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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 brandin ...
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 government a ...
, 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 Mountains ...
,
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metrop ...
,
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the Sou ...
and
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, as well as regional
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
,


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 Fairfax Media was a 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 Sydney Morning Herald' ...
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 Mountains ...
's premier commercial radio stations, was founded by Theosophical Broadcasting Station Pty Ltd. in 1926, a division of
Theosophical Society Adyar The Theosophy Society was founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875. The designation 'Adyar' is sometimes added to the name to make it clear that this is the Theosophical Society headquartered there, after the American section ...
. 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 contagion ...
, 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 th ...
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 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 hit106.9 (call sign: 2XXX) is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, on a frequency of 106.9 MHz, and is part of Southern Cross Austereo's Hit Network. Triple M is a sister station sharing the s ...
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 The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
, 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 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 th ...
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 hit106.9 (call sign: 2XXX) is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, on a frequency of 106.9 MHz, and is part of Southern Cross Austereo's Hit Network. Triple M is a sister station sharing the s ...
Hunter River; 3AW Melbourne; 3HA 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 Brisbane; 5DN Adelaide; 5RM Renmark;
6PR 6PR, known as 882 6PR, is a commercial radio station based in Perth, Western Australia. Owned by Nine Entertainment, its focus is on news, talk and sport, and is Perth's only commercial talkback radio station. It commenced broadcasting on 14 ...
Perth; 6KG Kalgoorlie. Head office was at Savoy House, 29 Bligh Street, Sydney, 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 loca ...
. 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,
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. The company became a major shareholder in Australian and New Zealand Theatres, Ltd., which had taken over the entertainment business J. C. Williamson, Ltd., 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 co ...
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 Brisbane; 4BU 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 ...
Gympie; 5DN Adelaide; 6IX Perth; 6BY Bunbury; 6MD Merredin; 6WB Katanning; 7HO 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 Southern Cross Media Group Limited, Trade name, doing business as Southern Cross Austereo, is an Australian media company which operates broadcast radio and Terrestrial television, television stations. It is the largest radio broadcaster in A ...
, 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 as
MTR 1377 Melbourne Talk Radio (callsign 3MP) was a radio station in Melbourne that commenced broadcasting on 19 April 2010 until its closure on 2 March 2012. It replaced, and was later succeeded by, 3MP, which used the 1377 kHz frequency. The stat ...
. 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, Triple C FM, 4HI, 4ZR, 4LM, 4SB and
Hot Country Hot Country is a 24-hour music format produced by Westwood One. Its playlist is composed of country music released from the late 1990s to the present. Core artists include Luke Bryan, Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum), Blake Shelton, Zac ...
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 Fairfax Media was a 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 Sydney Morning Herald' ...
. 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 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 th ...
's afternoon announcer Angela Catterns 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 Magic 1278 (official List of radio station callsigns in Victoria, callsign: 3EE) is a commercial radio station in Melbourne, Australia owned by Nine Entertainment Co, and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. History 1935–1991: 3XY ...
'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. On 6 November it was announced that all of Magic 882's programming – with the exception of nights – would be networked from
Magic 1278 Magic 1278 (official List of radio station callsigns in Victoria, callsign: 3EE) is a commercial radio station in Melbourne, Australia owned by Nine Entertainment Co, and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. History 1935–1991: 3XY ...
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 John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...
'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 Macquarie Sports Radio was a short-lived Australian commercial radio network broadcasting to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. Owned and operated by Macquarie Media, the network launched on 4 April 2018, replacing Talking Lifestyle. Follo ...
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 th ...
, 4BH and
Magic 1278 Magic 1278 (official List of radio station callsigns in Victoria, callsign: 3EE) is a commercial radio station in Melbourne, Australia owned by Nine Entertainment Co, and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. History 1935–1991: 3XY ...
—with a
classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980 ...
music format. In April, Steve Jacobs 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 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 ...
.


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