2Day FM - Station History

Station History

2Day FM was one of three radio stations (along with Triple M and Triple J) to be granted new FM broadcasting licenses in Sydney in 1980, and commenced broadcasting on 2 August of that year. The original owners were well known media personalities John Laws (30%), Mike Willesee (30%), Village (30%) and Graham Kennedy (10%). The station's original programming format was focused towards easy-listening music, but shifted to more pop and rock oriented programming since the late 1980s, with the later addition of Hip-Hop and dance music to their playlists.

Originally the studios were located on the second floor of the Sovereign Inn at 220 Pacific Highway, Crows Nest. The original equipment comprised BMX Pacific Recorder mixing consoles, and CEI cartridge machines.

The station was sold to the Lamb Family in February 1987, who sold it again to radio group Austereo in May 1989.

In 1995, the station's owner Austereo bought out the Triple M network from Hoyts, and in 1996 2Day FM moved its studios and administration to Level 24, Tower 1, Westfield Bondi Junction at 520 Oxford Street, just one floor below the original home of Triple M since 1980. Austereo also took over Level 26 of the same building for group departments. With the move to new premises, 2Day FM also adopted digital audio playout, incorporating the DCS audio system built by Computer Concepts Ltd, and sold and supported in Australia by Techtel.

2Day FM continued to broadcast from Bondi Junction until October 2005, when both 2Day FM and Triple M moved into new premises at World Square, Goulburn Street Sydney. The new premises included state of the art Klotz Digital equipment, and a street level studio.

During the 1990s, 2Day FM enjoyed ratings success, especially with its breakfast program The Morning Crew (featuring well-known Australian comedian Wendy Harmer and television comedian Peter Moon) which consistently topped its segment in the Sydney radio market for years.

Moon left the breakfast show in 2002 after infighting with Harmer became unbearable for him. He was replaced by yet another Melbourne comedian Greg Fleet, who was poorly received by the Sydney radio listeners.

When Harmer resigned in 2003 the station replaced her with Melbourne comedienne Judith Lucy. Judith was given free rein over the new show and installed her two friends, Peter Helliar and Kaz Cooke, to co-host. The show was a dismal failure and saw 2Day FM receive some of the worst breakfast ratings of its history. Many blame this failure on the fact that a completely Melbournian team were hosting a show in Sydney (although Harmer was originally a Melbourne comic, she had relocated herself to Sydney), and that Lucy and Helliar were unable to carry a show on their own.

From 1995 to 1998, 2Day FM broadcast the highly successful Martin/Molloy drive program with Tony Martin and Mick Molloy. This program was networked to over 50 stations around Australia (from the studios of FOX FM in Melbourne, Victoria), and is considered one of Australia's most successful FM radio shows. Martin and Molloy left the Today network in late 1998 at the top of the ladder, citing the need for a break from the pressures of radio.

Nights on 2Day FM have also been controversial. In 1997 night announcer David Rymer, host of the then Top 30 Countdown, was castigated in the media for a poorly thought-out on air stunt in which he called a top ranking HSC student, pretending to be from the Board of Studies. He told the girl her results were incorrect and that her marks had been adjusted. He played the segment to air after receiving verbal permission to do so from the girl's mother, however her father was a lawyer and took legal action. The media pounced, and Rymer was suspended until further notice. He returned to the show a month later but was soon moved to day shifts on sister station Triple M to make way for the new networked night show Ugly Phil's Hot 30, hosted by Phil O'Neil and his then wife Jackie O. The new show was not without its controversy either, with complaints about obscenity and foul language. Phil resigned in 2000 and the show disintegrated, followed by their divorce in 2001. Phil moved to the UK to present breakfast on Kerrang! 105.2, and was replaced by Brisbane based Kyle Sandilands, while Jackie O remained as co-host.

2Day FM started 2005 with a number of changes, the most significant of which was moving the drive show team of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O to breakfast, and employing young unknown Craig Lowe as the host of the nightly networked show Lowie's Hot30. This was short-lived however, after yet another on air gaffe later in the year that involved a porn star relating sexually charged experiences live to air which resulted in a breach of codes finding. Lowie was forced to resign as host of the Hot30 in November 2006. Tim Lee & co-host Carla Bignasca (Biggsy) were announced as his replacements in February 2007.

In the early 2000s, the station lost some of its share of the radio market to newcomer Nova 96.9, which has been accused by Austereo of having a format too similar to that of 2Day FM. 2Day FM has since rebounded to once again be the dominant FM station in Sydney having rated number one FM consistently since 2006. One of the measures the station has carried out to address its falling ratings is shifting two popular hosts Jackie O and Kyle Sandilands (former hosts of the popular night program Hot30 Countdown) to the breakfast shift.

At the start of 2005, Austereo Today Networks across Australia relaunched with a new logo. On average each week well over 900,000 people tune into this radio station.

The Kyle and Jacki O breakfast show continues to be a ratings winner in 2011. In April 2011 the Austereo group was purchased by Southern Cross Media.