5AA
 | |
| City | Adelaide, South Australia |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Adelaide RA1 |
| Slogan | Interactive Radio |
| Frequency | 1395 kHz AM (also on DAB+) |
| First air date | 9 March 1976 [1] |
| Format | Talkback radio |
| Language(s) | English |
| Transmitter coordinates | 34°45′34″S 138°36′26″E / 34.7594°S 138.6072°ECoordinates: 34°45′34″S 138°36′26″E / 34.7594°S 138.6072°E |
| Callsign meaning | 5 (for the first digit of the South Australia postcode) Adelaide Australia |
| Owner | NOVA Entertainment |
| Sister stations | Nova 91.9 |
| Webcast | fiveaa.com.au/player.aspx |
| Website |
fiveaa |
5AA (identified as FIVEaa, see logo, right), is 50% owned by NOVA Entertainment and Lachlan Murdoch's company Illyra, and is Adelaide's only commercial talkback radio station. The station has a range of programs including news, sports, current affairs, social issues, football calls, gardening, lifestyle, cars, travel and health.
History
5AA commenced service in Kent Town on 9 March 1976[2] on the frequency 1390 kHz. It was moved to 1386 kHz with the introduction of 9 kHz spacing on the AM dial in 1978. The station now broadcasts on 1395 kHz.
5AA commenced its life with a "Beautiful Music" format and quickly became Adelaide's no 1 rating radio station. In 1976, the only FM competition was the ABC owned Classic FM. AM stations were the ABC owned 5AN, 5DN 972 - "Licensed to talk" and music stations 5KA on 1197AM and 5AD on 1323AM.
In the 1980s 5AA was sold to the State Government owned TAB, ditching music to begin broadcasting horse and dog racing, with talkback in between race calls. The station shifted to the TAB headquarters in Pulteney Court, Adelaide, with "Talk of the Town" as its slogan. However, it plummeted in popularity as a result of its schizophrenic broadcasting policy. With the advent of narrowcast licences, the TAB purchased frequency 1539AM and shifted all racing there, freeing up 5AA for talk and interviews.
A new slogan was adopted in the early 1990s, "5AA, Where you don't miss a thing" and the station began a slow rise in the ratings to challenge 5AN (now 891ABC) and the rebadged 5DN, on the 1323AM frequency (now Cruise1323).
On 27 September 1996, 5AA was separated from the TAB and sold by the State Liberal Olsen Government as part of its asset sales program to repay state debt, caused by the $3 billion collapse of the State Bank 5 years earlier. The new owner became dmg Radio Australia, under the local Chairmanship of CEO Paul Thompson, with the national headquarters based in Adelaide. (In 1980, Thompson established Double-S-A FM (now SAFM) as the first FM commercial radio station in Adelaide, which led to the formation of radio giant Austereo.)
In 2000, another new logo was adopted with the tag, Interactive Radio FIVEaa and in October 2004, the station shifted to new premises in Hindmarsh Square with the launch of NOVA 91.9 FM, also owned by dmg Radio Australia, two months earlier.
In November 2009 dmg sold 50% of its share to Lachlan Murdoch's company Illyria and Paul Thompson became non-executive Chairman for six months, before retiring from an illustrious radio career spanning 4 decades and an induction to Radio's Hall of Fame.
Programmes
Monday - Friday
- FIVEaa Breakfast Show with David Penberthy and Will Goodings - 6am to 9am
- Mornings with Leon Byner - 9am to 12pm
- The Court of Public Opinion with Jeremy Cordeaux - 12pm to 4pm
- FIVEaa Sports Show with Stephen Rowe and Mark Bickley - 4pm to 7pm
- FIVEaa Today with Leith Forrest - 7pm to 8pm
- Evenings with Alan Hickey - 8pm to 12am
- Midnight to Dawn with Peter Godfrey - 12am to 6am
Other shows include Michael Keelan's Weekend hosted by Michael Keelan and Mark Aiston, Sundays with Leith Forrest (often co-hosted by Michaelangelo Rucci, the Chief Sports Writer for Adelaide's daily newspaper The Advertiser), and Weekends on FIVEaa with various hosts including Andrew Reimer, Ali Rodda, Dave Howard, Ashley Felderhof, Brad Aldridge and Garth Wilson.
Additionally, FIVEaa is also the AM broadcaster in Adelaide for all Australian Football League (AFL) games involving the two Adelaide-based teams, Adelaide and Port Adelaide, while taking games involving interstate teams from affiliate stations such as 3AW in Melbourne and 6PR in Perth. AFL broadcasts on the station are referred to as "FIVEaaFL". FIVEaa also broadcasts select local South Australian National Football League (SANFL) matches, including the finals and Grand Final.