New National Radio Network Comes After Triple J

Plans have been revealed for ARN’s The Edge 96.1, which will relaunch as “a national youth brand” next month.

Taking on youth broadcaster triple j, the Sydney-based station will be “anchored in hip hop and R&B”, as revealed in parent company HT&E’s 2021 Annual Report.

It’s also expected that The Edge will be “driven by content, and reflective of an under-served genre of youth culture in commercial radio”, targeting 15-29 year olds.

“We will work with the Australian music industry to create a platform to support artists, labels and promoters, while building a community of passionate music fans,” the annual report stated. 

“This multi-year investment in the creation of a new national youth brand marks an important milestone for ARN as we continue to build the best broadcast and digital audio business in Australia.”

Speaking with Radio Info, HT&E CEO & Managing Director Ciaran Davis commented on their plans for The Edge and departing breakfast show hosts Mike E and Emma.

“The Edge is really well liked but we know that if we were just to relaunch it with the old radio model it would not achieve what we want,” Davis said.

“We researched a lot around that demographic, we recruited specialists who are familiar with providing content to that age group, we also recruited commercial people who have spent time working with the target audience at a partnership level.

“It’s about creating content that can be consumed across all platforms and building a new audience.”

The Edge 96.1 is distributed on iHeartradio, broadcast radio and DAB+.