WorldAudio announces Major Appointment

WorldAudio Limited has announce the appointment of Lee Cornell, to the newly created role of Group Manager, National Broadcast Operations for the company’s 100% owned subsidiary, RADIO 2.

Cornell, who has been based in the UK for the past seven years, was Group Program Director of The Wireless Group (TWG UK Ltd). He has worked extensively in UK broadcasting including ILR programming with The Radio Partnership, development of licence applications, UK digital brand development, and launch and programming of the highly successful regional FM station for the south of England, WAVE 105.2 FM.

Cornell will be based primarily at the WorldAudio Group’s new national digital network operations centre, Homebush Olympic Park, Sydney.

Three weeks ago, WorldAudio directors announced completion of the construction and rollout of the company’s National AM Broadcast Infrastructure, just a few days before the deadline to ‘use or lose’ the licences expired.

The deadline was imposed by the Communications Minister and enforced by the Australian Communications Authority, after a revision of the Section 40 commercial licence regime.

45 AM transmission sites are on air in all states, which the company has funded by raising just over $17 million by issuing more shares.

According to the company’s preliminary accounts, presented the previous week to the Stock Exchange, WorldAudio earned $853,754 revenue from ordinary activities in 2004. It made a loss of $5.3 million in 2003-’04, compared with a loss of $8.5 million the previous year, and did not declare a dividend.

The transmitter rollout was completed in conjunction with broadcast engineering consultants with THL (Australia) Pty Ltd. WorldAudio has entered into agreements with tower operators, Broadcast Australia Pty Ltd and Crown Castle International, to co-locate on their towers, and has also obtained its own sites.

Managing Director, Andrew Thompson, says this is a “historic moment in Australian broadcasting. The rollout of up to 45 AM broadcast sites Australia wide within the past 12 months is without doubt a major achievement. It is a testament to everyone involved in the project who have worked tirelessly to accomplish the completion before the 29 August 29 deadline.”

Radio 2 can also be heard as a digital audio channel on the Austar/Foxtel Digital Subscription TV platform. WorldAudio is a partner in the Melbourne digital radio trial.