions from the Top leave a lot to be desired.

1990s Sydney … and we were warned that anyone walking around wearing headphones was the enemy.

So, how did they combat the Sony Walkmans etc. of the day? Cut the talk – also known as relevance & relatability to the audience – and play more music.

The National PD of the time even instructed the Cart Boy to speed up the classics so more music could be stuffed into each hour. And how did the head-to-head contest between commercial radio (with the new, improved 3:20 Khe Sanh) fare against an entirely music-based competitor?

Of course it got smashed. Instead of emphasising radio’s strengths, they chose to battle on a front they couldn’t possibly win.

Read the ‘Art of War’; when up against a stronger competitor you never face them on their terms. Use a flanking strategy – all the better on a front where they can’t defend themselves. Go with your strengths … relevance to my community, relatability to me. Why not go crazy and throw ‘entertainment’ into the mix?

Fast forward to now. Take the news from overnight. Do you think the folk in Baltimore USA would be interested in the zany antics of Captain Wacky and his Reality TV side-kick broadcast from another city … or would they have a passing interest in why there’s a lot of river where their favourite bridge used to stand?

Sydney being surrounded by fires … Brisbane flooding … Melbourne having a day where there’s enough sunlight to cause shadows … these are all things that radio can cover so brilliantly, but for reason unknown – chooses not to.

It would be very interesting if a spare radio license fell into the hands of an old-time operator. Get a bunch of DJs who were totally immersed in their city and actually enjoyed being on-air.