| ARN Media Ltd. | |
| Former Name: | Australian Radio Network Here, There & Everywhere APN News & Media |
| Type: | Public |
| Location City: | 100 William Street, Sydney |
| Location Country: | Australia |
| Locations: | 33 markets |
| Area Served: | Australia, Hong Kong |
| Industry: | Outdoor advertising Radio Broadcasting |
| Services: | Radio: KIIS Network Pure Gold Network ARN Regional CADA Digital media: iHeartRadio |
| Revenue: | A$252.7m |
| Net Income: | A$54.6m |
ARN Media Ltd., formerly Here, There & Everywhere and APN News & Media, is an Australian media company. Divisions include broadcast radio and Out-of-home advertising. The company previously had assets in New Zealand, and previously owned Adshel, APN Outdoor and Gfinity eSports in Australia.[1] Its commercial radio stations include the Pure Gold, KIIS Network, CADA, ARN Regional and iHeartRadio brands.
The company operates the ARN News service in Australia, which uses international correspondents and source news stories from AAP in Australia, CNN from the United States and Sky News and Independent Radio News from the United Kingdom. ARN has newsrooms in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide.
Originally ARN was a joint venture of APN News & Media and iHeartMedia (formerly Clear Channel). On 19 February 2014, it was reported that APN News & Media had agreed to purchase Clear Channel's 50% stake in the ARN.[2] As a result, ARN is now fully owned by ARN Media. The company continues to operate the Australian version of iHeartRadio.[3]
Until 2014, ARN also included New Zealand radio networks Newstalk ZB, Classic Hits FM, ZM, Radio Sport, Radio Hauraki, Easy Mix, Flava and Coast under umbrella company The Radio Network. These are now part of the New Zealand Media and Entertainment.
In August 2021, the company removed the words 'Australian Radio Network' from its name, now being known as simply ARN.[4] Three months later, in November 2021, Here, There & Everywhere, ARN's parent company, purchased Grant Broadcasters, who intend to integrate it with its own business by January 2022.[5] [6] [7] The deal was finalised on 4 January 2022.[8]
Having already acquired a 15% stake in Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) earlier in the year, in October 2023 ARN launched a takeover offer for SCA in partnership with Anchorage Capital Partners. To satisfy Australian Communications & Media Authority regulations that allow one party to only own two radio stations in one market, in capital cities ARN would add the Triple M network to the KIIS Network, while Anchorage Capital Partners would control the Hit and Pure Gold networks.[9] [10]
In 2015, HT&E's two largest shareholders were the Australian fund manager Allan Gray Australia and News Corp Australia. Irish company Independent News & Media and Denis O'Brien's Baycliffe held an approximately 30% stake in the company before selling it in March 2015.
Here, There & Everywhere had its origins in Provincial Newspapers (PN), a listed company that published regional newspapers in New South Wales and Queensland. The Herald & Weekly Times, which owned a significant proportion of PNQ, was taken over by News Limited in 1987. To comply with an order of the Trade Practices Commission, News Limited was required to sell its PN shares. The 48% stake in PN was acquired in 1988 by interests associated with the family of Tony O'Reilly, the principal shareholder of Independent Newspapers of Ireland.
The company was renamed Australian Provincial Newspapers Holdings and listed again on the Australian Securities Exchange in 1992 following a public share issue, and in 1998 the name was changed to APN News & Media.
In 2001, HT&E acquired 25% of Soprano Design. Later going on to acquire steaks in Conversant Media and Unbnd Group. These acquisitions have been listed every year in their financial reports. Soprano Design was valued at over A$500 million in November 2019, giving HT&E over A$125m in equity.[11] Following Soprano's acquisition of SilverStreet Intl in December 2020, Analysts have stated that Soprano Design could be worth upward of $1 billion.
In June 2016, the company completed the demerger of its New Zealand radio and publishing business, New Zealand Media and Entertainment.[12] However, the company maintained a presence in New Zealand via its outdoor advertising business, Adshel NZ.[13] Also in 2016, the company announced it would sell its regional newspaper division, Australian Regional Media, to News Corp Australia for $36.6 million.[14] The deal was reviewed but not opposed by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.[15] The sale of ARM, encompassing APN's remaining newspaper assets, was completed in December 2016.[16]
APN News & Media Limited changed its name to HT&E Limited in May 2017, changing its ASX Listing Code to HT1.[17]
In June 2018, oOh!media purchased street furniture business Adshel for A$570 million from HT&E, in a competitive bidding war against rival (and former HT&E subsidiary) APN Outdoor.[18] [19]
In January 2023, the company sold its 25% stake in communications firm Soprano.[20] In May 2023, Here, There & Everywhere was renamed ARN Media.[21] [22] In June 2023, ARN acquired a 15% shareholding in major competitor Southern Cross Austereo. In October 2023, ARN launched a takeover offer for SCA in partnership with Anchorage Capital Partners. To satisfy Australian Communications & Media Authority regulations that allow one party to only own two radio stations in one market, in capital cities ARN would own the KIIS and Triple M networks, while Anchorage Capital Partners would control the Hit and Pure Gold networks.[23] [24] The deal collapsed after Anchorage withdrew.[25]
ARN operates 58 radio stations, targeting the 25-to-54-year-old demographic. These stations include
See main article: KIIS Network. A vibrant network alive with influential personalities who energise, engage and excite, immersing audiences in the best music their city has to offer.
| Callsign | Frequency | Branding | Location | Format | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 106.3 MHz FM 107.1 MHz FM (repeater)0 | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | Joint venture with Southern Cross Austereo Formerly Kix 106 | ||||
| Sydney, New South Wales | Formerly 2UW and Mix 106.5 | |||||
| Melbourne, Victoria | Formerly 3DB, 3TT, TTFM and Mix 101.1 | |||||
| 0 | Brisbane, Queensland | Joint venture with Nova Entertainment Formerly 97.3FM | ||||
| 102.3 MHz FM 096.7 MHz FM (repeater) | Adelaide, South Australia | Formerly 5DN, Radio 102FM and 5AD FM | ||||
| 0 | Perth, Western Australia | Formerly Triple M |
See main article: Pure Gold Network. An iconic network making audiences feel young, positive and full of life, immersing listeners with the Pure Gold hits they know and love.
| Callsign | Frequency | Branding | Location | Format | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101.7 MHz FM 088.3 MHz FM 0 | Sydney, New South Wales | Formerly 2WS | |||
| Melbourne, Victoria | Formerly 3KZ and KZFM | ||||
| Adelaide, South Australia | Formerly 5AD, Radio 1323 and SEN 1323 | ||||
| Callsign | Frequency | Branding | Location | Format | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Formerly 2KA, OneFM and The Edge 96.ONE | |||||
| Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | Joint venture with Southern Cross Austereo | |||||
| Perth, Western Australia | Joint venture with Nova Entertainment |
ARN also broadcasts a number of digital only radio stations.[26]
| Branding | Frequency | Location | Format | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAB+ block 9B (VHF, Sydney and Melbourne) DAB+ block 9A (VHF, Brisbane and Adelaide) | Sydney, New South Wales Melbourne, Victoria Brisbane, Queensland Adelaide, South Australia | ||||
| The '80s | DAB+ block 9B (VHF, Sydney and Melbourne) DAB+ block 9A (VHF, Brisbane and Adelaide) | Sydney, New South Wales Melbourne, Victoria Brisbane, Queensland Adelaide, South Australia | WSFM 80s Sydney Gold 80s Melbourne KIIS 80s Brisbane Mix 80s Adelaide96FM 80s Perth | ||
| The '90s | DAB+ block 9B (VHF, Sydney and Melbourne) DAB+ block 9A (VHF, Brisbane and Adelaide) | Sydney, New South Wales Melbourne, Victoria Brisbane, Queensland Adelaide, South Australia | KIIS 90s Sydney KIIS 90s Melbourne KIIS 90s Brisbane Mix 90s Adelaide | ||
| DAB+ block 9B (VHF, Sydney and Melbourne) DAB+ block 9A (VHF, Brisbane and Adelaide) | Sydney, New South Wales Melbourne, Victoria Brisbane, Queensland Adelaide, South Australia |
| Branding | Frequency | Location | Format | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4BH | Brisbane, Queensland | Sold to Nova Entertainment in 2002[27] | |||
| Brisbane, Queensland | Sold to Sports Entertainment Network in 2022 | ||||
| PureCountry | Online streaming | Closed in 2009 | |||
| KseraRadio.com | Online streaming | Closed | |||
| Classic Hits Live | DAB+ block 9B (VHF, Sydney and Melbourne) DAB+ block 9A (VHF, Brisbane and Adelaide) | Sydney, New South Wales Melbourne, Victoria Brisbane, Queensland Adelaide, South Australia | Replaced by Pure Gold '80s in 2010 | ||
| Classic Hits Plus | DAB+ block 9B (VHF, Sydney and Melbourne) DAB+ block 9A (VHF, Brisbane and Adelaide) | Sydney, New South Wales Melbourne, Victoria Brisbane, Queensland Adelaide, South Australia | Replaced by Pure Gold '90s in 2010 |