ARN Media Ltd., formerly Here, There & Everywhere and APN News & Media, is an Australian media company. Divisions include broadcast
radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
and
Out-of-home advertising
Outdoor advertising or out-of-home (OOH) advertising includes public billboards, wallscapes, and posters seen while "on the go". OOH advertising formats fall into four main categories: billboards, street furniture, Transit media, transit, and a ...
.
[ The company previously had assets in New Zealand,][ and previously owned Adshel, APN Outdoor and Gfinity eSports in Australia.][ Its commercial radio stations include the Gold Network, KIIS Network, CADA, ARN Regional and iHeartRadio brands.
The company operates the ARN News service in Australia, which uses international correspondents and source news stories from AAP in Australia, CNN from the United States and ]Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...
and Independent Radio News from the United Kingdom. ARN has newsrooms in Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
, Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
, Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
and Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
.
Originally ARN was a joint venture of APN News & Media and Clear Channel (now iHeartMedia
iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...
). On 19 February 2014, it was reported that APN News & Media had agreed to purchase Clear Channel's 50% stake in the ARN. As a result, ARN is now fully owned by ARN Media. The company continues to operate the Australian version of iHeartRadio.
Until 2014, ARN also included New Zealand radio networks Newstalk ZB, Classic Hits FM, ZM, Radio Sport, Radio Hauraki, Easy Mix, Flava and Coast
A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...
under umbrella company The Radio Network. These are now part of the New Zealand Media and Entertainment.
In August 2021, the company removed the words 'Australian Radio Network' from its name, now being known as simply ARN. Three months later, in November 2021, Here, There & Everywhere, ARN's parent company, purchased Grant Broadcasters, who intend to integrate it with its own business by January 2022. The deal was finalised on 4 January 2022.
Having already acquired a 15% stake in 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 ...
(SCA) earlier in the year, in October 2023 ARN launched a takeover offer for SCA in partnership with Anchorage Capital Partners. To satisfy Australian Communications & Media Authority
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is an Australian government statutory authority within the Communications portfolio. ACMA was formed on 1 July 2005 with the merger of the Australian Broadcasting Authority and the Aust ...
regulations that allow one party to only own two radio stations in one market, in capital cities ARN would add the Triple M network to the KIIS Network, while Anchorage Capital Partners would control the Hit and Pure Gold networks.
In 2015, HT&E's two largest shareholders were the Australian fund manager Allan Gray Australia and News Corp Australia
News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of News Corp.
The group's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television prod ...
. Irish company Independent News & Media and Denis O'Brien
Denis O'Brien (born 19 April 1958) is an Irish billionaire businessman, and the founder and owner of Digicel. He was listed among the World's Top 200 Billionaires in 2015 and was Ireland's richest native-born citizen for several years. His bus ...
's Baycliffe held an approximately 30% stake in the company before selling it in March 2015.[
]
History
ARN Media had its origins in Provincial Newspapers (PN), a listed company that published regional newspapers in 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 ...
and Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
. The Herald & Weekly Times, which owned a significant proportion of PNQ, was taken over by News Limited
News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of News Corp.
The group's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television pr ...
in 1987. To comply with an order of the Trade Practices Commission, News Limited was required to sell its PN shares. The 48% stake in PN was acquired in 1988 by interests associated with the family of Tony O'Reilly
Sir Anthony John Francis O'Reilly (7 May 1936 – 18 May 2024) was an Irish businessman and international rugby union player. He was known for his try scoring in rugby, his involvement in the Independent News & Media Group, which he led from ...
, the principal shareholder of Independent Newspapers of Ireland.
The company was renamed Australian Provincial Newspapers Holdings and listed again on the Australian Securities Exchange
Australian Securities Exchange Ltd (ASX) is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary Exchange (organized market), securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or c ...
in 1992 following a public share issue, and in 1998 the name was changed to APN News & Media.[
In 2001, APN acquired 25% of Soprano Design. Later going on to acquire steaks in Conversant Media and Unbnd Group. These acquisitions have been listed every year in their financial reports. Soprano Design was valued at over A$500 million in November 2019, giving APN over A$125m in equity.] Following Soprano's acquisition of SilverStreet Intl in December 2020, Analysts have stated that Soprano Design could be worth upward of $1 billion.
In June 2016, the company completed the demerger of its New Zealand radio and publishing business, New Zealand Media and Entertainment. However, the company maintained a presence in New Zealand via its outdoor advertising business, Adshel NZ. Also in 2016, the company announced it would sell its regional newspaper division, Australian Regional Media, to News Corp Australia
News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of News Corp.
The group's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television prod ...
for $36.6 million. The deal was reviewed but not opposed by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. The sale of ARM, encompassing APN's remaining newspaper assets, was completed in December 2016.
APN News & Media Limited changed its name to HT&E Limited in May 2017, changing its ASX Listing Code to HT1.
In June 2018, oOh!media purchased street furniture business Adshel for A$570 million from HT&E, in a competitive bidding war against rival (and former HT&E subsidiary) APN Outdoor.
In January 2023, the company sold its 25% stake in communications firm Soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
. In May 2023, Here, There & Everywhere was renamed ARN Media. In June 2023, ARN acquired a 15% shareholding in major competitor 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 ...
. In October 2023, ARN launched a takeover offer for SCA in partnership with Anchorage Capital Partners. To satisfy Australian Communications & Media Authority
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is an Australian government statutory authority within the Communications portfolio. ACMA was formed on 1 July 2005 with the merger of the Australian Broadcasting Authority and the Aust ...
regulations that allow one party to only own two radio stations in one market, in capital cities ARN would own the KIIS and Triple M networks, while Anchorage Capital Partners would control the Hit and Pure Gold networks. The deal collapsed after Anchorage withdrew.
Assets
ARN operates 58 radio stations, targeting the 25-to-54-year-old demographic. These stations include
*the top 40 (CHR), 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 ...
, and active rock-formatted KIIS Network
*the classic hits and oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music.
Since 2 ...
-formatted Gold Network
*the rhythmic top 40 and urban contemporary
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...
-formatted CADA
*joint venture stations Mix 106.3 and Hit104.7 in Canberra with 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 ...
*other radio stations via DAB+
Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) is a digital radio international standard, standard for broadcasting digital audio radio services in many countries around the world, defined, supported, marketed and promoted by the WorldDAB organisation. T ...
digital radio
Digital radio is the use of digital technology to transmit or receive across the radio spectrum. Digital transmission by radio waves includes digital broadcasting, and especially digital audio radio services. This should not be confused with In ...
and iHeartRadio
*46 radio stations acquired from Grant Broadcasters
KIIS Network
A vibrant network alive with influential personalities who energise, engage and excite, immersing audiences in the best music their city has to offer.
Gold Network
An iconic network making audiences feel young, positive and full of life, immersing listeners with the Gold hits they know and love.
Other stations
Digital radio
ARN also broadcasts a number of digital only radio stations.[ARN Digital-radio]
Former stations
Outdoor/Advertising
*CODY Out-of-Home (Hong Kong)
*Emotive (creative agency)
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Company website
{{authority control
*
Australian radio networks
Companies based in Sydney
Companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange
Holding companies of Australia
Mass media companies of Australia
Newspaper companies of Australia
Radio broadcasting companies of Australia