Narrowcasters triumph in radio licence auction

The Perth HPON did not break the long standing $400,000 record set in 2002 for an 531 kHz AM HPON in Adelaide (PDF 160KB), which was won by Radio Televisione Italiana (SA) inc. Nevertheless, $320,000 makes the Perth HPON the third most expensive HPON ever sold in Australia. Perhaps the price did not go higher in Perth because there are challenges in finding a viable transmitter site for a new HPON service in the Perth Hills, since the nominal site offered by ACMA is in fact already used and not available.

Commercial Broadcasters Radio Perth Pty Ltd (6iX) also applied for the Perth licence, and one would have thought they had the financial muscle to win the auction. 6iX 1080 kHz is part of the Grant Broadcasters group, which owns a string of HPONs across New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory that broadcast music under the “Hot Country” brand. Hot Country is available in Perth as a DAB+ only station - which is what it will remain for the foreseeable future. They'll have to wait for another HPON frequency to be offered in Perth before this format has a chance of getting onto the FM-band.

The most interesting feature of the Perth Race is the absence of Racing and Wagering WA, who actually lobbied ACMA to release 90.5 MHz as an HPON. In RWWA's submission to ACMA, they stated emphatically that they would be a contestant for this licence. Why would they withdraw from this race when they clearly wanted a better FM frequency to replace the AM frequency that affords them barely adequate coverage in the Perth metro area? Perhaps they got wind of 6iX’s intention to enter the race and decided that it was a fight they could no longer hope to win. Perhaps they decided that the AM licence they have in Perth will suffice, and that it was better to focus on the other licences in Kalgoorlie and Kambalda, which they did win.

Griffith

2KY and 2RG are commercial broadcasters that also own LPONs in Griffith, NSW, but it seems they both wanted to upgrade to a much superior HPON. Rete Italia actually lobbied ACMA for the Griffith HPON frequency. According to Wikipedia, “Approximately 60% of today's Griffith population claim Italian background”. It seems Rete Italia have been leasing a narrowband AM licence on 1611 kHz from Promo Radio, but they obviously wanted a better frequency that they could call their own. Well, despite going up against two formidable commercial radio owners and the Chinese, the Italian's have succeeded, although at a much higher price than expected. Rete Italia will soon cease using the 1611 AM narrowband licence in Griffith, which may then be available for one of the losing contestants to apply to use on a leased basis.

The Seventh-day Adventist church also applied for this licence. The Adventists have control over what amounts to the second largest Christian narrowcast network in Australia, well behind Queensland-based United Christian Broadcasters Australia Ltd, who own more open narrowcast licences than anybody (and were noticeably absent from the round of HPON auctions). But the loosely defined Adventist radio network is comprised almost entirely of LPONs, some owned by the church, many owned privately by individual members, and almost all using 3ABN Radio as a program source via satellite. The church aspired to get this HPON in an attempt to move beyond the obvious limits of low-power FM licenced stations, but despite lodging the first bid on the day, they were unable to go the distance - this time!

2RG are part of the Southern Cross Media group. Had they won the auction, they might have opted for a country music format for narrowcasting. But it would seem to me that their entry in this race was motivated more by a desire to protect their market from all would-be competitors. 2KY and 2RG will have to remain content to use their LPONs in Griffith, unless they want to apply to ACMA for another HPON in town.

Launceston

In Launceston, it was basically a contest between existing commercial leviathans. Tasradio previously owned this AM frequency as a commercial licence before converting to their current FM frequency. Now they have acquired the 1008 AM frequency as an HPON, allowing Tasradio to turn their FM station into something more mainstream. This is a clear threat to the other commercial broadcasters in Launceston.

LA FM 89.3 - part of the Grant Broadcasters group - were in the race, probably defending their turf against Tasradio’s bigger plans. Another contestant, Hobart-based Great Southern Land Broadcasters (Southern Cross Media), would probably have liked a slice of the Launceston market for themselves, potentially running a country music format. It will be interesting to see what format Tasradio adopt for their commercial FM frequency once the AM HPON is on the air. And they may venture to sell their 87.6 FM LPON, which has been used for racing radio narrowcasting for about four years.

The Chinese targeted the most potent licences on offer in this round of HPON allocations, and having won the auction for the HPON in their home city of Perth WA, I suspect that they either didn't have the funds or no longer felt the imperative to try and win the auction in Launceston. Perth represents a handsome home-base victory for them.

$260,000 is a lot of money to pay for a licence in Launceston - the fifth highest price in the history of HPON auctions and just $20,000 behind the price for an HPON in Hobart about a decade earlier.

Kalgoorlie and Kambalda

Since Racing and Wagering WA did not contest the HPON in Perth, they were in a much stronger financial position to secure the HPONs in these two regional towns. RWWA do not own a commercial broadcast licence. Nevertheless, they are still a significant broadcaster in their own right in Western Australia. $30,000 is a solid but not exorbitant price for the Kalgoorlie HPON.

RWWA may have not applied for the Perth HPON in order to save their money to secure a victory in Kalgoorlie, so that they can upgrade from their solitary LPON 88 FM, which would not afford them adequate coverage in that city. This LPON may be available to someone else in the future now that RWWA have won the 100W HPON in this famous mining town.