Kiss FM Australia

Kiss FM
City of license Melbourne
Broadcast area Melbourne, Australia
Branding Kiss FM
Slogan Dance Music Australia
Frequency 87.6 MHz FM
Repeaters 87.8 MHz FM
88.0 MHz FM
First air date 2005 (2005)
Format Electronic & dance music
Language(s) English
Class Narrowcast (LPON)
Owner Timmy Byrne
Website Kiss FM

Kiss FM is a narrowcast dance music station, based in Melbourne's CBD, and broadcasting on various frequencies between 87.6 and 88.0 FM in Melbourne. The station's programmes are also networked to Orbit FM, a local narrowcaster in Cairns, Queensland.

History

The station grew out of aspirant community licensee Kiss 90 FM, which lost out for a full-time license in 2001, and Sydney and Brisbane narrowcaster Rhythm FM. Rhythm FM was bought by some of the previous management of Kiss 90 and relaunched as Kiss FM in 2005 as a narrowcast radio service.[1][2]

Kiss FM currently has active transmitters at Flemington, Geelong, Kangaroo Ground, Melbourne City, and a relay service to Cairns. Previously, Kiss FM had also broadcast in regional Victoria in Wangaratta and Daylesford however these services were under an agreement with another operator, who has since closed the services and sold the licences to other broadcast service operators.

Today, the station is managed by Timmy Byrne. It is the home of duo TRANCEGRESSION, which features live DJ mixes including vocal hard trance though to hardstyle; and the StrictlyOZ HipHop show with Hosts Cook & Big Dip. Annually, the station hosts a dance party on Australia Day - 26 January - at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, known as Kiss My Grass.[3] All radio hosts are invited to play a 45-minute set to an audience exceeding 10,000.

Kiss and KIIS

In late 2013, Kiss FM had unsuccessfully attempted to prevent commercial radio network Australian Radio Network rebranding its Mix Network stations - initially only in Sydney - to the similar KIIS. At the time of the attempt, Kiss FM's trademark had expired, and a new application from ARN for KIIS had been submitted and accepted. With industry rumors that Melbourne's Mix 101.1 would also rebrand to KIIS, Kiss FM Australia launched the "Kiss Off ARN" campaign, stating that ARN's new branding was a breach of their trademark, and that the station would be pursuing legal action.[4] However, in February 2014, the two parties reached a "confidential agreement", and the issue never made it to court.[5]

In November 2014, it was confirmed that Mix 101.1 would rebrand as KIIS,[6] and did so in January 2015.

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ "Kiss Off ARN - the battle for the name is on". Radio Today. 27 November 2013. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "Kiss and KIIS to co-exist, as legal battle ends". Radio Today. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "Melbourne’s MIX 101.1 Rebrands as KIIS 101.1". B&T. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2015.

External links


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