Nine Radio (formerly Macquarie Media Limited) is an Australian media company, owned by parent company
Nine Entertainment Co.
Nine Entertainment (registered as Nine Entertainment Co. Pty Ltd) is an Australian publicly listed media company with holdings in radio and television broadcasting, newspaper publications and digital media. It uses Nine as its corporate brand ...
and headquartered in
North Sydney, New South Wales
North Sydney is a suburb and major commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, Australia. North Sydney is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governme ...
, the company operates radio stations nationally in the capital cities of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
Melbourne,
Brisbane and
Perth, as well as regional
Queensland,
History
The company was formerly a publicly-listed company and originally founded in 1938 as the Macquarie Broadcasting Service, adopting the name "Macquarie Media" after being acquired by
Fairfax Media in 2015.
Origins
2GB, one of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
's premier commercial radio stations, was founded by Theosophical Broadcasting Station Pty Ltd. in 1926, a division of
Theosophical Society Adyar.
In January 1936, in the depths of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, 2GB and
2UE
2UE is an all-music radio station in Sydney owned by Nine Entertainment Co and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. It currently broadcasts from its studios in Pyrmont, New South Wales.
History 1920s 2EU
Electrical Utilities applied to the ...
formed an alliance, Broadcasting Service Association (BSA), to share production facilities for producing radio drama and other locally produced entertainment, which was hugely popular and in better times highly lucrative. The BSA was under joint management of Alfred Edward Bennett and Cecil Vincent Stevenson, managing directors of 2GB and 2UE respectively.
That same year, the controlling interest in 2GB was purchased by Denison Estates Ltd. A new board of directors was appointed under chairman Sir
Hugh Denison and included A. E. Bennett, who continued as station manager, and Frederick Daniell.
In early February 1937 A. E. Bennett hosted a peak conference of commercial radio interests of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia with a view to expanding the organisation into an inter-state network to secure additional outlets for their material. Those present included Sir John Butters, chairman of BSA, R. E. Denison and Frederick Daniell, representing Denison Estates Ltd.; V. F. Mitchell of 4BC Brisbane; George Bennett, George Millar and Charles A. Fletcher of 2GB Sydney; C. V. Stevenson and Sydney S. E. Baume (brother of
Eric Baume) of 2UE Sydney; John T. Taylor of
3AW Melbourne; Gordon Marsh of
5DN
Cruise 1323 (call sign: 5DN) is one of Adelaide's longest running radio stations. In its 80+ years it has changed considerably. It was the first commercial station to begin broadcasting in South Australia.
History
Radio 5DN began operating ...
Adelaide; Clive Ogilvy (often misspelled Ogilvie) and A. J. "Jack" Ryan of
2CA Canberra; Russell A. Yeldon of
2WL WL may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* '' Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3'', a Wario Land series video game for the Game Boy
* ''The Weakest Link'', a television program
* White Lies (band), an English indie rock band
* Wisteria Lane, the primar ...
Wollongong; Eric and O. Robinson of
2HR Hunter River; J. J. Armitage and D. R. Armstrong of Broadcasting Service Association Ltd. In November the same year Bennett was sacked by Denison and Butters from both his managerial position with 2GB and as a director of BSA, though public pronouncements had him resigning voluntarily. Harold Gordon Horner, New South Wales manager for the
Australian Broadcasting Commission, was appointed to take his place.
Macquarie Broadcasting (1938–2015)
In July 1938 Sir Hugh Denison announced a further expansion and reorganisation of the company as the Macquarie Broadcasting Service with a capital of
A£
The pound (Sign: £, £A for distinction) was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. As with other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 shillings (denoted by the symbol s ...
250,000. The board consisted of Sir Hugh as chairman, Frederick Daniell as executive director, and George Millar as secretary; other founding directors were R. E. Denison, N. L. Shaw, C. Don Service, and S. S. Crick. H. G. Horner of 2GB, and C. V. Stevenson of 2UE were appointed advisory directors on broadcasting and technical matters respectively. George Anderson of
2GZ was appointed network sales manager. Affiliated stations in the new network were
2CA Canberra;
2GB and
2UE
2UE is an all-music radio station in Sydney owned by Nine Entertainment Co and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. It currently broadcasts from its studios in Pyrmont, New South Wales.
History 1920s 2EU
Electrical Utilities applied to the ...
Sydney;
2WL WL may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* '' Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3'', a Wario Land series video game for the Game Boy
* ''The Weakest Link'', a television program
* White Lies (band), an English indie rock band
* Wisteria Lane, the primar ...
South Coast;
2HR Hunter River;
3AW Melbourne;
3HA
Ace Radio Broadcasters is an Australian media company. Formed in 1984, it operates 21 commercial radio stations in Victoria and southern New South Wales, as well as the digital marketing agency Ace Digital and ''The Weekly Advertiser'', a free ...
Hamilton;
3TR
TRFM (Callsign: 3TFM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting from Traralgon, Victoria, Australia. It is currently owned by Ace Radio & broadcasts A Contemporary Hits Radio (CHR) format. It features both locally produced content & nationally ...
Sale;
3SH Swan Hill;
4BH
4BH 1116 is the on-air identifier ( ACMA callsign: 4BH) of a radio station in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It broadcasts on a frequency is 1116 kHz in the AM radio band and is simulcasted in DAB+ on channel 9B. It is o ...
Brisbane;
5DN
Cruise 1323 (call sign: 5DN) is one of Adelaide's longest running radio stations. In its 80+ years it has changed considerably. It was the first commercial station to begin broadcasting in South Australia.
History
Radio 5DN began operating ...
Adelaide;
5RM
5RM (801 AM broadcasting, AM) is a South Australian radio station broadcasting from its transmitter site at Renmark, South Australia, Renmark into the Riverland and Mallee (Victoria)
5RM was opened in 1935 and was originally part of the 5KA net ...
Renmark;
6PR Perth;
6KG Kalgoorlie. Head office was at Savoy House, 29
Bligh Street, Sydney
Bligh may refer to:
Surname
* Anna Bligh (born 1960), Australian politician
* George Miller Bligh (1780–1834), British naval officer, son of Richard Rodney Bligh
* Jasmine Bligh (1913–1991), British television presenter
* Richard Bligh (1780 ...
, and the Melbourne office at 37
Queen Street.
The new company purchased the worldwide transcription business of 2GB and BSA and placed under the direction of Frederick Daniell, with sales managed by Clive Ogilvy and
Grace Gibson
Grace Isabel Gibson AO, (17 June 1905 – 10 July 1989), also known as Grace Atchison and Grace Parr was an American Australian radio entrepreneur, executive and producer.
She was best known for her long-running serials Dr. Paul and the local ...
. The BSA Players were reorganised as the Macquarie Players, with their recording studios "Macquarie Productions" at Pagewood and at 296 Pitt Street and 29 Bligh Street. Contracted actors included
James Raglan,
Lou Vernon
Lou Vernon (26 June 1888, Brisbane – 22 December 1971, Sydney) was an Australian actor of stage, radio and screen and producer. He started his career in musical comedy, and was particularly noted for his versatility and ability as a character a ...
,
Peter Finch
Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio.
Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...
, Betty Suttor and
Harry Dearth
Harry may refer to:
TV shows
* ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin
* ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons
* ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...
. The company became a major shareholder in Australian and New Zealand Theatres, Ltd., which had taken over the entertainment business
J. C. Williamson, Ltd.
James Cassius Williamson (26 August 1845 – 6 July 1913) was an American actor and later Australia's foremost impresario, founding the J. C. Williamson's theatrical and production company.
Born in Pennsylvania, Williamson moved with his famil ...
, and in Broadcast Enterprises, Ltd., of London. The Radio Theatre Guild was taken over as an organisation for training and developing talent. The record production, cutting and pressing business Featuradio was purchased and reorganised as Australian Record Company under management of Charles H. Gendle.
From inception and until the early 1960s, the network was renowned for its high quality productions of variety programs, quizzes, dramas and serials. Most of these programs originated from Sydney. One of the most important Macquarie drama series was
The General Motors Hour, 15 episodes of which can be accessed online.
As well as being heard on all of the network's affiliates, right across the country, many Macquarie programs were also syndicated to non-network stations. With the coming of television in 1956, the radio audience for these types of programs dropped. Macquarie stations solved the ''problem'' by quickly increasing their news, talk, commentary and current affairs content.
["The Magic Spark", R.R. Walker, 1973, The Hawthorn Press.]
In 1973, a significant year because it was the 50th anniversary of broadcasting in Australia, the Macquarie Network had the following affiliates: 2GB Sydney;
2CA Canberra;
2PK
PK or pk may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Gaming
* Probability of kill (Pk), in computer games, simulations, models, and operations research
* '' Disney's PK: Out of the Shadows'', a 2002 video game
* Player killing, player versus player con ...
Parkes;
2WL WL may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* '' Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3'', a Wario Land series video game for the Game Boy
* ''The Weakest Link'', a television program
* White Lies (band), an English indie rock band
* Wisteria Lane, the primar ...
Wollongong;
3AW Melbourne;
4BH
4BH 1116 is the on-air identifier ( ACMA callsign: 4BH) of a radio station in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It broadcasts on a frequency is 1116 kHz in the AM radio band and is simulcasted in DAB+ on channel 9B. It is o ...
Brisbane;
4BU
4BU is an Australian radio station serving the Bundaberg region in Queensland, Australia. It was opened in December 1935.
4BU is a classic hits station playing hit songs from the 1960s right through to the mid-2000s. Owned by ARN, 4BU places ...
Bundaberg;
4GY
4GY is an Australian radio station serving the Gympie
Gympie ( ) is a city and a locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Wide Bay-Burnett District, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies o ...
Gympie;
5DN
Cruise 1323 (call sign: 5DN) is one of Adelaide's longest running radio stations. In its 80+ years it has changed considerably. It was the first commercial station to begin broadcasting in South Australia.
History
Radio 5DN began operating ...
Adelaide;
6IX
6IX (stylised as 6iX) is a commercial radio station in Perth, Western Australia, broadcasting a classic hits and oldies format from its studios in Osborne Park. First broadcast in 1933, the station is currently owned and operated as a joint vent ...
Perth;
6BY Bunbury;
6MD Merredin;
6WB Katanning;
7HO
7HOFM (call sign: 7HHO) is one of three commercial radio stations in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It commenced broadcasting on 13 August 1930, as the first commercial radio station in its city.
The station's initial frequency was 890 kHz AM, ...
Hobart.
During the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s, there were a number of other commercial radio networks, another key one being the
Major Network. Other former radio networks include: Federal Network; Associated Broadcasters of Australia;
AWA Broadcasting. There were also a number of State-based networks.
By the late 1980s Macquarie had become Australia's only national commercial radio network. However, during the last three decades, a number of new networks have arisen, including the
Macquarie Regional RadioWorks, unrelated to the Macquarie Radio Network. In 2007, 13 networks owned or controlled 80 per cent of the 261 Australian commercial radio stations
In 2010, Macquarie entered a joint venture with
Pacific Star Network
Sports Entertainment Group (SEG) (formerly Pacific Star Network) is an Australian sports media content and entertainment business. SEG is the owner and parent company of Sports Entertainment Network (SEN).
In December 2014, Pacific Star Network ...
to relaunch Melbourne radio station
3MP
3MP is a commercial radio station, broadcast from Rowville and licensed to Melbourne. Owned and operated by Ace Radio from studios in South Melbourne, it broadcasts an easy listening music format on 1377 AM and DAB+ digital radio.
History Ea ...
as
MTR 1377. On 2 March 2012, MTR ceased operations when Pacific Star was unable to pay any monies owed to Macquarie.
On 31 August 2011, Macquarie acquired the Smart Radio Network which encompasses
4VL
4VL is a radio station in Charleville, Queensland, Australia. It is owned by Resonate Radio along with other sister stations around Queensland. This company is owned by Rex Morris, Guy Dobson, Sally Dobson
The 4VL building located on Wills Str ...
,
Triple C FM,
4HI
4HI AM is a classic hits-formatted radio station in Emerald, Queensland, owned and operated by Resonate Broadcasting. The station was previous owned by Macquarie Regional Radio until October 2015, following its acquisition of the Smart Radio ...
,
4ZR
4ZR is an Australian commercial radio station located in Roma, Queensland.
The station broadcasts to the Maranoa Region on 1476 AM and provides a streams live on its website.
4ZR was officially opened on 23 July 1937 by Attorney-General, Robert ...
,
4LM,
4SB and
Hot Country network at a cost of $6 million. These stations are part of Macquarie Regional Radio, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Macquarie Radio Network.
Macquarie Media (2015–2019)
In December 2014, Macquarie announced that it had agreed to a
merger
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
with
Fairfax Media. Under the deal, Fairfax gained a 55% share in the Macquarie Radio Network, with Macquarie's existing shareholders holding the remaining 45%. To comply with legislation only allowing two radio licences to be held by one party in each market, stations
2CH
''2CH'' was a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia. It was owned by Pacific Star Network. The station changed formats on 10 June 2022 to sports.
History
2CH commenced broadcasting on 15 February 1932 on 1210 kHz. It moved to ...
and
4LM were sold; and the merger was completed in March 2015.
In April 2015 a number of programming changes occurred at Macquarie's stations. At 4BC Brisbane, Breakfast presenters Ian Skippen and Loretta Ryan, Mornings host Patrick Condren, Nights host Walter Williams and Weekend Breakfast presenter Murray Shoring were dismissed, as well as sister
Magic 882 Nights' presenter Jo Henderson. In total, 18 positions were cut, and programming replaced by networked shows from 2GB and 2UE. In Sydney,
2UE
2UE is an all-music radio station in Sydney owned by Nine Entertainment Co and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. It currently broadcasts from its studios in Pyrmont, New South Wales.
History 1920s 2EU
Electrical Utilities applied to the ...
's afternoon announcer
Angela Catterns
Angela Catterns, (born 30 September 1953) is an Australian media personality and broadcaster. Mostly known for her work on Australian radio, she has presented Mornings on Triple J, the National Evening Show on ABC Local Radio, and Breakfast on ...
was dismissed, as was the entire newsroom, and the station's news services were replaced by the Macquarie's national news service – while in Melbourne all of
Magic 1278's lineup and most of the production team was cut.
On 30 October 2015 it was announced the company had divested its regional assets, selling eight radio stations to
Resonate Broadcasting
Resonate Broadcasting is an Australian media company, operating radio stations across various centres across regional Queensland, as well as Hawaii. Formed in 2008, it currently operates 16 radio stations across Australia and the United States.
...
. On 6 November it was announced that all of Magic 882's programming – with the exception of nights – would be networked from
Magic 1278 in Melbourne.
On 10 November 2015 the company changed its name to Macquarie Media Limited. Following its merger with Fairfax in 2018, Nine acquired
John Singleton's share in the company in 2019, increasing its stake in the company to 87%. In October 2019 Nine increased its shareholding to over 90% after purchasing stakes from Mark Carnegie (3.6 percent) and
Alan Jones (1.3 percent) to allow Nine to compulsorily acquire the remaining shares. In January 2020, Nine confirmed that the Macquarie Media brand would be phased out.
Nine Radio (2020–present)
On 21 January 2020, Nine Radio announced they would close the
Macquarie Sports Radio network in February, reverting stations to their pre–2016 brands—
2UE
2UE is an all-music radio station in Sydney owned by Nine Entertainment Co and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. It currently broadcasts from its studios in Pyrmont, New South Wales.
History 1920s 2EU
Electrical Utilities applied to the ...
,
4BH
4BH 1116 is the on-air identifier ( ACMA callsign: 4BH) of a radio station in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It broadcasts on a frequency is 1116 kHz in the AM radio band and is simulcasted in DAB+ on channel 9B. It is o ...
and
Magic 1278—with a
classic hits music format. In April,
Steve Jacobs
Steve Jacobs is an Australian actor and film director who is married to actress and producer Anna Maria Monticelli. The two co-starred in ''Sky Trackers''. Jacobs directed the movie ''La Spagnola'' (2001), which was written and produced by Mont ...
was announced as breakfast presenter of the music stations, commencing 27 April.
Assets
Nine Radio
News. Talk. Sport.
Music
The following stations are run under a lease agreement by
Ace Radio.
References
External links
Nine Radio
{{Nine Entertainment
Australian radio networks
Companies based in Sydney
Nine Entertainment
1938 establishments in Australia
Australian companies established in 2015
Australian companies established in 1938