i98FM

"i98fm" is a commercial radio station broadcasting on the FM band to the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It is owned by WIN Corporation, the parent company of WIN Television.

History

The station was born as 2OO ("2 Double 0") on 1 January 1979, broadcasting on 1575 kHz on the AM band. It often rated well behind popular rival commercial station, 2WL (now Wave FM), who had been broadcasting in the region since 1931. In 1992, 2OO converted to FM broadcasting and was relaunched as i98fm.

Since 1995, i98fm has consistently been the #1 radio station in the region (with the exception being two consecutive surveys in late 2002 and early 2003, when its main commercial rival, Wave FM, was the #1 station).

The station was broadcasting its own live coverage of Illawarra Steelers matches since the team's inception into the NSWRL competition in 1982. After the team merged with the St. George Dragons during the 1998/99 off-season, the station continued to broadcast their own live coverage of St. George Illawarra Dragons matches until 2001. In 2002, the live Dragons matches was axed in favour of the "Continuous Call Team" on relay from Sydney station 2GB, which aired on Sunday afternoons. That move contributed to i98fm's loss of the #1 position to Wave FM.

From October 2008, i98fm has been broadcasting programs that are also heard on its Campbelltown sister station, C91.3. It includes sharing Ryan Cram's afternoon shift, along with networking 'The Backseat' and 'After Hours' between both stations. This arrangement was mostly discontinued from January 2010, with 'After Hours' the only i98fm program to be networked to C91.3 on weekdays.

Announcers/Shows

5.30am-6am - Request Half Hour with Josh
6-9am Breakfast with Marty & Bianca Dye
9am-12pm Mornings with Lachlan (Switchy Kitch) Kitchen
12-3pm Afternoons with Ryan Cram
3-6pm "Drive Home on the Back Seat with Maje and Fairlie"
6-10pm "Afterhours" with Stolzy

Weekends
2-6pm - i98FM's Weekend Sport Show - "Game On With Robbo"

Former i98fm announcers: Brendan Jones (WSFM's Jonesy and Amanda) and Anthony Maroon (Classic Rock)