The ABA will begin the process to auction the new Adelaide commercial radio licence next month. The long awaited service will broadcast on FM 91.9 with a translator for the Adelaide Foothills on FM 99.1.

Bidding will be keen for the new licence, with the front runner expected to be DMG Radio.

DMG’s headquarters is in Adelaide, where CEO Paul Thompson lives, but the group has not had the opportunity to get an FM licence in that city until now. DMG owns the successful AM station 5AA in Adelaide, but 5AA’s talk format stands apart from any other content heard on either the capital city Nova stations or the regional Star stations.

The ABA will advertise for interested parties to register to bid for the Adelaide licence in late August, and if there is more than one registered bidder, the ABA will run an auction in late October.

The Adelaide allocation will be the first of a series, which will include Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

The process for new licences in Sydney and Brisbane will begin in February 2004, with auctions proposed for April that year. The allocation process for a new licence in Melbourne is scheduled to begin in May 2004, with the auction proposed for August 2004.