The Triple M network closed down its all-Australian Aussie DAB+ station at the end of September and hardly anyone noticed.
Aussie was replaced with the new metal station Hard N Heavy. The Aussie station was introduced in January 2019 but failed to find an audience.
Aussie had been in a suite of Southern Cross Austereo DAB+ station including Buddah, Easy Hits, Oldskool Hits, Urban Hits, Classic Rock, Country and Greatest Hits. According to the latest GFK survey figures it ranked last of the SCA batch of eight in Sydney, Perth and Brisbane, but was ahead of Easy Hits and Urban Hits in Melbourne and ahead of Country in Adelaide.
On 1 October, Triple M’s Mickey Maher announced the new Hard N Heavy station without mentioning it was replacing the all-Australian music Aussie. The statement reads, “Australia has a large and very passionate fan base of Hard Rock & Heavy Metal yet, until now, it’s a genre that has been underserviced on Australian radio. The people have spoken and we are really excited to launch Hard N Heavy. I’m sure the fans won’t be disappointed!”
The removal of Aussie from the Triple M line-up certainly went unnoticed by the Australian music industry who ferociously campaign for more Australian content on Australian radio.
On 22 November Hit Dance was added to the network.
As of 20 December 2019 the SCA digital stations for Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth are (unless otherwise stated):
Buddah
Dance (not on air in Perth)
Easy
Oldskool
Urban
Classic Rock Digital
Country
Greatest Hits (not on air in Perth)
Hard N Heavy (not on air in Adelaide or Perth)
Soft Rock
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