Cherie Romaro has been appointed GM of 2CH and Digital Stations.
CEO of EON Broadcasting Group, John Williams, made the announcement today and says “Cherie comes to us with a very impressive media track record both in Australia and Internationally.”
Her previous experience includes senior management, programming and marketing roles with Foxtel’s Arena and Weather Channel, Triple M, 2DAYFM, NRJ Paris France and MIX 106.5.
She was also National Programme Director for the Australian Radio Network, Gold and MIX formats, and ARN Group General Manager Marketing Promotions, Research and News.
In 2011 Cherie took a break from her career for family reasons and recently returned to work as a media consultant.
Cherie is well aware of the challenges for music formats on AM stations, but says “with the introduction of DAB+ it provides 2CH with an opportunity to evolve its current format to further appeal and attract new listeners and advertisers.”
She spoke to radioinfo about her new role:
I have never been far away from the Australian Radio landscape, keeping a close watch from my other media commitments both here and OS. I am pleased and happy, however I am under no illusions as to how tough this role will be, but I am up for this challenge and I will give it 100%.
I walked away from fulltime radio and television, but I am refreshed and ready for this.
How has the landscape changed since you last were not he front line of station management?
The management of any team in any business is ever evolving. I have not been away from managing teams across all genres, so I think I will continue that evolution with my new team at 2CH I am really looking forward to it.
2CH has been quietly gaining audience and improving its music since the new ownership team bought it. Where to next?
Building on the foundations already put in place by EON Broadcasting and taking the quality of the product to the next level.
What are your ambitions for the business in terms of both sales and programming?
I have realistic goals for programming, ratings and sales. It will take time and a lot of effort, however I would not share those goals in an open forum before I share with the team.
Is there still a place for an AM radio music station in Sydney? Is the DAB+ transmission important you 2CH?
Of course an AM music station is a challenge, for the past 30 years music has been on FM, but it’s not to say 2CH cannot find its place and be successful. There are examples of successful music AM stations, both here and OS, just look at 4KQ in Brisbane,
I believe the DAB+ too is important, however the product has to be 24/7 appealing to the 2CH target ‘Baby Boomer,’ they are the most discerning music consumers of our time, having grown up from Sinatra to Elvis to the Beatles, Beachboys, Elton, Billy Joel to Whitney. The list goes on so to get the music right is one of the most important components for building success.
I am really happy to be joining the team and working shoulder to shoulder with them to deliver the best product for 2CH and create relevant and successful DAB stations.