FIVEaa (pronounced ''Five Double A'') is

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

's only commercial talkback

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

station. The station has a range of programs including news, sports, current affairs, social issues, football calls, gardening, lifestyle, cars, travel and health. It is owned by

Nova Entertainment NOVA Entertainment is an Australian entertainment company that operates commercial radio networks (and associated digital brands) in metropolitan and regional areas of Australia. NOVA Entertainment is owned by Lachlan Murdoch's Illyria Pty Lt ...

History

5AA commenced service in Kent Town on 14 March 1976 on the frequency 1390 AM. It was moved to 1386 AM with the introduction of 9 kHz spacing on the AM dial in 1978. The station now broadcasts on 1395 AM. 5AA commenced its life with a "Beautiful Music" format and quickly became Adelaide's number-1-rated radio station. In 1976, the only FM competition was

ABC Classic FM ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. I ...

. AM stations were ABC Radio,

5DN Cruise 1323 (call sign: 5DN) is one of Adelaide's longest running radio stations. In its 80+ years it has changed considerably. It was the first commercial station to begin broadcasting in South Australia. History Radio 5DN began operating ...

and music stations 5KA and

5AD __NOTOC__ AD 5 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lucius Valerius Messalla Volesus , Messalla and Gnaeus Cornelius Cinna Magnus, Cinna (or, less freq ...

. In the 1980s, 5AA was sold to the State Government-owned TAB betting agency, ditching music to begin broadcasting horse and dog racing, with talkback in between race calls. The station shifted to the TAB headquarters in Pulteney Court, Adelaide, with "Talk of the Town" as its slogan. However, it plummeted in popularity as a result of its schizophrenic broadcasting policy. With the advent of narrowcast licences, the TAB purchased frequency 1539AM and shifted all racing there, freeing up 5AA for talk and interviews. A new slogan was adopted in the early 1990s; "5AA, Where you don't miss a thing" and the station began a slow rise in the ratings to challenge ABC Radio and 5DN. On 27 September 1996, 5AA was separated from the TAB and sold by the

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

as part of its asset sales program to repay state debt, 5 years after the $3 billion collapse of the

State Bank A state bank is generally a financial institution that is chartered by a federated state, as opposed to one regulated at the federal or national level. State banks differ from a reserve bank in that it does not necessarily control monetary polic ...

. The new owner was dmg Radio Australia, with CEO Paul Thompson, which had national headquarters in Adelaide. In 2000, another new logo was adopted with the slogan "Interactive Radio FIVEaa". In October 2004, the station shifted to new premises in Hindmarsh Square alongside Nova 919, also owned by

DMG Radio Australia NOVA Entertainment is an Australian entertainment company that operates commercial radio networks (and associated digital brands) in metropolitan and regional areas of Australia. NOVA Entertainment is owned by Lachlan Murdoch's Illyria Pty Lt ...

, which had launched two months earlier. In November 2009 dmg (now

NOVA Entertainment NOVA Entertainment is an Australian entertainment company that operates commercial radio networks (and associated digital brands) in metropolitan and regional areas of Australia. NOVA Entertainment is owned by Lachlan Murdoch's Illyria Pty Lt ...

) sold 50% of the station to

Lachlan Murdoch Lachlan Keith Murdoch (; born 8 September 1971) is a British-Australian businessman and mass media heir. He is the executive chairman of Nova Entertainment, co-chairman of News Corp, executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation, and the f ...

's company Illyria, and Paul Thompson became non-executive chairman for six months. When Nova itself was acquired by Illyria in September 2012, it became the sole owner of the station.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:FIVEaa Nova Entertainment Daily Mail and General Trust Radio stations in Adelaide News and talk radio stations in Australia Radio stations established in 1976 1976 establishments in Australia