Hot FM was a radio network broadcasting to

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_ ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

. Owned and operated by

Southern Cross Austereo Southern Cross Media Group Limited, doing business as Southern Cross Austereo, is an Australian media company which operates broadcast radio and television stations. It is the largest radio broadcaster in Australia, operating 86 radio statio ...

, the stations broadcast a mix of local and networked programming. On 15 December 2016, the stations were merged into the

Hit Network The Hit Network is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 41 radio stations broadcasting a hot adult contemporary music format, as well as 6 digital radio stations. Hist ...

History

The first Hot FM branded station was launched in

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 30 ...

Rural Press Australian Community Media (ACM) is a media company in Australia responsible for over 160 regional publications. Its mastheads include the ''Canberra Times'', ''Newcastle Herald'', '' The Examiner'', ''The Border Mail'', '' The Courier'' and th ...

in 1994. This was followed by successive launches in

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airport ...

and Cairns, before a sale to

DMG Regional Radio DMG may refer to: Organizations Entertainment * Dames Making Games, a Canadian non-profit organization that encourages the participation of women, non-binary, femme and queer people in the creation of video games * Davidson Media Group, an Americ ...

saw the brand expand throughout Queensland and into Western Australia. In 2004, Hot FM and its heritage sister stations - including the

RadioWest RadioWest was a group of 11 AM stations across the Southern half of Western Australia playing 'Real Music Variety', and targeting the 35+ audience. On 15 December 2016, the network renamed itself to Triple M as part of a nationwide move by parent ...

network in Western Australia - were sold to

Macquarie Regional RadioWorks Southern Cross Media Group Limited, doing business as Southern Cross Austereo, is an Australian media company which operates broadcast radio and television stations. It is the largest radio broadcaster in Australia, operating 86 radio statio ...

. In 2005, following DMG's purchase of an FM radio licence in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Hot 91.1 Sunshine Coast was sold to A Investments, and later to

Prime Media Group Prime Media Group Limited (formerly Prime Television Limited) was an Australian-based media corporation that formerly owned regional television network Prime7 in eastern Australia and GWN7 in regional Western Australia. It also owned ishop ...

. Under DMG's ownership, network stations broadcast a variety of local and networked programming, from network hubs based in Townsville, Bunbury,

Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

and the Gold Coast. Following the merger of Southern Cross Media with

Austereo Austereo was an Australian mass media company based in Melbourne. It was founded in 1980 by Paul Thompson, and operated 16 radio stations in metropolitan and regional Australia under the Today Network and Triple M brands. In 2011, the company' ...

in February 2011, the Hot FM network - along with regional counterparts

Sea FM Sea FM was an Australian radio network, consisting of stations in Queensland and NSW owned by Southern Cross Austereo. Some Sea FM stations were later sold to meet media ownership requirements. Prime Television Limited purchased Sea FM Townsvil ...

and Star FM - became more closely aligned with the

Today Network The Hit Network is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 41 radio stations broadcasting a hot adult contemporary music format, as well as 6 digital radio stations. Hist ...

, including networking programming from

2DayFM 2Day FM (call sign 2DAY) is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on a frequency of 104.1 MHz, and is part of Southern Cross Austereo's Hit Network. History 1980s 2Day FM was one of three radio ...

Sydney and Fox FM Melbourne. On 15 December 2016, as part of a national brand consolidation by parent company

, the stations were merged into the

List of stations

As of 14 December 2016, the Hot FM network comprised 8 stations: * Hot FM Cairns * Hot FM Central Queensland * Hot FM Charters Towers (Owned & operated by

Resonate Broadcasting Resonate Broadcasting is an Australian media company, operating radio stations across various centres across regional Queensland, as well as Hawaii. Formed in 2008, it currently operates 16 radio stations across Australia and the United States. ...

) * Hot FM Mackay * Hot FM Mount Isa * Hot FM Queensland *

Hot FM Townsville hit103.1 Townsville (ACMA callsign: 4TSV) is an Australian commercial radio station in Queensland. Owned and operated as part of Southern Cross Austereo's Hit Network, it broadcasts a contemporary hit radio format to Townsville, Queensland. Fir ...

* Hot FM Western Australia

References

{{Southern Cross Austereo Defunct Australian radio networks Southern Cross Media Group Radio stations established in 1994 Radio stations disestablished in 2016