SCA rebrands 101.3 Sea FM, 2GO & Gold 92.5
Some of the final pieces of SCA’s nationwide rebrand falls into place today, as the Central Coast says farewell to heritage brands Sea FM and 2GO.
The Gold Coast’s Gold 92.5 will also cop a name change.
101.3 Sea FM will now be known as Hit101.3, while 2GO is now Central Coast’s 107.7 Triple M, and Gold rebrands to Goldie’s 92.5 Triple M, bringing all three stations in line with network-wide branding.
SCA made the announcement today, and the latest three stations to rebrand takes the total number of Triple M and Hit Network stations to 86 (including DAB+ stations).
As part of the announcement, SCA said its audience has seen significant growth, including a 78% increase in digital radio streaming.
The network also says the name change will allow for further opportunities for listeners, advertsers and stakeholders.
“It’s fantastic to see the Central Coast become part of the Hit network as we bring listeners the latest hit music, old-school favourites and RNB Fridays. Hit101.3 will have strong appeal to our under 40 audience who love music and our fun, engaging shows,” said head of Hit Network Gemma Fordham.
“It’s great to see our stations continually evolve. As a company, we are fiercely local and proudly national which is what we aim to deliver daily for our loyal listeners. This change will bring the Gold and the Central Coast listeners more access to our unique combination of rock, sport and comedy,” said head of Triple M Mike Fitzpatrick.
Earlier this year Sea FM Gold Coast became a Hit Network station, while in 2018 we said goodbye to the likes of KOFM Newcastle and 4TOFM Townsville.
Won’t it be confusing from an audience POV in markets like Gosford and the Gold Coast where the nearby metro Triple Ms and Hit stations penetrate?
Why dont they just fix 2dayfm and triple m in Melbourne and Sydney ?
Hit104.9 Sydney….. Coming VERY soon…..
The great de-positioning of Gosford the once stand alone outfit of renown. When you kill off well known local personalities with huge ties to the community and then admired local branding, in an industry where direct selling is so important and programatically selling Gosford or the Gold Coast with only national won’t sustain the business – why would you open yourselves to detachment & community disconnect and familiarity flux? For a few rubbish weekend voice tracks from kids not in the demo? Sending your sales cadets out for damage control rather than a sale. Hit? yeah I get it. But 2GO? Star will continue to scoop the cash and they seem to do alight by not being a nova? Is this mickey’s legacy?
I know they have a joint venture, but ARN/SCA really need to re-brand Mix in Canberra. I’ve heard a lot of Triple M references go to air. They have their own footy calls, Kennedy/Molloy, The Love God, Club, etc. Just re-brand it already.
That’ll fix it…
Hit104.9 Sydney….. Coming VERY soon….. i thought that they already tried that?
it wasn’t successful then they went back to 2dayyyyy fm?
sorry misread that lol why would it be hit 104.9 sydney ?
that’s triple m … sorry 🙂
YOU’RE THE BEST – GO SYDNEY!!!
Re: “It makes sense but…”
Yes, it’ll be confusing, but their average audience takes 3 minutes to cook 2 minute noodles.
Well, they said 2GO and GOLD would remain as heritage stations and couldn’t be rebranded due overlaps with the Sydney and Brisbane markets.
I knew they’d talk their way around it. Just like the UK, we are seeing the end of local radio.
2DayFM should go back to hits and oldskool formula. Rebrand to Hit Sydney.
Band equity is for schmucks… I hear apple music is changing to Hit next year.
how awful are all the kids in the radio greenroom, who are trying to be seen by their bosses as supportive of this. All they have to do is look at Heart in the UK. Don’t think once the CEO’s are through wining and dining the libs, it won’t happen here. Clowns.
Dan you talk about the number of Triple M is mentioned on non-Triple M stations…
You should listen to Mix 94.5 in perth – the highest rating and heritage AC station in the country. There are more Triple M promos running for Sport/AFL and DAB than there are Mix promos running on the air.
Talk about slowly killing you’re own brand and business.
Both Mix and 96FM have turned into these weird hybrid formats that make no strategic sense and just encourage listeners to hop to other stations depending on the time of day.
How dare they!
One has to wonder now if heritage brands (also call-signs) 2DAY and 3FOX are allowed to continue beyond turning 40 in 2020.
One reason they should is because it’s in question whether ‘Hit’ is a sufficiently distinguishable brand name in the most competitive markets of Sydney and Melbourne.
In this age of generic branding, what’s a Hit anyway?
In Adelaide, it’s “more music, more variety” at Hit 107. So a Hit can still be from Bryan Adams, yes?
In that case, would SAFM be a better expression of the current format if it was still around?
I’m less sure about Perth’s Mix 94.5, now surrounded by regional Triple M stations in WA. Contemplation of changing brand there coincides with a recent ratings assault from rival 96FM (which itself got caught up in network-inspired branding in recent years since ARN took over).
Maybe the attempt to unify into one brand went too far, yet now they’ve gone this far the temptation will be the finish the task I suspect, for better or worse.
Joey it the nail on the head.
This generation of leaders at SCA have put it in a nose dive. They are all very talented individuals from the top down, and they’ve had the ambition to do what many wouldn’t.
Unfortunately though, they have made some wrong decisions, and they will continue to until the next batch of leaders come in and give it a crack. They’ve gone this far, better keep going and try to repair it all. Will they succeed? Who knows. A lot of it comes down to timing, and who knows who will be leading the ARN and Nova networks in 12-24 months.