Thursday, 13 October 2016

ARN CELEBRATES25 YEARS OF GOLD

1991 was a huge year: Hawthorn won the AFL Grand Final at Waverley Park, Daryl Braithwaite released “Horses” and Bob Hawke was Prime Minister, but the biggest news in Melbourne was the launch of Melbourne’s iconic GOLD104.3.GOLD104.3 has since gone from strength to strength in the competitive Melbourne market, taking out the position of Melbourne’s #1FM station every year since the relaunch in 2014. 2016 has seen the GOLD104.3 continue this trend, having been crowned #1FM station in Melbourne for four out of six radio surveys in 2016.The station commenced operations as AM station 3KZ in 1930 then moved to the FM band on 1 January 1990 as KZFM before undergoing a complete brand transformation in October 1991 to become Gold 104.The evolution continued in 2014 when ARN announced the rebrand of GOLD104.3 alongside the launch of its Pure Gold Network. The station was rebranded to further align to its core Gen X audience, capitalizing on what continued to make the station so popular. ARN’s National Content Director Duncan Campbell said:“Reaching the milestone of 25 years is special for any brand but GOLD104.3 holds such a strong place in the market and continues to be one of the most loved stations in Melbourne, which makes it really something to celebrate.“The rebrand in 2014 was an important part of the station’s evolution and has seen it cement its place with loyal listeners and achieve the #1FM position in what is one of the most competitive markets in Australia. This is an exciting time for all who have been part of the station’s success over the past 25 years, as we take time to celebrate GOLD104.3, and look to the future as we continue to evolve and remain relevant for our audiences while honouring the heritage of the station.”

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ABOUT ARNARN is one of the leading broadcasters in the country with ownership or investments in 12 radio stations nationwide. Its brands, KIIS, Pure Gold, iHeartRadio and The Edge96.ONE entertain and influence over four million listeners on-air across Australia each week, a digital audience of 2.7 million and a social footprint of 4 million.

In 2014 KIIS 1065 was launched with Kyle & Jackie O in Sydney and immediately went to #1FM. In 2015 the KIIS Network launched nationally with KIIS 101.1 and now incorporates the Sydney and Melbourne stations, Adelaide Mix102.3, Brisbane’s 97.3 and Perth’s 96FM, with all featuring Dave ‘Hughesy’ Hughes and Kate Langbroek in national Drive. The KIIS Network was the leading FM Network across 2015 and continues this success into 2016.

In 2014 the rebranded Pure Gold network was also launched and it now incorporates Sydney’s WSFM 101.7 with Jonesy & Amanda in Sydney, Melbourne’s GOLD104.3 with Jo & Lehmo, Brisbane’s 4KQ and Adelaide’s Cruise 1323.

ARN also launched iHeartRadio, the world’s fastest growing digital service, to the Australian market in 2013 and the platform has had over 800,000 downloads. iHeartRadio is a free, all-in-one digital radio service and live events platform that lets audiences listen to their favourite live stations across Australia, New Zealand and the USA. Listeners can also create commercial-free custom stations and find the best audio casts to create personalised daily custom talk stations.

ARN is an APN News & Media Company.