You’d think having a successful digital radio station on your hands would be reason to celebrate for Triple M, who it should be noted are in the radio business. But Triple M have announced the closure of their popular Classic Rock Digital station.
As Radio Today reports, despite solid ratings for the digital station (digital stations overall command lower ratings than their terrestrial counterparts), Southern Cross Austereo has announced it will shutter the station this week.
The station specialised in classic rock and for many provided a fresh alternative to Triple M, whose format is dominated by sports talk and contemporary rock hits. Apparently, Triple M want to inject more classic rock into their current programming.
“Our big brother Triple M-FM is now playing much more classic rock than it was when Classic Rock Digital was created,” SCA said. “Now, Triple M is playing the best classics, and is about to launch the ‘Classic Rock Summer’. We ask that you check it out.”
“We thank you for listening, and while Classic Rock Digital has been a great station that we have loved creating and listening to, we ask you to once again to turn to Triple M.” If that sounds just a little desperate, that’s because it is.
Speaking to Mediaweek, via Radio Today, SCA Chief Creative Officer Guy Dobson revealed the reason Classic Rock Digital must die is because it’s poaching listeners from Triple M, who are turned off by the aforementioned talk-heavy, sports-oriented format.
“We found that Classic Rock Digital was eating into the [cumulative audience] audience for Triple M,” Dobson said. “We will be adding more of that classic rock content to the Triple M music format. Listeners will start to hear more of that gold content across the day.”
However, as Radio Info report, the news has not been met with a positive reception from listeners. “Dumbest decision ever,” wrote Brian Chew. “I refuse to listen to Triple M on FM because it’s endless talk and sport and the same songs flogged over and over.”
Indeed, it seems many fans will not heed Triple M’s call and make the switch over to the terrestrial network, bemoaning the prevalence of ads and quality of the on-air talent, and expressing a degree of skepticism as to just how much classic rock they’ll hear.
As Tone Deaf recently reported, in addition to the digital shakeup, SCA is in the midst of an overhaul of how its regional stations are governed. Triple M is set to expand next year as 30 stations currently under the LocalWorks radio network will be rebranded as Triple M stations.
On the surface it seems as though Austereo is simply taking its scattered brands and placing them under the one banner, but the move will in fact make Triple M the first nationally branded commercial broadcaster in capital cities and regional areas.
Typically, major networks — your KIIS FMs and Novas — only brand within major markets, so you’ll hear Nova in Melbourne but if you venture out towards regional Victoria, your premier local station is something completely different.
