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37°51′40″S144°59′05″E / 37.8612°S 144.9848°E /-37.8612; 144.9848
| Broadcast area | Melbourne,Victoria |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 101.9MHzFM |
| Branding | 101.9 The Fox |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Adult contemporary Hot adult contemporary |
| Affiliations | Hit Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| Triple M | |
| History | |
First air date | 1 August 1980 (1980-08-01) |
Call sign meaning |
|
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | ACMA |
| Class | Commercial |
| ERP | 56,000watts |
| Links | |
Public licence information | Profile |
| Website | fox |
Fox FM (call sign:3FOX) is acommercialFM radio station broadcasting inMelbourne,Victoria, Australia, on a frequency of 101.9MHz, and is the flagship station onSouthern Cross Austereo'sHit Network. The station's transmitter is shared with theATV-10 transmitter on top ofMount Dandenong.
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Fox FM started life at 5PM on 1 August 1980. The station was put together by radio consultant and 1960s/1970s radio personality and programmer Rhett H. Walker, who also acted as first General Manager. This followed a successful stint for Walker as a consultant for Radio 3KZ in 1979. One of Fox FM's original advertising lines was 'Catch the Fox'. The original announcing team consisted of Mike Jeffries, John Aimes, Ralphe Rickman, Rod McNeil, Graham Braddy, Richard Combe, and overnight announcers Geoff Harrison, Noel Miller and Peter Acfield. In the newsroom were Pam Wilson, Gary McQuade and Michael Schilberger.
The first song to be played on air,George Benson's "Breezin'," was played at the wrongspeed for a few bars by the station's first presenter, John Amies. Amies suggested this was due to repeated rehearsals of the station opening on instruction from studio manager Gary Collins, who was allegedly fussing around him in the studio right before the station went on air.
The first station studio equipment was a 16 channel Poul Kirk mixing desk, four cuemaster cart decks, JBL studio pro speakers and (then brand new) Technics turntables. Located inNunawading, the studio was pleasant to work in with a floor-to-ceiling window giving a view of filming of such Channel Ten programs asNeighbours,Prisoner and the short-livedHoliday Island.
The first two years of the station's life were not easy. Melbourne listeners did not initially flock to the new FM stations, sticking to their regular listening habits with stations such as3AW,3MP and3XY. It was positioned originally as a classy easy listening style format. The format,FM is Fox Music, came later, under the management of former 3XY station manager Graham Smith.
In 1982, the station's owners (which included Sir Donald Trescowthic, major shareholder ofThe Age Newspaper group) lost confidence in the original format and hired Smith to implement changes.
All the former announcers, except for Geoff Harrison were let go. Also, the station's instigator and first General Manager, the late Rhett H. Walker (later Associate Dean atLa Trobe University) moved on to greener pastures.
From then on, the station was positioned with a pop rock format, appealing to the widest possible audience. This caused a steady rise in ratings through the mid-1980s, eventually landing the station in top position in Melbourne by 1986. The changes included new presenters, such as Gavin Wood (former TV showCountdown and 3XY announcer) and Barry Bissell.Take 40 Australia was a weekly countdown of the current ARIA Top 40 singles chart. During this time, the station also airedAmerican Top 40 withCasey Kasem.
Fox FM was one of two original FM radio licence holders in Melbourne. It aimed to be the first commercial FM station to commence broadcasting in Australia, although it was eventually beaten by 3EON (which is now Fox FM's sister station,Triple M). Fox FM started life playing popular easy listening music whilst its other FM rival had adopted a more rock album orientated format. Throughout the history of the station its logo and marketing have always included a picture of a fox, although this was discontinued in 2005 when the entireToday Network introduced new standardised logos, much to the disappointment of many.
In 1986, Fox FM was bought by the owners ofSAFM to createAustereo, which now - as theHit Network - boasts five additional stations around Australia. It was at this time that announcer Mark Carter was moved from the breakfast shift to the afternoon shift, quickly becoming the most popular announcer in Melbourne over a record 11 surveys conducted and contributing to the rise in popularity of the station.[citation needed]
In 1996, theToday Network, owned by Austereo, merged with theTriple M network to form a single radio company. The merge was unpopular with Fox staff due to the rivalry between the two stations.
In September 2008, Fox FM re-located from studios at 180St Kilda Road (with sister station Triple M) to brand new studios at 257 Clarendon Street,South Melbourne.The Matt & Jo Show gave away many items from the old studios during their last show at the St Kilda Road studios.
In May 2021,Southern Cross Austereo announced that the network will re-locate to 101 Moray Street, South Melbourne from mid 2022 after signing a 10 year lease.[1] The network will take up approximately 3,000sqm on the second floor of the state-of-the-art commercial building.
In June 2022, Fox FM re-located from studios at 257 Clarendon Street,South Melbourne (with sister station Triple M) to 101 Moray Street, South Melbourne.[2] Rival broadcasterNova Entertainment's Melbourne studios and offices (Nova 100,smooth 91.5) now occupy the Clarendon Street facility.
Fox FM transmits from theATV-10 transmission tower on top ofMount Dandenong, from a shared facility alongside radio stationsNova 100,Triple M,Gold 104.3,KIIS 101.1,SYN 90.7 andTriple R. Its base power is 10 kW, and this is provided by a Harris HT10 FM transmitter.
The station is simulcast ondigital radio in Melbourne.
Fox FM gradually grew from a top 40/pop format into a top 40/dance format over its history. The station is tightly focused on promoting mainstream chart music and songs on rotation are played 5-6 times a day, with very little variation. Notable past announcers and programs have includedPillowtalk with Dr Sally Cockburn (Dr Feelgood),Danger: Low Brow with David Armstrong andBrett McLeod,net@nite with Andy Grace, Barry Bissell'sTake 40 Australia, and ABC TV's Jodie J. Hill.
From 1995 to 1998, Fox FM broadcast theMartin/Molloy drive program withTony Martin andMick Molloy. This program was networked to over 50 stations around Australia, and is considered[by whom?] one of Australia's most successful FM radio shows.
For six years the breakfast shift was held byTracy Bartram andMatt Tilley, using the titleTracy and Matt in the Morning. After a gradual increase in ratings, the pair secured the number one position for the Melbourne breakfast shift in theACNielsen survey during 2001, beating traditional Melbourne number one station3AW. Along with the rest of the station, Tracey and Tilley's ratings fell with the introduction of rival stationNova 100 into the market.
In 2003, Fox FM launchedMatt, Jo and Benno, featuringMatt Tilley,Jo Stanley, Chris Bennett and Adam Richard.[3] Chris Bennett left a couple of months into the year and it was renamedThe Matt & Jo Show with the Fabulous Adam Richard. Soon after, the show introduced anchor Troy Ellis and it was renamed to simplyThe Matt and Jo Show. The show has consistently won the FM breakfast time slot, beating closest rivalsHughesy & Kate atNova 100 for over 7 years.[when?]
From 2006, Fox FM was home to Australia's most successful networked radio showHamish & Andy, starringHamish Blake andAndy Lee. They finished their daily drive program on Friday 26 November 2010 and went on to broadcast a drive program on Mondays and a late morning program on Fox FM every day from Tuesday to Friday. Blake and Lee then went on to hostHamish & Andy's Happy Hour which aired at 3pm on weekdays. Blake and Lee have returned to host the drive show in July 2015.
In 2011,Fifi Box andJules Lund joined forces to replaceHamish & Andy in the drive slot with their showFifi and Jules which was broadcast across theToday Network from 4pm-6pm weekdays.
It was announced on 4 October 2013 thatThe Matt & Jo Show would finish at the end of the year after hosting breakfast for the last 10 years.
In November 2013,Fifi Box announced onFifi and Jules that she would be leaving the show to host Fox FM breakfast withDave Thornton. The new breakfast showFifi & Dave launched in January 2014. In April 2016,Brendan Fevola joined the breakfast show and it was renamed toFifi, Dave & Fev.
In December 2016,Hamish Blake andAndy Lee announced that they will be leaving radio at the end of 2017 to pursue their careers in television
In January 2017, Byron Cooke, the breakfast shows long-time anchor had his name added to the shows line-upFifi, Dave, Fev & Byron.
In February 2017,The Project talk-show hostCarrie Bickmore and comedianTommy Little joined forces to host a national early drive showCarrie & Tommy featuring anchor Chris "Buzz" Bezzina. The show first aired on 13 February 2017 and broadcasts across theHit Network. It competes against KIIS FM's3PM Pick-Up which airs in the same time slot.
In September 2017,Dave Thornton announced his resignation from Fox FM to pursue his career as a stand-up comedian.
In October 2017,Hit Network announced thatHughesy & Kate will departKIIS 101.1 to host the drive home from 4:30PM to 6:30PM, withCarrie & Tommy being extended to broadcast from 3:00PM to 4:30PM.
In December 2017,Hamish Blake andAndy Lee left their high rating drive showHamish & Andy to pursue careers in television, with the last week of their show being dedicated to touring Australia as a part of their Coolboys and the Frontman 2017 World Tour. They also announced that they will be continuing a weekly podcast withSouthern Cross Austereo in 2018.
In November 2020, Byron Cooke announced his departure fromFifi, Fev & Byron for personal reasons and to also seek new challenges. It was also announced that comedian Nick Cody would join the show from January 2021 and the show renamed toFifi, Fev & Nick.
| Time | Show |
|---|---|
| 6 am–9 am | Fifi, Fev & Nick |
| 9 am–12 pm | Tim Lee |
| 12 pm–3 pm | Brad Wood |
| 3 pm–6 pm | Carrie & Tommy |
| 6 pm–7 pm | Fifi, Fev & Nick's Happy Hour |
| 7 pm–10 pm | The Hot Hits with Nic & Loren |
| 6:00 pm–8:00 pm Sundays | The Pulse with Seany B |
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