TWO of Bendigo’s biggest radio stations will have new names by mid-December as part of a re-branding by parent company Southern Cross Austereo.
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For the first time in its 85 year history, 3BO will have a new name, becoming “Bendigo’s Triple M”.
Star FM will become “Bendigo’s Hit 91.9”.
A spokesperson for Southern Cross Austereo confirmed the two stations were among those that will change their names, and said there would be no program or content changes, and no job losses as a result of the re-branding.
The company announced the change on Monday morning, bringing another 34 stations across Australia under the Hit Network.
3BO is among 25 stations to be re-branded as Triple M.
While Bendigo’s station names are set to change by December 15, a number of other interstate stations were deemed as “heritage” and were not changed.
They were Townsville’s 4TO, Gosford’s 2GO, Newcastle’s KOFM and the Gold Coast’s Gold FM.
Perth’s mix94.5 and Canberra’s Mix FM were also spared the name change to Triple M.
In a statement, Southern Cross Austereo’s Rick Lenarcic said the re-branding would make the company’s network of stations easier to deal with for advertisers.
“We firmly believe that by aligning our regional stations to either the Hit or Triple M brands, we will not only deliver better content to our regional audiences, but also be easier to do business with, given we will be streamlined to two strong brands,” he said.
“For the first time, our audiences and advertisers will identify and engage with brands that are both local to their region and national.
“We look forward to unveiling the brands and their associated marketing campaigns and collateral a bit later on in the year.”
The changes make the Hit Network Australia’s largest radio network with 43 stations, and Triple M the second largest with 29.