ARN’s Virtual Ron E – off the Edge and on in Melbourne

ARN has been making program changes to various non-primetime shifts around its network in the past few weeks as the new program year begins.

A lot of the recent changes have been made possible by the network’s new playout software, which makes ‘virtual live’ broadcasting possible from any location in the network.

Group Program Director Jeremy Millar told radioinfo about the software and the most recent presenter changes:

radioinfo: Has Ron E Sparks left the afternoon shift on Edge 96.1?

Millar:Yes, although not necessarily a permanent move – he may well be heard on The Edge from time to time.

radioinfo: Who will replace him on the Edge?

Millar:No decisions as yet.

radioinfo: Is it right that Ron E will now be heard on WS FM Sydney and in another city via your new on-air system. Where and in what shift?

Millar:Ron E is helping out on Mix 101.1 in Melbourne during the afternoons. The on air system has been in place coming up a year now, so while it’s new, it isn’t brand new.

radioinfo: That system seems very sophisticated, allowing voicetracking around a network. Can you explain what it is and how it works?

Millar:It’s just a wide-area-network, but with it each voice break can be customized as required. It gives you the strength of a networked show, but with the features and benefits of being more local.

radioinfo: Is the same being done with Wilbur Wilde from Melbourne?

Millar:Yes. In Melbourne and Brisbane the Classic Cafe is on from 12 to 1, in Adelaide from 1 to 2pm, and Sydney 2 to 3pm.

radioinfo: Will Ron E and Wilbur be heard in more markets in time?

Millar:Probably not, as the way we do it is to customize the breaks – not like old-fashioned networking where one size fits all. In other words, it takes a bit more work – but the idea is great as it means we can share strong on air talent – which has a flow on benefit to listeners and advertisers.

radioinfo: Any other shifts/cities where you are doing this kind of program sharing?

Millar:We have Love Songs and Dedications (Richard Mercer) weeknights on Mix in Sydney, he’s now heard on Mix in Adelaide and Mix in Melbourne. Callers use a 1-300 number to submit their requests and it’s working great – a perfect example of sharing great talent to more of our markets.

Some people think this is about cost saving, and sometimes it does save money – but many times it will add some new costs, so money isn’t the motivation here – our reason for doing this is to share great radio with more listeners.

In other moves at ARN Melbourne, Craig Huggins will move into the Drive show (4pm-9pm)at GOLD104 from next week. For the past year and a half, Huggins has handled the Night Show and The Saturday Night C.D Jukebox.

Program Director and current Drive show presenter Dave Smith has moved himself to the Early Afternoon slot to allow more time for his program director duties.

Wilbur Wilde’s Classic Café at noon will be given a “repeat” performance at 9pm. Gold’s complete 2003 weekday lineup is: Grubby and Dee Dee 6am – 10am, Mark Johnson 10am –2pm, Wilbur Wilde Classic Café at noon, Dave Smith 2-4pm, Craig Huggins 4-9pm