No, he hasn’t bought the whole town, just the radio stations, 2BH 567AM and Hill 106.9 FM. The acquisition, expands the Bill Caralis owned 2SM Supernetwork to 34 stations with the addition of the station that is housed in the ultimate radio building in Garnet Street Broken Hill (see picture).
2BH and Hill FM cover one of the largest Commercial Radio service areas in Australia. The stations were purchased for an undisclosed sum from Radio Outback Pty Ltd which is owned by veteran regional radio operators, Ann and Dave Robertson. Their company also owns 4LG AM and West FM in Longreach, Qld.
Having operated the Broken Hill stations for the past four years, Ann and Dave told radioinfo, ”We have enjoyed our time in Broken Hill and we would like to thank our very loyal listeners, our hard working staff and all the people of Broken Hill for their wonderful support. We wish Bill and the Supernetwork every success and know with a large network to support both 2BH and Hill FM they will continue to provide the people of Broken Hill with great commercial radio services”.
This purchase takes Caralis’ ownership in NSW and South East Queensland to 34 stations and 33 translators making it the dominant network in NSW, by far the largest privately owned network in Australia and second in size only to Macquarie Bank’s holdings.
According to Caralis this purchase fulfils a dream he has been chasing for a number of years, telling radioinfo, “I have always been fascinated by the charisma and history of Broken Hill; it is a city and region in which I have always wanted to own and operate stations. It has taken a while to get them, but we have now finally bought 2BH and Hill FM and they are both prize acquisitions for our network”.
Caralis then went on to emphasise the benefits that he says will flow to the stations, “In joining the Supernetwork, 2BH and Hill FM will have the opportunity to upgrade their local and national news gathering facilities utilising our 24 hour independent national service along with programming support and the creative opportunities that a large network can provide.
Caralis concluded by boasting, “Our network is unequalled with our stations dominating NSW and covering Australia’s fastest growing areas from Bondi to Byron Bay to Broken Hill (in fact 20 major markets in NSW and South East Queensland) and it is a unique listening and marketing opportunity”.
For the record, below is a list of all 34 Supernetwork stations and 33 translators.
Stations
Sydney – 2SM 1269 AM
Newcastle – 2HD 1143 AM and New FM 105.3
Dubbo – 2DU 1251 M and Zoo FM 92.7 (2ZOO)
Murwillumbah/Tweed/Gold Coast – Radio 97 AM (2MW)
Armidale – 2AD 1134 AM and New England FM 100.3 (2NEB)
Grafton – 2GF 1206 AM and FM 104.7 (2CLR)
Gunnedah – 2MO 1080 AM and FM Triple G 97.5 (2GGG)
Inverell – 2NZ 1188 AM and FM 95.1 Gem (2GEM)
Lismore – 2LM 900 AM and Triple Z FM 104.3 (2ZZZ)
Moree – 2VM 1530 AM and Now FM 98.3 (2NOW)
Mudgee – 2MG 1449 AM and 93.1 Real FM (2GEE)
Parkes – 2PK 1404 AM and Rock FM 95.5 (2ROC)
Tamworth – 2TM 1287 AM and FM 92.9 (2TTT)
Taree – 2RE 1557 AM and Max FM 107.3 FM
Toowoomba – 4AK 1242 AM and 4WK 963 AM
Gympie-Noosa- 4GY 558 AM
Coffs Harbour- 2HC 639 AM
Port Macquarie – 2PM 531 AM
Orange – 2EL 1089 AM
Broken Hill – 2BH 567 AM and Hill FM 106.9
Translators
Murwillumbah/Tweed Heads/Gold Coast 104.1FM
Dubbo 91.9 FM
Glen Innes 106.7 FM
Cobar 972 AM
Goondiwindi 89.5 FM
Condobolin 90.5 FM
Kandos 97.9 FM
Cobar 103.7 FM
Goondiwindi 88.7 FM
Lightning Ridge 92.9 FM
Collarenebri 101.9 FM
Walgett 106.7 FM
Port Stephens 97.5 FM
Kyogle 104.3 FM
Stanthorpe 91.5 FM
Stanthorpe 99.5 FM
Walcha 89.3 FM
Toowoomba 1359 AM
Maclean/Yamba 103.9 FM
Tewantin/Noosa 107.1 FM
Warialda 102.9 FM
Port Macquarie 93.5 FM
Collarenebri 103.5FM
Mungindi 105.5 FM
Mungindi 107.1 FM
Lightning Ridge 91.3
Brunswick Heads 103.5 FM
Dalby 95.9 FM
Walgett 105.1
Gloucester 100.1 FM
Gloucester 103.3 FM
Forster 100.3 FM
Wellington 96.1 FM