Ace Radio Broadcasters is an Australian media company. Formed in 1984, it operates 21 commercial radio stations in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and southern

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, as well as the

digital marketing Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online-based Information technology, digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and other digital media and platforms to promote products and service ...

agency Ace Digital and ''The Weekly Advertiser'', a free newspaper distributed across the

Wimmera The Victorian government's Wimmera Southern Mallee subregion is part of the Grampians region in western Victoria. It includes most of what is considered the Wimmera, and part of the southern Mallee region. The subregion is based on the social ...

region.

History

Ace Radio Broadcasters was founded in 1984, following the acquisition of radio station 3HA in

Hamilton, Victoria Hamilton is a city in south-western Victoria, Australia, Victoria, Australia, at the intersection of the Glenelg Highway and the Henty Highway. The Hamilton Highway connects it to Geelong. Hamilton is in the Australian House of Representatives, ...

by Associated Communication Enterprises, owners of the Melbourne newspaper ''Truth''. The group acquired 3CS Colac in 1985 and, by 1986, had control of 3SH

Swan Hill Swan Hill is a List of cities in Australia, city in the northwest of Victoria, Australia on the Murray Valley Highway and on the south bank of the Murray River, downstream from the junction of the Loddon River, Victoria, Loddon River. At the , ...

and 3WM

Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

. As of 1994, the company was in the joint control of Geoff and Helen Handbury and Rowly and Judy Paterson, and had additional interests in radio stations in

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

Shepparton Shepparton () (Yorta Yorta language, Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River (Victoria), Goulburn River in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Mel ...

and

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

. The company continued to expand in the late 1990s and into the 2000s. Divesting itself of 3SR and

Sun FM Sun FM may refer to: * Nation Radio North East's previous name * Sun FM (Sri Lanka), an English language radio station based in Sri Lanka * CICF-FM, a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 105.7 FM in Vernon, British Columbia, using the on-air br ...

and Bay FM

, in 1995 the company acquired 3TR

Traralgon Traralgon ( , ) is a city located in the east of the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia and the most populous city in the City of Latrobe and the region. The urban population of Traralgon at the ...

and 3YB

Warrnambool Warrnambool (; Eastern Maar, Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the Census in Australia#2021, 2021 census, Warrnambool had a populati ...

. In 1996, Ace Radio commenced the roll-out of

FM radio FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting that uses frequency modulation (FM) of the radio broadcast carrier wave. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to transmit high fidelity, high-f ...

in its markets, launching Mixx FM branded stations in Horsham, Swan Hill and Colac, with Mixx FM Hamilton and Coast FM Warrnambool launching in 2002. Also in 2002, 3TR converted to the FM band as TRFM, with 3GV launched on the former AM frequency. In September 2005, Ace Radio purchased 2AY from

Macquarie Regional RadioWorks Southern Cross Media Group Limited, doing business as Southern Cross Austereo, is an Australian media company which operates broadcast radio and television stations. It is the largest radio broadcaster in Australia, operating 86 radio stations ...

, which the latter was forced to divest following its acquisition of DMG Regional Radio. In June 2016, Ace Radio's stations were added to the

iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast, radio streaming and Music Streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. Founded in August 2008, iHeartRadio serves as the national umbrella brand for iHeart ...

platform in Australia, with the ''iHeartRadio Thumbs Up Countdown'' launched across the network's six 'Hit Music' FM stations. In August 2017, it was announced that Ace Radio would acquire

2QN 2QN is a radio station based in Deniliquin, New South Wales, Australia. It broadcasts on the medium wave radio band, at a frequency of 1521 kHz. 2QN combines a Classic Hits music format with talk radio, news broadcasting and a heavy emphas ...

and Edge FM

Deniliquin Deniliquin () is a town in the western Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the inte ...

from Rich Rivers Radio, and

3NE 3NE is an Australian Classic hits-formatted AM radio station, broadcasting from Wangaratta, Victoria to the surrounding areas of North East Victoria (Australia), Victoria. 3NE was Opened on 27 March 1954. As of 1 November 2017 the station is own ...

and Edge FM

Wangaratta Wangaratta ( ) is a city in the northeast of Victoria, Australia, from Melbourne along the Hume Highway. The city had a population of 29,808 per the 2021 Australian Census. The city is located at the confluence, junction of the Ovens River, ...

from North East Broadcasters. In June 2018, Ace Radio ceased operation of the Radio Training Institute. Launched in 1984 as the Melbourne Radio School, the institute had been operated by Ace in

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the 2021 ...

since 2003. From 14 January 2022, Ace Radio took over the operations of three metropolitan stations from

Nine Entertainment Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Limited is an Australian publicly listed company with holdings in mass media radio and television broadcasting, publishing and digital media. It uses Nine as its corporate branding. The entity is largely a succ ...

, under a lease arrangement. From 16 January 2023, Ace Radio will supply

Southern Cross Austereo Southern Cross Media Group Limited, Trade name, doing business as Southern Cross Austereo, is an Australian media company which operates broadcast radio and Terrestrial television, television stations. It is the largest radio broadcaster in Au ...

Hit Network The Hit Network is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 41 radio stations broadcasting a hot adult contemporary music format, as well as 6 digital radio stations. Histor ...

programs, including the ''

Carrie & Tommy ''Carrie & Tommy'' is an Australian radio station drive show on the Hit Network. The show is hosted by Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little. A daily podcast featuring the best bits from each show is available on LiSTNR as is the podcast for all H ...

'' Drive show and ''Jimmy & Nath with Emma'' to over six radio stations.

Radio stations

, Ace Radio Broadcasters operates 21 radio stations. Nine of these stations form their 'Heritage' network, featuring local news, music and syndicated talkback programming targeted at a 40+ audience: * 2AY 1494 Albury/Wodonga * 2QN 1521 Deniliquin/Echuca * 3CS 1134 Colac * 3HA 981 Hamilton * 3NE 1566 Wangaratta * 3SH 1332 Swan Hill * 3WM 1089 Horsham * 3YB FM 94.5 Warrnambool * Gold 1242 Traralgon Eight stations form the 'Hit Music' network, targeting an 18-39 audience with

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

music and syndicated programming: * Coast FM 95.3 Warrnambool * Edge FM 102.1 Wangaratta * Edge FM 102.5 Deniliquin * Mixx FM 88.9 Hamilton * Mixx FM 101.3 Horsham * Mixx FM 106.3 Colac * Mixx FM 107.7 Swan Hill * TRFM 99.5 Traralgon One station is positioned as 'Easy Music', targeting a 55+ audience: * 3MP 1377 Melbourne Three stations are positioned as 'Classic Hits', targeting a 55+ audience: *

Magic 1278 Magic 1278 (official callsign: 3EE) is a commercial radio station in Melbourne, Australia owned by Nine Entertainment, and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. History 1935–1991: 3XY 1935–1967 – Diverse programming 3XY began bro ...

Melbourne (leased from Nine Entertainment) * 4BH 1116 Brisbane (leased from Nine Entertainment) * 2UE 954 Sydney (leased from Nine Entertainment)

Programming

While programming varies in each market, both AM and FM stations broadcast a variety of locally produced, as well as nationally networked, programmes. AM/Heritage stations * The Morning Rush with Sean Cullen, Matthew Monk & Niamh McMahon (excludes 2AY Albury and 3NE Wangaratta) * Country Today * Mornings with

Tom Elliott Thomas or Tom Elliott may refer to: * Thomas Elliott (footballer) (1890–?), English footballer * Thomas Elliott (Australian cricketer) (1879–1939), Australian cricketer * Thomas Elliott (New Zealand cricketer) (1867–?), New Zealand cricketer ...

(

Nine Radio Nine Radio (formerly Macquarie Media Limited) is an Australian media company, owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and headquartered in North Sydney. The company operates radio stations nationally in the capital cities of Sydney, Melbou ...

syndication) * Drive with

Jacqueline Felgate Jacqueline Felgate is an Australian television presenter and radio host. In September 2022, it was announced that she would become the senior host of radio station 3AW’s football coverage. Before that she worked for nearly 10 years as a news ...

(

syndication) (2AY & 3SH only) * Sportsday (

Sports Entertainment Network Sports Entertainment Network (SEN), formerly Crocmedia, is an Australian radio and television distribution company established in 2006. SEN's parent company is Sports Entertainment Group (SEG), formerly Pacific Star Network. History Sports En ...

) * Nights with

Denis Walter Denis Clive Walter OAM, (born 3 January 1955) is an Australian radio presenter, baritone singer, recording artist and media personality who also presented television news for 16 years. Career Walter's music career has lasted over forty years ...

(

syndication) (excludes 3YB & GOLD) * Australia Overnight (

syndication) (excludes 3YB & GOLD) * Reel Adventures (

) * Off The Bench (

) FM stations * The Morning Crew with Gabi and Dan (excludes Mixx FM Colac) *

(

syndication) (excludes both Edge FMs) * Jimmy & Nath with Emma (

syndication) (excludes both Edge FMs)

References

External links

Ace Radio Broadcasters

Melbourne Radio School
{{Ace Radio, state=collapsed Radio broadcasting companies of Australia 1984 establishments in Australia