3MP ruined - Changed to talkback - 1377 AM radio station
Are you wondering what happened to 1377 3MP? If so, read on..
In late January 2010, announcements were made to convert the format of Melbourne's AM broadcast radio station, 1377 3MP from Easy Listening to Talkback. The date of the conversion was 6:00am 19 April 2010. They call the revamped station "Melbourne Talk Radio", or MTR for short. They will retain their callsign 3MP, but the station will now be publicly known as MTR 1377.
For more than 30 years, 3MP has provided Melbourne with a good, clear signal and a great selection of easy listening music. Many budding electronics enthusiast built crystal sets and the first station to be heard was 3MP due to their strong signal. Many business and doctor reception rooms had 3MP playing because it was the only universally accepted background/easy listening music station. And many more fall asleep to the smooth music.
But now, the owners will be transforming it to talkback to compete directly with 3AW and ABC 774. They claim Melbourne needs more talkback competition.
In the dying hours of 18 April and until 6:00am 19 April, a continuous loop of self-promotion propaganda ads played continuously, announcing the new hosts and the 'need' for a new talkback station.
Melbourne does not need another talkback station! The greedy businessmen simply want to make more cash and provoke controversy. Millions of people (especially the older generation) will be left looking for another easy listening station. There is nothing quite like 3MP's selection of music. With talkback it is much easier to cram in more advertisements because it is all talk. And the radio hosts can also promote products, businesses and services in between topics. Remember the "Cash for comment" controversy on 3AW?
Music moved to DAB+, Digital Radio
They however will retain the easy listening format on DAB+, with the digital station called "MyMP". But this is no consolation to the hundreds of thousands of Melbournians who listened to 1377 but don't own a DAB radio. And digital radio simply does not have the 'mellow', smooth sound of an analogue AM transmission. Plus, DAB+ is bad. Why force people to buy something they don't need?
Obviously, as a direct competitor to 3AW, MTR have ditched Fairfax's hourly news in favour of Macquarie's own news segments. Prior to this, 3MP simulcasted the Fairfax news. 3MP's old web site (at www.3mp.com.au) has also been taken offline (blank), leaving listeners with no information on the changeover or even a goodbye page. At least they could have placed a redirect to MTR's site, so people aren't wondering what happened. Talk about pulling the rug from under loyal listeners.
3MP shall be remembered for its great music. Goodbye and RIP to Easy Listening on 3MP 1377 KHz.... Maybe Magic 1278 may see the void and take up easy listening.
Say no to yet another talkback station
So say no to Melbourne Talk Radio! Show them they are wrong to ruin a great easy listening station. Don't listen to them. Their advertising revenue will fall, and hopefully they will be forced to switch back to the good old times of Easy Listening!
See also: MyMP, 3MP's new Digital Radio Station on DAB+
News Updates
29 Oct 2011: Fairfax (owner of 3AW 693 and Magic 1278) have abandoned their proposed sale of radio assets. Macquarie Group (owners of 2GB 873 and MTR 1377) had previously been considering the purchase of Fairfax's assets.
1 Nov 2011: MTR's ratings have slumped in the latest radio ratings survey. Steve Vizard's morning show slid to 1.9%, down from 2.3%. Macquarie is expected to make a decision on the future viability of the station. MTR posted a $6.2 million loss in the past financial year.
10 Nov 2011: Macquarie's plan to either shut down MTR or network entirely from Sydney's 2GB is now a civil court matter, as Pacific Star seeks an injunction to prevent Macquarie from taking such action.
01 Mar 2012: As reported in today's Green Guide, ratings for MTR have slumped further, down to a dismal 1.4%. The Green Guide says "advertisers have deserted it". The station made a $3.34 million loss in the past six months. The Macquarie network, which owns half of MTR, has not had the same success it enjoyed in Sydney. The slump has increased the pressure on Pacific Star, the the other owner of MTR, to shut it down or revert the station format back to easy listening. From the outset, it was clear that it would not be successful due to much of the content streaming from Sydney.
02 Mar 2012 - Halfway through the 5pm news, the newsreader received a call, and she announced that MTR has been shut down. The station is now streaming music from MyMP.
05 Mar 2012 - MyMP has reinstated its hourly news and weather segments along with 3MP's original theme music. The station is still known as MyMP, without any reference to '3MP' yet.
MyMP has adopted a new tagline, "Not too old, and never too heavy". The station has re-established itself as Melbourne's AM easy listening station.
The station continues to simulcast on DAB+. The MTR 1377 station has been removed from the DAB+ ensemble. This leaves spare bandwidth available for another station.
02 Apr 2012 - the ACMA have approved power increases and radiation direction pattern changes for 3MP's transmitter. This will mean a stronger signal for western and northern Melbourne suburbs. However, the decision to allow increases to transmitter power for 1377kHz have come too late for MTR, but for Pacific Star, an increased audience will mean higher ratings for the struggling Easy Listening station.
15 Apr 2012 - 3MP have introduced a new Sunday Lifestyle programme, called My Lifestyle Sunday. It includes "My Fishing" hosted by Phil Wall and "My Money" by Jim Newman. The talk programmes are interspersed amongst the easy listening songs.
See Also: Magic 1278 Ruined
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