Southern Cross Media Group Limited,
doing business as
A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...
Southern Cross Austereo, is an Australian media company which operates
broadcast radio and
television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
stations. It is the largest radio broadcaster in Australia, operating 86 radio stations, and has a reach into every state and territory.
The company is headquartered in
South Melbourne. It was founded in 2004 as a
subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...
of
Macquarie Bank for the purpose of acquiring regional radio stations, before expanding into television broadcasting in 2007 with the acquisition of
Southern Cross Broadcasting. It also operates the LISTNR platform in Australia.
History
2004–05: RG Capital & DMG Regional Radio acquisitions
RG Capital was an Australian radio company, formed in 1995 by
Reg Grundy with the acquisition of
Sea FM Gold Coast. Between 1996 and 2000, the group grew to 28 stations across regional centres, and was subsequently floated 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 ...
. On 3 June 2004, Macquarie Bank announced it would acquire RG Capital for $173 million, gaining control of 36 radio stations 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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Victoria and
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
.
The
Federal Court of Australia
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...
approved the acquisition in August 2004, with the stations to be operated through the company's Regional Media Limited subsidiary, trading as Macquarie Regional RadioWorks. The acquisition was finalised on 1 September 2004.
On 3 September 2004, Macquarie Bank announced its acquisition of
DMG Radio Australia's regional radio assets.
The $193.5 million deal included 57 regional stations, with DMG retaining Hot 91.1 Sunshine Coast and
Star 104.5 Gosford alongside its metropolitan assets. This increased Regional Media's reach into
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
and
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, initially controlling 93 radio stations and becoming the largest commercial radio network in Australia. However, as the
Broadcasting Services Act 1992 prevents companies from controlling more than two commercial radio stations in a regional market, Regional Media was required to divest radio stations in
Albury,
Cairns
Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people.
The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...
,
Mackay,
Rockhampton
Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite.
The Scottish- ...
/
Gladstone and
Townsville
The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
. On 1 September 2005,
2AY Albury was acquired by
Ace Radio,
while six stations in the remaining five markets were sold to
Prime Television.
On 17 November 2005 the company was restructured into a
triple-stapled structure consisting of an Australian-based
private company
A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...
and
trust, and an additional private company based in
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest.
Bermuda is an ...
. Macquarie Media Group was in turn
publicly listed 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 ...
, but with majority control retained by Macquarie Bank. In December, Macquarie Bank announced an
AU$1.19 billion deal to acquire a 40% stake in Taiwanese
cable television
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...
provider Taiwan Broadband Communications from equity firm
The Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group Inc. is an American multinational company with operations in private equity, alternative asset management and financial services. As of 2023, the company had $426 billion of assets under management.
Carlyle specializes in ...
, 60% of which would be financed by Macquarie Media Group. In March 2008, the company divested its stake to the Macquarie Korea Opportunities Fund in a $400 million deal.
2006–08: American Consolidated Media & Southern Cross acquisitions
By 2006, Macquarie Regional RadioWorks was increasingly networking news and programming on its 86 radio stations from a series of hubs 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 ...
,
Bunbury, the
Gold Coast and
Townsville
The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
. This was criticised by a number of politicians, including
Nationals MPs
Paul Neville and
Barnaby Joyce. In response, the
Minister for Communications Helen Coonan introduced the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Media Ownership) Act 2006, including requiring each commercial radio licence to produce 4.5 hours of 'locally significant' content each business day commencing from 1 January 2008.
This was later relaxed to 3 hours for most stations, with exemptions for smaller stations.
In November 2006, Macquarie Media Group purchased a 13.8% stake in
Southern Cross Broadcasting, acquiring 10 million shares for AU$195 million. On 25 January 2007, the company's interests expanded into the United States, with the acquisition of newspaper publisher
American Consolidated Media for
US$
The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
80 million (AU$102 million).
On 3 July 2007, Macquarie Media Group announced a takeover bid of
Southern Cross Broadcasting, offering AU$17.41 per share for a total value of $1.35 billion.
Under the deal, Macquarie would assume Southern Cross Broadcasting's regional television assets –
Southern Cross Television, affiliated with the
Seven Network
Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
;
Southern Cross Ten, affiliated with
Network Ten
Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...
; and
Tasmanian Digital Television, a joint-venture with
WIN Corporation. Its remaining assets, including metropolitan radio stations, Satellite Music Australia and
Southern Star Group, were to be onsold to
Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media was a media (communication), media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The ...
for AU$520 million.
In return, Macquarie would acquire nine regional radio stations from Fairfax – three in Queensland:
4BU and
Hitz FM Bundaberg and
River 94.9 Ipswich; and six in South Australia:
5AU and Magic 105.9 Port Augusta, 5CC and Magic 89.9 Port Lincoln, and
5RM
5RM (801 AM broadcasting, AM / 91.5 FM broadcasting, FM) 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 ori ...
and Magic 93.1 Renmark.
The
Australian Communications & Media Authority gave prior approval to the deal, with the caveat that 12 radio stations currently controlled by Macquarie would be sold pursuant to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.
On 17 October, the
Australian Competition & Consumer Commission approved the deal, but ruled that the deal for Fairfax to sell nine radio stations to Macquarie would result in a "substantial lessening of competition".
On 5 November, Macquarie Media Group acquired Southern Cross Broadcasting, selling its non-television assets to Fairfax Media the following day. On 12 December, both parties abandoned negotiations for the South Australian and Queensland radio stations. On 14 March 2008, Macquarie divested 18 radio stations for AU$34.5 million.
Nine Tasmanian stations were sold to
Grant Broadcasters,
with four Queensland stations sold to Smart Radio.
4AM Atherton was bought by Coastal Broadcasters Pty Ltd, owners of 4KZ and
Kool FM Innisfail, while
3GG Gippsland and 4GC and
Hot FM Charters Towers were sold to
Resonate Broadcasting,
a new entity formed by
Austereo executives Guy Dobson and Rex Morris.
While only one of Macquarie's two stations in
Young, New South Wales
Young is a town in the South Western Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, and the largest town in the Hilltops Region. The "Lambing Flat" Post Office opened on 1 March 1861 and was renamed "Young" in 1863.
Young is marketed as the Che ...
were required to be sold, both
2LF and
Star FM were sold to
Broadcast Operations Group.
Following the Southern Cross Broadcasting acquisition, Macquarie's regional radio and television business commenced trading as Macquarie Southern Cross Media.
2009–10: Restructure
In August 2009, Macquarie Media Group posted a loss of $84.6 million in 2008-09, compared with a $273 million profit in the previous financial year. Despite lower revenue, the Group's Australian assets delivered a profit of $123.4 million, but ACM significant losses
In December 2009, MMG security holders voted in favour of a conversion from a triple-stapled structure to a single ASX-listed company. MMG was renamed Southern Cross Media Group with former RG Capital Radio CEO Rhys Holleran as the Chief Executive Officer.
Austereo
The company was founded by
Paul Thompson, and when commercial
FM broadcasting
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 ...
was introduced into Australia it acquired the licence for metropolitan
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 ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
;
SAFM commenced transmission in September 1980. The next station to join the network was
Fox FM in
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 ...
,
Victoria in 1986, eventually to be followed by
2Day FM 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 ...
,
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
4BK 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 ...
,
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 ...
for which the company was successful in converting to the FM band in 1990. Austereo also purchased
AM radio station
6IX in
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, Western Australia with the intention of converting the station to FM. 6IX, which had been re-launched by Austereo as ''The Eagle 1080 AM'', was consequently sold off after being outbid for either of the two new FM licences by rivals
6KY and
6PM, which Austereo now own.
1995 saw a monopolistic arrangement take place whereby
Village Roadshow purchased the
Hoyts owned
Triple M network, and Triple M in turn merged with Austereo to form a single umbrella company. The merger was part of a single deal that was unpopular due to the fierce rivalry between the two radio networks, and the fact that
Village Roadshow and
Hoyts were also direct competitors in the
film industry
The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre- ...
.
Merger
In March 2011, Southern Cross Media launched an A$714 million takeover bid of national radio broadcaster, the
Austereo Group. On 6 April 2011 shareholders of the
Austereo Group accepted the takeover bid, giving SCM a more than 90% share in the company. Southern Cross Media and Austereo merged in July 2011 to form Southern Cross Austereo.
Post-merger
2010s
Starting from 7 November 2011, Southern Cross Austereo slowly rolled out
9Gem,
9Go!,
7two,
7mate and
One as digital channels across the GTS/BKN areas.
On 23 August 2012, Guy Dobson (director of metro radio) was announced as Chief Officer of Content for the Southern Cross Austereo network, working across radio and television.
Southern Cross began broadcasting the shopping channel
TVSN, already carried by
Network 10, in December 2012 on LCN 54 in Southern Cross Ten markets, on LCN 64 in Tasmania and on LCN 74 in Darwin.
Southern Cross began broadcasting its own datacast channel,
Aspire TV on 21 May 2013 on LCN 56 in Southern Cross Ten markets, on LCN 66 in Tasmania and on LCN 76 in Darwin.
On 7 December 2013, the company switched GDS/BDN to a feed of
NWS Adelaide.
In October 2014, the company announced it would relaunch SAFM in Adelaide as
Hit 107, with a staggered
Hit Network-wide relaunch announced in December. On 14 January 2015, the network was relaunched as Today's Hit Network, with the relaunch extending to Canberra in January 2016.
Sea FM Hobart was relaunched as Hit100.9 in February, with the remaining network stations adopting the Hit Network branding as part of a national brand consolidation in December.
Southern Cross began broadcasting
Racing.com on 29 August 2015, the same day the channel was officially launched, in Seven-affiliated markets on LCN 68 in Tasmania, Broken Hill and the Spencer Gulf and on LCN 78 in Darwin.
In March 2016, gaming news publisher Press Start was acquired by Southern Cross Austereo, which resulted in its founder and owner Shannon Grixti being appointed as managing director of Press Start starting on 27 March 2016. Grixti launched Press Start in early 2014 and the acquisition was completed on 8 June 2016.
On 29 April 2016, Southern Cross Austereo announced that it had signed a five-year affiliation deal with
Nine Entertainment Co., owner of the Nine Network, for almost $500 million, taking the place of
WIN Television
WIN Television is an Australian television broadcasting, Australian television network owned and operated by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television stat ...
as the primary regional Nine affiliate. On 1 July 2016, Southern Cross switched its primary affiliation from Network Ten to the Nine Network and Nine's metropolitan branding was introduced across Southern Cross' television assets in Queensland, Southern NSW and Victoria,
joining its existing Nine affiliate station in Spencer Gulf, SA and Broken Hill, NSW. Southern Cross' Northern NSW station,
NRN, was not part of the deal as the Nine-owned
NBN Television already operated in the region.
Upon the affiliation change, the channel listing for Southern Cross' Nine-affiliated stations was reshuffled with Nine on channel 5 and 51,
9HD on channels 50,
9Gem on channel 52 in standard definition,
9Go! on channel 53, 9Life on channel 54 and Aspire TV on channel 56.
GDS/BDN Spencer Gulf/Broken Hill remained unchanged with Nine on channel 8, 9Gem on channel 80 and 9Go! on channel 88. As a result TVSN stopped broadcasting in the Nine-affiliated markets and was replaced with a ''To Be Advised'' slide until being replaced with
Yesshop on 1 August 2016.
Due to the need to import and install the required equipment, Southern Cross originally stated that it would not immediately offer Nine's digital services
9HD and
9Life upon the transition; the broadcaster stated that they planned to begin transmitting them by mid-August—a delay which would have caused the third match of the
2016 State of Origin series on 13 July to not be transmitted in high definition in the affected regions—which includes parts of the New South Wales and Queensland regions who play the series.
However, on 24 June 2016, Southern Cross Austereo announced that it had been "working tirelessly to get HD to air as quickly as possible", and 9HD became available from launch day on channel 50.
The same approach also prompted 9Life to return early on 17 July 2016.
Southern Cross announced on 25 July 2016 that it would broadcast the New Zealand-based home shopping channel
Yesshop as a
datacast service, on the company's stations. The channel became available on 1 August 2016 in Queensland, Southern NSW, ACT and Victoria on LCN 55; Northern NSW, Spencer Gulf and Broken Hill on LCN 54; Tasmania on LCN 64 and Darwin on LCN 74. However, Yesshop's owner (Yes Retail) made the decision to cease trading on 29 September 2016 citing lack of funds to pay wages and the company's current losses of approximately 20 million dollars. Employees were terminated the same day, and the channels were removed on Freeview later that day.
In November 2016, Southern Cross Austereo signed a long-term contract with
PodcastOne
LiveOne (formerly known as LiveXLive) is a Los Angeles-based streaming platform that provides livestreams of concerts and festivals, curated radio stations, podcasts, and original artist video and audio content.
History LiveXLive
LiveXLive was ...
to launch a localised version of the online podcast service, rebranded as PodcastOne Australia. The service launched sometime in early 2017.
In December 2016, the company lodged a planning application with the ACT Government to demolish the CTC studios, administration and playout facility at
Watson to make way for a residential development. The proposed studio campus demolition comes just over a year after
WIN Television
WIN Television is an Australian television broadcasting, Australian television network owned and operated by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television stat ...
closed its Canberra studios at Kingston, moving its offices to the industrial suburb of
Fyshwick. The trend of vast television estates making way for residential developments has been seen in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. In 2009 however, a planned redevelopment of the original ATV studios at
Nunawading in Melbourne was cancelled due to a slump in property prices.
In March 2017, Southern Cross Austereo announced that it would be launching a high definition simulcast of its main Seven-affiliated channel, ''Southern Cross HD'' in Tasmania on digital channel 60, in time for the first match of the
2017 AFL season later that month. Although SCHD launched in Tasmania on 22 March 2017 (whilst downgrading 7mate to standard definition on digital channel 63), it only began broadcasting Channel 7 programming in native high definition from 19 June 2018.
Following months of negotiations, Southern Cross Austereo finalised an agreement on 28 March 2017 to sell their Ten-affiliated Northern NSW station, NRN, to WIN Television for a total of $55 million, with the sale taking effect on 31 May 2017. Due to operational logistics, WIN did not commence broadcasting their identity to the NRN market until 1 September 2017. This sale relieved Southern Cross of their only sole Ten-affiliated station, with their remaining Ten affiliate,
SGS/SCN operating in the Spencer Gulf/Broken Hill region where Southern Cross holds monopoly ownership of all three network affiliates.
On 17 July 2017, Southern Cross Austereo launched American religious channel SonLife Broadcasting Network (SBN), owned by
evangelist Jimmy Swaggart, as a datacast service. The channel is broadcast in regional Queensland, Southern NSW & ACT, and regional Victoria on channel 55 as well as Spencer Gulf in South Australia, and Broken Hill in New South Wales on channel 54. Despite this, SBN never launched in Northern NSW, because NRN was already owned by WIN at the time. The above list is via Southern Cross' 10-affiliated and then Nine-affiliated stations, and in Tasmania on channel 64 and Darwin on channel 74 via Southern Cross' Seven affiliate stations.
From 1 July 2018, all local branding was phased out on all of Southern Cross Austereo's Seven-affiliated stations in favour of a generic Seven Network branding. Though news services offered by Southern Cross were also scheduled to be rebranded as ''Seven News'' on this date, the rebrand was delayed until further notice, citing concerns from Seven about using their news brand but not under their editorial control.
In September 2018, Southern Cross Austereo announced it would transfer its Canberra-based broadcast playout to NPC Media, a joint venture between the Nine and Seven Networks. CTC, via Southern Cross Austereo, would move remaining employees to a leased office facility in Canberra. The changes were expected to be completed by 30 June 2020.
On 30 September 2018, Southern Cross Austereo launched
9Life, in Tasmania, via
TDT, and in the Spencer Gulf and Broken Hill regions, via
GDS/BDN.
Southern Cross Austereo launched
7HD
Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
in Darwin on 26 November 2018.
On 3 December 2018, the
Tasmanian station's news bulletin changed its title to ''Nightly News'', followed on 14 January 2019 by
GTS/BKN's bulletin. Around the same time, studio production for the Spencer Gulf edition of ''Nightly News'' was relocated from Southern Cross' Canberra headquarters to TNT's
Hobart
Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
studio.
Southern Cross Austereo launched a refreshed logo on 1 July 2019.
2020s
In March 2020, Southern Cross Austereo launched
7HD
Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
,
9HD and
10 HD, in the Spencer Gulf/Broken Hill areas, via the stations
GTS/BKN, GDS/BDN, and
SGS/SCN, as well as making
7mate,
9Gem, and
10 Bold all SD channels, to accommodate the aforementioned HD channels. This is the list of the changes that happened on 19 March 2020: 7HD launched on LCN 60,
7mate moved to LCN 63 from LCN 60 and became a SD channel, the main
Seven channel became available on both LCN 6 and 61,
10 HD became available on LCN 50,
10 Peach moved to LCN 53 from LCN 55,
10 Bold moved to LCN 52 from LCN 50 and became a SD channel, and the main
10 channel became available on both LCN 5 and 51. Southern Cross Austereo's Nine channel changes occurred sometime in late March 2020, here is the list of changes that happened to GDS/BDN in March 2020:
9HD became available on LCN 80, the main
Nine channel became available on both LCNs 8 and 81,
9Go! moved to LCN 83 from LCN 88, and
9Gem moved to LCN 82 from LCN 80 and it became a SD channel.
In March and April 2020, Southern Cross Austereo outsourced their television play out to NPC Media.
On 27 July 2020, Southern Cross Austereo relaunched the
Hit Network, adopting a new logo and "pop-based" music format in an attempt to target a 30–54 year old audience. In addition,
Hit 105 Brisbane and
Hit 107 Adelaide reverted to their heritage brands B105 and SAFM respectively. On 20 August 2020, Southern Cross Austereo announced the network would introduce statewide networked breakfast programs 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 ...
,
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 ...
and
Victoria, replacing 19 local shows.
In August 2020, demolition of the entire CTC and Southern Cross Austereo studio site at Watson was completed to make way for a housing development. The demolition marked the end of 46 years as Canberra's home of television and Australia's first colour television station.
On 1 December 2020, Southern Cross Austereo switched the affiliation of
Mix 94.5 in Perth from the
Triple M network to the Hit Network, with Hit92.9 relaunching as
92.9 Triple M.
On 18 February 2021, SCA launched LiSTNR, which would incorporate the rebranded PodcastOne Australia, as well as their existing digital audio content in live streaming radio. SCA continued its partnership with the American PodcastOne with both companies sharing their content.
On 12 March 2021, Nine announced that it would return to
WIN Television
WIN Television is an Australian television broadcasting, Australian television network owned and operated by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television stat ...
as its regional affiliate in most markets beginning on 1 July 2021, in a deal that would last at least seven years. This has ended SCA's five-year agreement with the
Nine Network
Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
. On 25 June 2021, SCA and Network 10 announced a two-year affiliation deal in regional Queensland, Southern NSW and regional Victoria, which introduced
10 Shake into regional areas for the very first time and it broadcasts on Channel 54, as well as
Sky News Regional which launched on 1 August 2021 and it broadcasts on Channel 56.
On SCA's 10 stations,
Aspire TV ceased to broadcast on 31 July 2021, to accommodate
Sky News Regional.
On 16 August 2022, SCA converted
7two,
7mate,
10 Bold, and
10 Peach, from the MPEG-2 format to the MPEG-4 format in the Tasmania market.
SCA extended the affiliation deal with 10 to 31 December 2023, on 27 June 2023.
SCA began broadcasting 10's datacast channel, Gecko, on 1 July 2023, on LCN 57, in Southern NSW, the ACT, Regional Victoria, Regional Queensland, Broken Hill, and Spencer Gulf, and on LCN 67 in Tasmania.
Proposed acquisition by ARN Media
In October 2023,
ARN Media
ARN Media Ltd., formerly Here, There & Everywhere and APN News & Media, is an Australian media company. Divisions include broadcast radio and Out-of-home advertising. The company previously had New Zealand Media and Entertainment, assets in New ...
alongside private equity firm
Anchorage Capital Partners made a non-binding indicative offer to acquire 100% of the fully diluted share capital of the company. This comes after ARN acquired a 14.8% stake in SCA in June. Under the proposed sale, the
KIIS Network would have remained with ARN, while the
Triple M network would have joined ARN. The
Hit and
Pure Gold networks, SCA's TV stations and LiSTNR would have been purchased by Anchorage. The deal collapsed after Anchorage withdrew.
Exit from television
On 17 December 2024, Southern Cross Austereo announced the sale of their regional television licenses in Regional Queensland, Southern NSW/ACT and Regional Victoria to
Network 10. As part of the sale, SCA will receive a share of profits from the stations for the first 5 years post-completion. The sale was completed on 1 March 2025.
On 27 February 2025, Southern Cross Austereo announced the sale of their remaining regional television licenses to
Australian Digital Holdings. By that May, the deal had fallen through and it was announced that
Seven West Media would instead acquire the remaining television stations from SCA for $3.75 Million.
The sale is expected to be finalised by the end of June 2025, and will mark SCA's exit from television broadcasting.
Brands
Television
*
Southern Cross Seven, sole affiliates of the
Seven Network
Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
. These stations primarily brand themselves as "Channel Seven", following the Seven Network's generic branding.
**SCA also owns the Spencer Gulf and Broken Hill stations affiliated with the
Nine and
10 networks, also following generic network branding.
Radio
The format of each station is defined by one of two common formats:
*
Hit Network – plays adult hit music from the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and today targeted at those aged between 25 and 54 years old using various brands in metropolitan and regional areas
*
Triple M Network – talkback and rock music format targeted at adults over 39, mainly on the AM and heritage FM stations
Agreements were reached between Southern Cross Austereo, DMG and
Prime Media Group to ensure that existing brand names owned by DMG Radio in regional markets could continue to be used by both Southern Cross Austereo and Prime.
Programming
Radio
Southern Cross Austereo produces its own networked programming across both brands, which include:
Some of its stations picked up the ''
Continuous Call Team'' when
Broadcast Operations Group could not resolve broadcast rights issues with
2GB and the
National Rugby League. The most notable was
Triple M Newcastle, who also picked up rights to cover games of the
Newcastle Knights.
Television news
SCA produces regional television news services for its stations affiliated with the
Seven Network
Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
and
Network 10. Full evening news programs air in
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
and previously
the Spencer Gulf and Broken Hill region with short updates airing in
remote Central and Eastern Australia,
Darwin,
Southern NSW & ACT,
Victoria,
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 ...
and
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
.
On 3 December 2018, the
Tasmanian station's news bulletin changed its title to ''Nightly News'', followed on 14 January 2019 by
GTS/BKN's bulletin. Around the same time, studio production for the Spencer Gulf edition of ''Nightly News'' was relocated from Southern Cross' Canberra headquarters to TNT's
Hobart
Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
studio.
In 2019, Southern Cross Austereo shifted the Spencer Gulf and Broken Hill bulletin to
7two at 7:00 pm rather than airing on the main channel.
In May 2021, SCA reached a content agreement with
Sky News Australia, under which it would distribute the new free-to-air
Sky News Regional beginning 1 August 2021. The service is a ''de facto'' replacement for the Sky News on WIN service that it previously distributed.
Following the switch back to Network 10 affiliation on 1 July 2021, Southern Cross returned to producing local news updates on their 10 stations after a five-year absence. The updates carry the ''
10 News First
10 News First (set to rebrand as 10 News on 30 June 2025) is an Australia, Australian television newscast, produced by Network 10. The network's flagship news program airs at 5PM on weekday evenings covering local, national and world news, inc ...
'' branding and are produced out of the networks
Launceston (QLD updates) and
Hobart
Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
(Southern NSW and VIC updates) studios. The Southern NSW and Canberra updates are presented by Ruby Cairns, the Regional Queensland updates are presented by Daniel Pizarro, and the Regional Victoria updates are presented by Kasey Wilkins. The updates, which typically don't include any corresponding
news footage or
soundbites, are researched, produced and presented by a single journalist. Fill-in presenters include Will Boddy, Rebecca Gaitaneris, Philippa Christian and Madeline Kerr.
On 13 April 2023, Southern Cross Austereo cancelled the
GTS/BKN bulletin, effective immediately. It is believed that some staff were not informed that the program would be aired for the last time that night until after it went to air. It ends over 50 years of news operations for the Spencer Gulf and Broken Hill regions, and leaves viewers with no local television news service.
Longtime Tasmania updates presenter Alex Sykes left Southern Cross Austereo on 2 May 2023. Madeline Kerr currently presents the updates for Tasmania.
Assets
Radio
Queensland
New South Wales
1. Translators for 2BDR on 90.1 MHz in Omeo and 96.5 MHz in Corryong. There is also a translator for 2AAY in Corryong on 95.7 MHz.
2. Translators on 100.7 MHz (2PQQ) and 102.3 MHz (2ROX) in Port Macquarie.
Australian Capital Territory
Victoria
1. Re-transmitter at 97.9 MHz FM in 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 ...
.
Tasmania
South Australia
Western Australia
1. 6TZ also re-transmitted via 1134 kHz AM in Collie ( 6CI, now listed by the Australian Communications & Media Authority under 6TZ), and 756 kHz AM in Busselton
Busselton is a city in the South West (Western Australia), South West region of the States and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia approximately south-west of Perth. Busselton has a long history as a popular holiday destin ...
and the Margaret River region.
Television
New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory
*
BDN –
Nine Broken Hill
Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...
¹
*
BKN
Bohbot Entertainment was an American advertising and marketing company specializing in the children's market founded in 1985, and had traded under various different names over the years. The company produced and distributed programming under thei ...
–
Seven Broken Hill
Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...
¹
*
SCN –
10 Broken Hill
Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...
¹
Northern Territory and Remote Areas of Eastern Australia
*
Central Digital Television (CDT) –
10 Central (jointly owned with
Imparja Television Pty Ltd)²
*
DTD –
10 Darwin (jointly owner with the
Nine Network
Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
)²
*
QQQ –
Seven Central
*
TND –
Seven Darwin
Queensland
*
IDQ –
10 Mount Isa (jointly owned with
Imparja Television Pty Ltd)²
*
ITQ –
Seven Mount Isa
South Australia
*
GDS –
Nine Spencer Gulf¹
*
GTS –
Seven Spencer Gulf¹
*
SGS –
10 Spencer Gulf¹
Tasmania
*
TDT –
10 Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
(jointly owned with
WIN Television
WIN Television is an Australian television broadcasting, Australian television network owned and operated by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television stat ...
)²
*
TNT –
Seven Tasmania
1. Southern Cross has a monopoly on commercial television in this market. The services other than GTS and BKN are retransmissions from Adelaide with local advertising.
2. This station was launched as a digital-only service, co-owned by the two existing commercial broadcasters in the market.
Digital radio
Southern Cross Austereo broadcasts a number of digital only radio stations, including:
* Santa Radio (seasonal), first launched for Christmas 2020, billed as a partnership between SCA and North Pole communications playing festive songs picked by Santa and his elves
* Buddha Hits, "pop, electronica and acoustic vibes with a café music feel"
* Oldskool 80s Hits, up-tempo, sing-along format of mainstream 1980 hits
*RnB Fridays, hip-hop and
RnB
*Dance Hits, dance tunes
*Oldskool 90s Hits, pop nostalgia, focused around the 1990s
*Kids Hits, kids' music and overnight lullabies
*SoundCloud Radio, up and coming and independent artists, in partnership with
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...
* Triple M 90s, 1990s rock music
* Triple M Classic Rock, late 1960s and 1970s
* Triple M Hard 'N' Heavy, metal and hard rock
* Triple M Country, country music from the 1990s to now
* Triple M Soft Rock, soft rock
In 2021 Southern Cross Austereo announced it has invested in content discovery company Sonnant, to add metadata to their digital content
Internet radio
Southern Cross Austereo broadcasts a number of internet radio stations on the LiSTNR platform. The launch of LiSTNR in February 2021 consisted of 15 music stations initially, with plans to add more stations and shows in the future.
Podcasts
SCA's LiSTNR app hosts selected PodcastOne
podcast
A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
s from the US as well as many locally-produced podcasts, including content from
Hamish Blake,
Dylan Alcott,
Christopher Pyne,
Rosie Waterland, and others.
[
''The Briefing'' is a news podcast featuring presenters and journalists such as Sacha Barbour Gatt, Chris Spyrou, Natarsha Belling, Helen Smith and Antoinette Lattouf.
]
Advertising sales
As well as advertising sales for all their own assets, SCA were also in charge of advertising for the Nine owned and operated station NBN from 1 July 2018, until the advertising sales were sold to WIN on 1 July 2021 and then Nine Entertainment on 1 July 2022.
Former owned and operated stations
Due to conditions placed upon the takeover of DMG Radio's regional stations in 2005, Macquarie Southern Cross Media had to sell these stations to other parties:
* To Prime Media Group (with most stations being rebranded as "Zinc"):
** 4CA, Cairns
Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people.
The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...
** Sea FM and Mix-FM, Townsville
The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...
** 4MK, Mackay
** 4RO, Rockhampton
Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite.
The Scottish- ...
** 4CC, Rockhampton/ Gladstone
* To Ace Radio:
** 2AY, Albury-Wodonga
Further, due to conditions triggered by the purchase of the assets of Southern Cross Broadcasting, Macquarie Media Group was required to sell further stations to meet further diversity requirements at the time; the transactions to satisfy this being completed on 14 March 2008:
* To Grant Broadcasters:
** Launceston, Tasmania
Launceston () is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk River, North Esk and South Esk River, South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River, Tasmania, Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, the Launc ...
: 7LA (1098 kHz AM)
** Burnie
Burnie ( ; Aboriginal Tasmanians#North, pirinilaplu/palawa kani: ''Pataway'') is a port city located on the North West Tasmania, north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is the fourth largest city on the island, located approximately north ...
, Tasmania: 7BU "Heart 558" (558 kHz AM), 7SEA "Sea FM" (101.7 MHz FM)
** Scottsdale, Tasmania: 7SD "Heart 540" (540 kHz AM), 7RGS "Sea FM" (99.7 MHz FM)
** Devonport, Tasmania
Devonport ( ; Aboriginal Tasmanians#North, pirinilaplu/palawa kani: ''Limilinaturi'') is a port city situated at the mouth of the Mersey River (Australia), Mersey River on the North West Tasmania, north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. Positi ...
: 7AD "Heart 900" (900 kHz AM), 7DDD "Sea FM" (107.7 MHz FM)
** Queenstown, Tasmania
Queenstown is a historic mining town in the West Coast, Tasmania, West Coast region of the island of Tasmania, Australia. It is in a valley on the western slopes of Mount Owen (Tasmania), Mount Owen on the West Coast Range.
At the , Queenstown h ...
: 7XS "West Coast 7XS" (837 kHz AM), 7AUS "Aus FM" (92.1 MHz FM)
* To Resonate Broadcasting:
** Warragul, Victoria: 3GG (531 kHz AM)
** Charters Towers, Queensland: 4GC (828 kHz AM), 4CHT "Hot FM" (95.9 MHz FM)
* To Smart Radio/Pinecam Pty Ltd (owners of the 4VL licence in Charleville, Queensland):
** Emerald, Queensland: 4HI (1143 kHz AM)
** Kingaroy, 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 ...
: 4SB "Heart 1071" (1071 kHz AM)
** Mount Isa, 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 ...
: 4LM (666 kHz AM)
** Roma, Queensland: 4ZR (1476 kHz AM)
* To Broadcast Operations Group:
** Young, New South Wales
Young is a town in the South Western Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia, and the largest town in the Hilltops Region. The "Lambing Flat" Post Office opened on 1 March 1861 and was renamed "Young" in 1863.
Young is marketed as the Che ...
: 2LF (1350 kHz AM), 2LFF "Star FM" (93.9 MHz FM)
* To Coastal Broadcasters Pty Ltd (owners of the 4KZ licence in Innisfail, Queensland
Innisfail (from Irish language, Irish: Inis Fáil) is a regional town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was originally called Geraldton until 1910. In the , the town o ...
):
** Atherton, Queensland
Atherton is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Atherton had a population of 7,724 people.
Geography
Atherton is on the Atherton Tableland in ...
: 4AM (558 kHz AM)
Southern Cross Austereo was made to sell 91.9 Sea FM and 92.7 Mix FM on the Sunshine Coast, due to the larger than allowed overlap between the stations' licence area and that of Brisbane. In 2013, the two stations were sold to Eon Broadcasting.
Controversies
Ownership and control
On 16 February 2006, the Australian Communications & Media Authority commenced an investigation into the ownership of radio stations by Elmie Investments, owned by Stuart Simpson. The investigation revealed that Macquarie Regional RadioWorks had funded $9 million of Simpson's $10 million acquisition of five radio stations from AMI Radio. The radio stations in question – EasyMix Ten-71 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 ...
and EasyMix 1467 Mildura in Victoria, 4EL Cairns
Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people.
The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...
and 4AA Mackay in Queensland and, in Western Australia, Easy Mix 621 Bunbury – were located in markets where RadioWorks already controlled two commercial radio licences, and in November 2007 the company was found to be in breach of sections 54 and 56 of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992. The stations had been divested from Elmie Investments before the conclusion of the investigation.
''Kyle & Jackie O'' child rape victim incident
In 2009, 2Day FM were ordered to provide increased protection for children after a 14-year-old girl was attached to a lie detector on the Kyle and Jackie O Show and pressured into discussing her sex life live on air. The radio show host, Kyle Sandilands, encouraged both the girl and her mother to discuss whether she was sexually active, to which the girl responded: "I've already told you the story of this and don't look at me and smile because it's not funny. Oh, okay. I got raped when I was 12 years old." To which Kyle replied: "Right. And is that, is that the only experience you've had?"
''Summer 30'' royal hoax call incident
As part of a hoax call to the King Edward VII's Hospital Sister Agnes treating the wife of Prince William for acute morning sickness in the critical first trimester of pregnancy, 2Day DJs – Mike Christian and Mel Greig – purported to be the Queen and the Prince of Wales. An experienced 46-year-old nurse, Jacintha Saldanha, took the call. During the call, she and colleagues were conned into revealing sensitive details regarding the patient's condition.
The nurse was found dead the following morning in a suspected suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death.
Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...
at the hospital where she worked.
There is some disagreement over the legality of the incident, with the hospital expressing concern that the incident may have broken the law and Rhys Holleran, the chief executive of 2Day FM's parent company Southern Cross Austereo, stating he was confident that was not the case.
At a Federal Court hearing, it became known that Australian media watchdog Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) had prepared a confidential, preliminary report saying that the Radio Royal hoax 'broke law'. 2Day FM acted illegally by airing the phone call without consent.
See also
*RadioWorks
MediaWorks New Zealand is a New Zealand-based company specialising in radio, outdoor advertising and interactive media, interactive mass media, media. It is owned by Australian out-of-home advertising company QMS. It operates eight national rad ...
* American RadioWorks
References
External links
Southern Cross Austereo
{{Free-to-air television channels in Australia
Australian radio networks
Southern Cross Media Group
Companies based in Melbourne
Mass media companies established in 2011
Australian companies established in 2011
Companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange