Bendigo's Fresh FM 101.5, also known as ''Bendigo's Best Sport'', (call sign: 3BBS) is a
community radio
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular ...
station broadcast in
Bendigo
Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital.
As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. It began in 1983 as 3CCC based in
Harcourt using the frequency 103.9 FM.
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, the Fresh FM had is license cancelled in 2006 by
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 Austr ...
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 Fresh and fellow community station
Phoenix FM
Phoenix FM is a community radio station serving the areas of Brentwood and Billericay, England 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 FM since ...
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, 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 and a total of ove ...
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.
The g ...
.
Format
Fresh FM is known for its local sports broadcasts, including
Central Victorian netball, basketball, and football, and has broadcast live
AFL
AFL may refer to:
Sports
* American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues:
** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...
games via the
NIRS. Listeners are urged to text "SMS requests" into the station with song requests during the work day, 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 broadcast in Australia.
The first digit of the callsign represents the state or territory: 1 – ACT, 2 – NSW and ACT, 3 – VIC, 4 – QLD, 5 – SA, 6 – WA, 7 – TAS, 8 – NT.
Australian Capit ...
References
Radio stations in Bendigo
Bendigo
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