Fresh FM, also known as Bendigo's Fresh FM 101.5 and Bendigo's Best Sport (from its 3BBS call sign), is a
community radio
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting.
Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...
station broadcast in
Bendigo
Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital.
As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...
, Australia. It began in 1983 as 3CCC based in
Harcourt at the disused
Harcourt railway station
Harcourt is a closed station located on the Bendigo line. It served the township of Harcourt and was closed to passenger traffic on 4 October 1981, as part of the ''New Deal'' timetable for country passengers.
A 10-ton crane at the station, ...
using the frequency 103.9 FM and later moved to Garsed Street in Bendigo.
History
The Australian Broadcasting Tribunal allocated Fresh 89.5 FM a community broadcasting license in 1983 to provide a community broadcasting service within the Bendigo area.
After 25 years of broadcasting, Fresh FM had is license cancelled in 2006 by the
Australian Communications and 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 Aus ...
when the station failed to lodge renewal applications despite 12 months of frequent reminders. This resulted in a handful of on-air announcers walking from the community station, citing difficulties with management and disagreements with new programming (including increased use of pre-recorded content from
98.9 FM (Brisbane)).
The station was found in breach of its temporary license conditions in 2008 "by failing to represent the Bendigo Community". The ACMA stated that annual general meetings to allow members to contribute to the operation of the station were not held between 2001 and 2006.
In a plan to transfer the 89.5 frequency to
ABC NewsRadio
ABC NewsRadio, since 2017 broadcast under the ABC News brand and for a short time known as ABC News on Radio, is a 24-hour news radio service broadcast by the Australian public broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). ABC ...
to broadcast national parliament, the ACMA suggested that Fresh FM and fellow community station
Phoenix FM
Phoenix FM is a community radio station serving the areas of Brentwood and Billericay, United Kingdom on 98.0FM and online, covering an area of over 140,000 people.
History
The station was formed in 1996 and has been broadcasting full-time on ...
share the 101.5 frequency with Central Victoria Gospel Radio. Finally, after sharing a frequency with the then-testing Phoenix FM on 89.5, the ACMA allocated the 101.5 frequency to Fresh FM in 2010 and Phoenix to 106.7 and Central Victoria Gospel Radio to 105.1.
In 2014, Fresh FM became the first local radio station to broadcast a live
Victorian Women's Football League
The Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL) was the oldest and largest Australian rules football league for women in the world, consisting of 47 clubs from Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia across seven divisions with a total of over ...
match at the
Queen Elizabeth Oval
Queen Elizabeth Oval is a sports stadium located in Bendigo, Australia primarily used for Australian rules football and cricket.
History
Cricket
The Oval, originally known as Upper Reserve, hosted touring cricket teams as early as 1897. It was ...
.
Format
Fresh FM is known for its local sports broadcasts, including live commentators with match coverage of
Central Victorian netball, basketball and football, and has broadcast live
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
games via the
National Indigenous Radio Service
The National Indigenous Radio Service (NIRS) is a satellite program feed available in Australia to Indigenous and non-Indigenous community radio stations. NIRS provides targeted and specialist programming for and by Australia's Aboriginal and ...
. Listeners are involved in "SMS requests" into the station with song requests during the workday, the music tailored primarily to the 70s, 80s and 90s decades of music.
See also
*
List of radio stations in Australia
This is a list of radio stations that radio broadcasting, broadcast in Australia. Stations that are not included in the list are genuine internet radio stations that are not traditional AM, FM or DAB. The explanation of new internet radio broa ...
References
Radio stations in Bendigo
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