Smooth 91.5 (call sign: 3PTV) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

based in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

. The station 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 ...

along with her sister station, Nova 100, and currently plays

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

songs from the late-1950s/early-1960s to the present with a 55+ year span.

History

The station first named Vega began with a music and talk format, however it switched to a music format in 2006. In 2010, its format became 'Classic Rock' playing primarily rock artists from the '70s and '80s and targeted listeners 35–54, which would make its then competitors Gold 104.3 and

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 45 radio stations with flagship stations broadcasting a mainstream/classic rock music format in Sydney, Melbourne, and B ...

. After a somewhat shaky start the station seemed to be growing slowly but consistently and then at the time had around 400,000 listeners (AC Nielsen Official Survey 6 in 2009). At the end of 2009, Vega moved to a model with no announcers outside of the Dicko and Dave morning show, with the result being a very high focus on music quantity post 9am. Alice Cooper started as the nights host on the station on 12 March 2010. On 12 March 2010 the Vega brand was dropped and the station was relaunched with new a format as 'Classic Rock 91.5' to counteract the 'classic hits' station Gold 104.3 and the contemporary active rock station

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 ...

announced the change as Vega's brand as the station has struggled towards the bottom of the ratings ladder in both Melbourne and Sydney. In building these new stations, DMG needed a "simple, focused music concept that would appeal to the 35–54 audience." according to CEO Cathy O'Connor. On 21 May 2012, the station was again rebranded with a new format and name, 'smoothfm 91.5'. In May 2012, it was announced that

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Regarded as a pop icon, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American ...

would be the face of

smoothfm smoothfm is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Nova Entertainment. From original launch in 2012, The format was focused on providing 'more music and less talk' along with an eclectic easy-listening playlist, usually f ...

. He was later dropped and replaced with

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. In 2012, they rose to prominence when they featured on Disclosure (band), Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch (song), Latch", which peaked at number eleven on ...

. In March 2017, smoothfm 91.5 was crowned the number 1 FM station for the first time with a 9.4 share. , it has an audience share of 10.3%. In January 2023, smoothfm 91.5 re-located from studios at 678 Victoria Street, Richmond (with sister station Nova 100) to 257 Clarendon Street,

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the 2021 ...

Southern Cross Austereo 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 Au ...

previously occupied the studios.

References

External links

* Nova Entertainment Easy listening radio stations in Australia Radio stations in Melbourne Radio stations established in 2005 2005 establishments in Australia {{Australia-radio-station-stub

History

See also

References

External links