History
dmg Radio Australia was formed in early 1996, followed later in the year with the A$46M acquisition of 85% of the Broadcast Media group of regional stations. This was shortly followed by FIVEaa on September 26, 1996. The founding Chairman and CEO were Charlie Cox and Paul Thompson respectively. The company grew rapidly to over 64 radio stations across New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia under the Star FM, Hot FM, Nova and vega (now Smooth 95.3 and Smooth 91.5) brands. In September 2004, dmg Radio sold most of its regional radio stations to Macquarie Bank, keeping only Hot 91 Sunshine Coast (later sold in early 2005) and Star 104.5 in Gosford, which they still own and operate.
In April 2009, dmg Radio Australia launched two new digital radio stations: NovaNation, a 24/7 digital dance station and Koffee, a chillout music station. These stations were launched as part of the introduction of DAB+ digital broadcasting in Australia's major state capital cities. Both stations also stream online.
On Friday 12 March 2010 vega rebranded with the name Classic Rock to counteract similar stations Gold 104.3, WSFM and Triple M. dmg Radio Australia announced the change to Vega's brand as the stations had struggled towards the bottom of the ratings ladder in both Sydney and Melbourne. In building these new stations dmg Radio needed a "simple, focused music concept that would appeal to the 35-54 audience," according to CEO Cathy O'Connor.
On Monday 21 May 2012, Smooth 91.5 Melbourne and Smooth 95.3 Sydney were rebranded again with a new smooth, easy listening format.
Read more about this topic: DMG Radio Australia
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