Was Vega a flop or just ahead of its time?
It was a sad day for DMG Radio yesterday when it was forced to hammer the final nail in the coffin of its baby boomer Vega stations.
I remember writing about the launch of Sydney and Melbourne stations back in August 2005. It has now become a sad irony that the radio network was named after the brightest star in the constellation Lyra.
Four and half years later and after paying $158m for the two licences, DMG has been forced to concede defeat.
As of this morning, the Vega stations have been renamed Classic Rock, scrapping its existing format to provide listeners with, well, classic rock songs – seven days a week.
In Sydney, at least for now, it will continue to feature host Maroon during breakfast in Sydney, and Dicko and Dave in Melbourne. The stations will also syndicate Barry Bissell’s Cover to Cover on Sundays 9-11am and a weekday show from Alice Cooper at 7pm.
The Vega stations limped to the finishing line in the latest ratings survey managing just a 3.4 per cent in Sydney and 3.7 per cent in Melbourne.
One question some observers are already asking is will there be room for another rock station to rival Austereo’s Triple M? DMG seems to think so, with Classic Rock’s heavy music format and very little talk.
Much has been written about why Vega has failed to make any significant impact throughout its short history. Despite hiring some heavy hitting radio veterans including Angela Catterns, Shaun Micallef, Denise Scott, Wendy Harmer and Francis Leach, it has not been the rising star DMG had hoped for.
Its Melbourne station boss Sam Thompson even told The Age that the Vega brand had been “damaged” for years because it was too broad and didn’t stand for anything.
But was that really the problem? Is it possible that perhaps it was just ahead of its time with its slightly more contemporary style for older listeners?
To take an overseas example, in the UK the Heart FM network, now owned by Global Radio, started out at the bottom of the pack, progressivly increasing its share, percentage point by percentage point off a small base. Throughout this time it stuck to its adult contemporary positioning, as the population also continued to age.
In the latest ratings figures, its London station finally toppled rival Magic from the number one spot after the latter’s three-year winning streak.
So I would argue that perhaps it wasn’t a case of trying to carve a niche with no demand. It simply entered a market, at least for now, that was too small to sustain another player, and therefore was just not commercially viable.
And let’s not forget digital radio.
It’s likely that there is still some untapped potential worth exploring for another new digital radio star of Vega’s ilk.
Camille Alarcon
Linkedin
or was it doing something that had happened years ago when FOX first launched in melbourne. Check out this interesting piece
http://mikejeffreys.com.au/
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The music was never great. Maybe Classic Rock – though unoriginal, will be better listening.
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Paul – interesting points raised by Mike Jeffreys. But does that then make me a swinger? I listen to both commercial and public broadcasting. I guess I must be in the minority.
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I never thought Vega was any worse than some of the other commercial crap still on air.
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Or was it a case of “this is what we’re giving you”, rather than what the market needs? Now we have 2 Rock Stations and 3 “current hits” stations. Sydney needs more variety – not less.
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well .even triple j has sold out.880 kiss fm in melbourne is my ride. one gets so sick of hearing the same songs .long live new music
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not sure how it could be ‘ahead of its time’ given it’s failed from day 1.
maybe we could use this cliche in a decade if the oldie refresh format starts to yield.
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Well I’m not sure who the other three listeners were but I for one will miss my Maroon (spelling?) and my daily Stones song.
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Ahead of it’s time? No era would appreciate wishy washy boring radio.
Vega flopped because it didn’t stand for anything, and had no point of view. The same thing will happen with “classic rock” if they just keep playing material that tests well with opposing radio stations’ auds – like Dire Straits Romeo and Juliet. Rock? Just roll out the Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan and see how to bland yourself into oblivion.
DMG are doomed to fail with this. Hey, why not launch 3 weeks early with all ACCA DACCA and make a statement? How about hiring some talent with rock cred? Where is the connection with the audience?
And before they say “this market is too crowded to support a pure rock format” check this. http://www.kilo943.com/kilolive.shtml
often #1, and almost always in the top 5 in a market of 24 radio stations.
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That’s the problem Dan …. not enough guys who know how to relate with the listener … managment in Australian Radio today are like politcians, in it for total self interest. Bean counters and salesmen know nothing about the entertainment business and what the hell “personal communication” means!! Impossible if one is self centred, it takes a generous personality to entertain …. as far as the music, the programmers are ignorant and have to rely of checking selections with a flawed research model … Radio is boring and dying because the people who knew what to do were forced out by the selfish back stabbers and no talents, there is more to life that tolerating mediocrity …
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