KOFM will become Triple M, the radio station’s owners announced on Monday.
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Southern Cross Austereo confirmed the Newcastle station would change, alongside Townsville’s 4TOFM, but continue to produce local shows and content.
“That’s Pricey for Breakfast in Townsville and Tanya and Steve in Newcastle,” the company said in a statement, confirming it would carry Jane Kennedy and Mick Molloy’s show in the afternoons and the Triple M call for NRL matches.
“As the Triple M network continues to grow, these stations will enter a new era under one of Australia’s most iconic radio brands with 36 stations nationally, plus four digital Triple M stations.”
Southern Cross Austereo head of content for regional radio Mickey Maher said the company was excited to bring the branding to the Hunter.
“We are proud and passionate about the communities we are a part of and the local content we deliver,” he said.
The news comes just weeks after KOFM legend David Collins was farewelled by mourners after his death following a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer.
KOFM began operating from Kotara in August 1931 as 2KO, founded by Allen Fairhall. It shifted its transmitter to Sandgate in 1933 and operated from several locations until moving to the CML building on Hunter Street in 1937.
The station was among the first Top 40 radio stations in the country, shifting to Charlestown in 1988 before it was sold to Austereo in 1996.
Southern Cross Media bought Austereo in 2011, taking full ownership of the station. It is presently based in Honeysuckle.