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 A 1940sbillboard advertisingFor the Term of his Natural Life in Melbourne | |
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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Melbourne RA1 |
| Frequency | |
| Programming | |
| Languages | English |
| Format | Talk radio |
| Network | Nine Radio |
| Affiliations | Nine News |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| 3EE, broadcasting asMagic 1278 | |
| History | |
First air date | 22 September 1932; 92 years ago (1932-09-22) |
Former frequencies |
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Call sign meaning | Allans &TheAge; andJ.C.Williamson |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | ACMA |
| Power | 5,000watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°47′59″S144°36′53″E / 37.7997°S 144.6147°E /-37.7997; 144.6147 |
| Links | |
Public licence information | Profile |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www |
3AW is atalkbackradio station based inMelbourne, Australia, owned byNine Entertainment. It broadcasts on 693 kHzAM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station.[1]
3AW was established when a company formed byAllans Music,JC Williamson's andDavid Syme (then publishers ofThe Age newspaper) was granted a radio broadcasting licence,[2] with the first broadcast on 22 February 1932.[3][4] TheA in 3AW comes from the names of "Allans" and "The Age"; and theW is from "J. C. Williamson".[5]
It is the only one of Melbourne's original eight stations that has retained its original name.[6] (In comparison, Sydney, the only other Australian city with eight original stations had, until 2022, five of them still using their original names, but there are now only three such stations, namely2GB,2SM,2UE.)
3AW has consistently appeared high in ratings surveys.[7][8]
In 1931/1932, 3AW was one of two organisations that applied for a licence for a new Melbourne radio station; the other contender being theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne. At the time, thePostmaster-General's Department was responsible for the issuing of all radio station licences, and it came out in favour of the 3AW application on the grounds that it had recently issued a licence to2SM Sydney, on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church. However, a condition was placed on the 3AW licence to the effect that they had to provide one hour of free broadcasting to the Roman Catholic Church, at a time decided upon by the Church; henceThe Catholic Hour was broadcast every Sunday night at was then a peak listening time, namely 9.00pm.[9]
The fact thatThe Catholic Hour was originally broadcast in peak listening time is emphasised by the fact the program was preceded by two of Australia's most listened-to programs, namelyQuiz Kids and Caltex Radio Theatre[10]
In latter years, the nostalgia programRemember When[11] was broadcast both prior to, and afterThe Catholic Hour. Therefore, in the 1990s (confirmation needed) 3AW management, ignorant of its history, decided to scrapThe Catholic Hour and letRemember When continue right through the evening. Not surprisingly, the Church objected and theAustralian Communications and Media Authority was called in to adjudicate. Their compromise decision was that the program should continue, but that the time should be decided upon by 3AW rather than by the Church. Not surprisingly 3AW moved the program to an hour that had the least listeners of every time in the week; namely midnight to 1.00am on Sunday mornings. This meant that there were hardly any listeners to the program and, within just a few months, the Church scrappedThe Catholic Hour altogether!
In 1938 the Macquarie Broadcasting Service was formed, with stations right across Australia, including 3AW in Melbourne. In 2015 the Macquarie Media Group was acquired byFairfax Media and the name was changed toNine Radio under which it currently operates.
3AW's first studio was situated inHis Majesty's Theatre from whence it broadcast from 1932 to 1935.[4]
The 3AW studios are now located at Media House, 655Collins Street, Melbourne where it shares facilities withMagic 1278, theAustralian Financial Review andThe Age newspapers.[12] After moving from their original studios at His Majesty's Theatre, the station was re-sited at 382 Latrobe Street, where it remained for most of the next 55 years.[4] However, during renovations at 382 Latrobe Street, 3AW moved into the former premises of theABC in Melbourne Place, a laneway off Russell Street, near Little Collins Street, which is now the premises of the Kelvin Club.[13] Then, from 1991 until March 2010, the station broadcast from studios located at Bank Street,South Melbourne.[14]
3AW's original broadcastfrequency was 1425 kHz and changed to 1280 kHz on 1 September 1935 as part of a national reshuffle of the radio broadcasting spectrum.[15] On 23 November 1978 the station changed to 1278 kHz with theintroduction of 9 kHz spacing on the AM band. Due to poor reception problems, at 7:15 am on 1 May 2006, 3AW swapped with its sister stationMagic to its present frequency of 693 kHz.[16] The station's broadcast signal originates from a transmitter inWerribee.
In the 1950s, 3AW purchased3CV inMaryborough in Central Victoria, which the "CV" nomenclature represents. For many years, 3AW programming was broadcast on 3CV after about 6.00pm.[17]
A number of people spent many years at 3AW in the past. Most of these are on the "3AW presenters" list (see "External Links" below). They include:
During the 1950s, 60s & 70s, most Melbourne commercial radio stations conducted annual appeals for a specific charity. In 3AW's case, everyMother's Day, an appeal was conducted for theRoyal Women's Hospital, with donations acknowledged on air. In latter years, former announcerRay Chapman had control of the appeal as a full-time paid position with 3AW.
The annualGood Friday appeal for theRoyal Children's Hospital Melbourne commenced in 1931, and was aminor event with small sums raised each year. However, when3DB became involved in 1942, and began acknowledging donations on air, the amounts raised increased in one year by about 800%. 3DB and its successors 3TT and101.1 TT-FM continued to support the appeal for a few years. However, 3AW has been the radio outlet for the appeal for a number of years now. 3AW works closely on the appeal with the main media outletHSV 7.
In April 2007, 3AW introduced cameras into their main studio so that fans, via the 3AW website, can watch the program being broadcast, as well as listen.[32] The cameras do not operate during news services, commercial breaks, or outside broadcasts.
In August 2009, 3AW "went digital", offering a superior quality sound and other features, for those with digital receivers. Stations utilising the digital signal can also offer multi-channels and interactive features.[33] The digital format used in Australia isDAB+, reportedly a superior technology to other digital formats.[34] the digital signal is not rebroadcast in road tunnels like the AM signal and does not have the distance range of AM.
In October 2011 (iPhone) and mid-2012 (Android), 3AW introduced an application (App) forsmartphones ortablets. The application allows users to listen to the current program, read or listen to current news articles, get weather updates, contact the station via phone, email,Twitter orFacebook and also has an alarm clock feature.[35][36]
3AW Football is the brand under which 3AW broadcastsAustralian rules football and the station broadcasts football on all AFL match days.
3AW Football dates back to 1953, and legendary commentators such asNorman Banks andHarry Beitzel have spent time calling games at 3AW.Rex Hunt called football at 3AW for 21 years before moving to rivalTriple M in 2010.[37]
Matthew Lloyd and DrPeter Larkins joined 3AW Football in 2012. The team for 2013 also had a number of changes,[38]Stephen Quartermain[39] called on weekends, alongside either Tim Lane or Tony Leonard and the expert commentators.Cameron Ling[39] has an expert commentary role interchangeably on Friday nights, Saturday afternoons and Sunday afternoons.
2014 saw the departure ofStephen Quartermain, and the recruitment ofNathan Brown as a ball-by-ball commentator for Saturday night and Sunday twilight matches.[40]
| Commentators | Experts | Boundary | Journalists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Hudson | Leigh Matthews | Jacqui Reed | Caroline Wilson |
| Bruce Eva | Matthew Lloyd | Abbie McKay | Rohan Connolly |
| Matt Granland | Jimmy Bartel | Sarah Burt | Sam McClure |
| Tim Lane | Matthew Richardson | Libby Birch | |
| Tony Leonard | Tony Shaw | Eddie Summerfield | |
| Shane McInnes | Brad Hardie | Kate Reynolds (NSW) | |
| Libby Birch | Lucy Lokan (SA) | ||
| Eddie Summerfield | Paddy Sweeney (WA) | ||
| Jack Silvagni |
(not a complete list)
On 1 November 2013, 3AW's parent company, Fairfax Radio Network (FRN), announced that it had signed a five-year non-exclusive contract commencing with the 2013/2014 Australian cricket season, to broadcast the Boxing Day and Sydney Test matches, all One Day Internationals, the Big Bash League (BBL) and International T20 matches on network stations including 3AW. Subsequently, in December 2013, FRN decided on an earlier start to their coverage by including the Perth test match which commenced on 13 December 2013.[43] Fairfax stated that "Fairfax Radio Network will bring to its coverage more than 60 years' experience of broadcasting sport, assembling a star-studded commentary line up".[44] The coverage will provide a ball-by-ball commentary of all broadcast matches.[45]
The commentary team is anchored by Tim Lane and Bruce Eva, together with a panel consisting of the following experts[46]
During his years at 3AW, 1933–1954, Fred Tupper (see above) provided sporting coverage, particularly horse racing.[26]
In the sixth ratings survey for 2014, released 30 September 2014, 3AW came first with a 13.8% market share followed byABC Radio Melbourne with 11.4% andFox FM with 8.2%. In this survey 3AW won every timeslot.[47]
In the fifth ratings survey for 2014, released 26 August 2014, 3AW came first with a 14% market share followed byABC Radio Melbourne with 12% andFox FM with 8.0%.[48]
In the fourth survey, 3AW lost its No. 1 station rating, scoring a 13.0% market share againstABC Radio Melbourne's 13.4% share withGold 104.3 FM third on 7.4%.[48]
In the first survey for 2014, released on 11 March 2014, 3AW was the No. 1 station scoring an 11.9% market share followed byABC Radio Melbourne's 10.6% share withFox FM third on 8.5%.[49] This survey was also the first for new ratings supplier GfK Group, the company that has taken over the running of surveys fromNielsen ratings which produced the surveys for 66 years.[50]
The final ratings survey for 2013 and the last to be conducted by Nielsen,[50] saw 3AW complete five years as Melbourne's number one radio station with 40 consecutive survey wins.[51]
Mary Hardy and Geoff Manion (see above) presented the afternoon program in the 1960s. Brian McFarlane's biography of Mary Hardy[52] notes that she committed suicide in January 1985 by shooting herself.
In 1999, presenter Bruce Mansfield was sacked after it emerged that he had received benefits in exchange for giving favourable comments and interviews to companies on-air without proper prior disclosure.[53] He returned to the station as its night-time presenter in 2001.[54][55]
Former presenterSteve Price was tricked into accepting fakeecstasy tabletspressed with "3AW" from comedianJohn Safran as part of Safran's television show.[56]
John Blackman died on 4 June 2024 after a very high profile and often contentious T.V. and radio career. On T.V. he was particularly known for his work onHey Hey It's Saturday. However, he also had a prominent and controversial radio career, including work at 3AW. From 1981, he presented the top rating breakfast program with Paul Barber. However, Blackman was forced to leave AW under questionable circumstances[clarification needed] on 30 April 1986.
Campion, Margaret,3AW is Melbourne. 75 Years of Radio, Prime Advertising Marketing Publishing, 1987.[57]
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