Fourteen students from the Australian Film Television and Radio School will be the first to broadcast from the school’s new multi-million dollar building at Fox Studios.

“We’re lucky because we’re the last and the first – the last class to use the North Ryde Campus and the first at Moore Park. We’ve been itching to get into the new studios all year”, says Graduate Diploma in Commercial Radio Student Kelly Glover.

With a tag line “Looks like Radio” the students are savvy to the movement towards multi platform delivery.

They are targeting 14-25 year olds with contemporary alternate music. In an innovative advertising strategy, the student programmers have decided to limit ad breaks to 60 seconds and to schedule three short sharp 20 second ads in each break to suit the advertising preferences of their target audience. All production for the broadcast was also done by the students, who have learnt a range of high level skills during their course.

NEXT is also one of the first radio stations to broadcast digitally in Australia.

Director of Radio, Steve Ahern is looking forward to seeing the students be the first to use the new studios, which he designed in conjunction with the building’s architects and engineering consultant Richard Fleming.

“This broadcast will have all the characteristics of launching a brand new radio station, including the thrills and spills of using new studios. I’m keen to hear how the new studio environment will motivate the students to sound their best. With the station’s multi-platform delivery strategy they will also be streaming video on the net, so they will have to look their best too!” says Ahern.

Watch and listen at the link below.

AFTRS Students Sarah, Kelly and Bede in the new main radio studio.

The Radio Studio looks over the main atrium in the AFTRS new building.

More news and pictures of the new studios soon.