1 of 1- RadioActive
- Moderator
Offline 
How Did This Happen? AM Music Station Beats Every FM In Town
I don't know a lot about Australian radio, but I know this doesn't happen often any more. If ever.
An AM music radio station in the city of Brisbane has stunned the industry by beating all the other stations in that city - including those on FM - to become #1 in the latest ratings.
4BH wound up at the top for the first time in 40 years. How did that happen? Well, there is one caveat. While the station does broadcast on AM, it also appears on DAB - Digital Audio Broadcasting - making it for all intents and purposes a competitor to FM with its better stereo and sound quality.
Still, it's quite a feat, as station CEO Mark Taylor admits.
“I just think the radio station is one that you can just turn on and feel good,” he says simply.
“It’s got the news on the hour, every hour. It keeps you informed. But other than that, we play songs from the sixties through to the early 2000s that we all remember – and they put a smile on your face.
“I mean, I know I can’t stop listening to it. I’m happy to hear all my old faves every couple of days, and I think everybody else is too.”
You have to wonder how many AMs on this side of the world wished we'd gone DAB, too.
“I burst into tears.” Mark Taylor on how an AM music station slayed Brisbane’s FM juggernauts
- RadioActive
- Moderator
Offline
Re: How Did This Happen? AM Music Station Beats Every FM In Town
Here's where you can hear the station. Keep in mind Australia is 15 hours ahead of us.
- •
Thread Starter- paterson1
- Member
Offline
Re: How Did This Happen? AM Music Station Beats Every FM In Town
I think it is a bit of a stretch to call 4BH an AM station that beats every FM in town. It is on the DAB format and competes directly with the other stations in the market on an equal footing. More interesting would be to see how many of their listeners tune in on AM vs DAB. Nice to see that they have a good variety of programming. I wonder if radio is still a big deal in Australia, unlike Canada and the US where it seems to be going nowhere but down with a few exceptions.
- RadioAaron
- Member
Offline
Re: How Did This Happen? AM Music Station Beats Every FM In Town
paterson1 wrote:
I think it is a bit of a stretch to call 4BH an AM station that beats every FM in town. It is on the DAB format and competes directly with the other stations in the market on an equal footing. More interesting would be to see how many of their listeners tune in on AM vs DAB. Nice to see that they have a good variety of programming. I wonder if radio is still a big deal in Australia, unlike Canada and the US where it seems to be going nowhere but down with a few exceptions.
26% of Australians have DAB radios, so it's not equal footing.
One factor of their success would be that in the overall ratings (counting everyone), older-skewed stations will continue to be the best rated and that lead will grow. This station definitely would be underperforming its ratings in revenue.
And, yes, radio in Australia is quite healthy. They have fewer stations per capita in large markets, softening the blow of the advertising value collapse to some degree. They were also early to adopt a national model for major shifts and brands, allowing them to spend more on talent - almost identical to the model used in Quebec for decades. They've also formed a coalition of smaller market stations to market themselves together and emphasize the power of local radio advertising in smaller markets.
Last edited by RadioAaron (October 8, 2026 6:22 pm)
- rk12
- Member
Offline
Re: How Did This Happen? AM Music Station Beats Every FM In Town
The DAB listeners are only a small portion with AM being where about 75% of their listeners.