About KIIS 102.3

KIIS 102.3

KIIS 102.3 (callsign 5ADD) is a commercial FM radio station in Adelaide, South Australia, broadcasting a Top 40 (CHR) format on 102.3 MHz FM (with a 96.7 MHz repeater) across metropolitan Adelaide. Owned by ARN, it is the Adelaide member of the KIIS Network — the five-city entertainment network alongside KIIS 106.5 Sydney, KIIS 101.1 Melbourne, KIIS 97.3 Brisbane and KIIS DAB+ Perth. The station launched as KIIS 102.3 on 19 January 2026, rebranded from Mix 102.3 (ARN, 2001–2026), with the music format shifting to Contemporary Hit Radio and a new breakfast show from Ben Harvey, Liam Stapleton and Belle Jackson.

Overview

KIIS 102.3 is Adelaide's new CHR station: the KIIS Network's Adelaide flagship, taking the market younger with a contemporary hit music proposition. The rebrand — announced at ARN's 2025 upfront — folded Adelaide into the national KIIS identity: the "KIIS lips" branding, the national drive content, the live-and-local breakfast. Its lineage runs deep: 5ADD, formerly 5AD FM and Mix 102.3, one of Adelaide's heritage FM licences. ARN's 2026 strategy built "two national networks, KIIS and GOLD" — Adelaide's Mix 102.3 becoming KIIS 102.3, and sister AM station Cruise 1323 becoming GOLD 1323.

History

The Mix 102.3 years — 2001 to 2026, the quarter-century — were the station's modern identity: the adult contemporary, the heritage breakfast teams, the '#1FM' claims. The KIIS umbrella years — 2015 to 2026, the network branding without the name — were the transition: the lips, the themes, the essence kept. The January 2026 rename — the full KIIS, the CHR — completed it: the national brand, the younger music, the new breakfast.
The October 2025 announcement — the ARN upfront, the Mix-to-KIIS news, the CHR format shift — was the rebrand's reveal: the Adelaide market, the younger proposition, the national KIIS. The 19 January 2026 launch — the switchover day, the KIIS 102.3 birth — was the execution: the Mix era's end, the CHR era's start, the five-city network complete (with Perth on DAB+).
The 5DN lineage — the AM heritage, the FM conversion, the Radio 102FM and 5AD FM years — is the licence's deep past: Adelaide's commercial radio history, the simulcast battles, the ABA's intervention. The 2001 ARN purchase — 5AD-FM sold, Mix 102.3 born — was the modern era's start: the Mix Network, the adult contemporary, the '#1FM' years. The 2014 KIIS Network formation — Mix Network rebranded, Adelaide keeping its name — was the first national step: the KIIS lips, the shared branding, the unchanged essence.

The station's roots are in Adelaide's 5AD FM heritage. The FM licence's history includes the 5DN/5AD lineage and the Radio 102FM and 5AD FM eras; in 2001, 5AD-FM was sold to ARN (then the Australian Radio Network), which rebranded it Mix 102.3. In November 2014, ARN announced the Mix Network would become the KIIS Network from January 2015 — Brisbane and Adelaide retained their names and formats under the KIIS umbrella. That changed in October 2025: ARN announced Mix 102.3 would rebrand to KIIS 102.3 with a format change to Contemporary Hit Radio. On 19 January 2026, the rebrand took effect — Adelaide's Mix 102.3 became KIIS 102.3, and Perth's 96FM left KIIS for the Gold Network.

The breakfast changeover — Hayley and Max out, Ben, Liam and Belle in — is the rebrand's human face: the December 2025 farewell, the Nova homecoming, the delayed April 2026 start. The Ben & Liam story — the Nova late-drive duo, the non-compete, the homecoming — is the talent coup: ARN's breakfast bet, the younger audience, the KIIS energy. The Michelle Murphy departure — ten years of workdays, the January 2026 exit — is the era's end: the Mix years, the loyal listeners, the new sound.
The Belle Jackson addition — the third breakfast voice, the Nova late-drive alumna — completes the trio: Ben, Liam and Belle, the mornings, the KIIS energy. The December 2025 handover — Hayley and Max's last show, the new team's first — is the changing of the guard: the Mix mornings, the KIIS mornings.

Programming

KIIS 102.3 broadcasts Top 40 (CHR): the contemporary hits, the national KIIS entertainment content, and live local breakfast. The October 2025 announcement ended Hayley Pearson and Max Burford's morning show (wrapping 12 December 2025), replacing it with Ben Harvey, Liam Stapleton and Belle Jackson — previously part of Nova's national late drive lineup — returning home for breakfast. Longtime workday announcer Michelle Murphy departed in January 2026 after ten years hosting the Adelaide workday; Ben & Liam's start was delayed to 1 April 2026 by a non-compete clause in their Nova contracts. Every market carries local news, sport, traffic and weather.

The CHR format — Contemporary Hit Radio, the Top 40 — is the music: the current hits, the pop energy, the younger skew. The iHeartRadio stream — the app, the online — is the everywhere: the 102.3 signal, the phone, the smart speaker. The local content — the news, sport, traffic, weather, every market — is the KIIS promise: the national brand, the local flavour.

Coverage & Audience

KIIS 102.3 broadcasts on 102.3 MHz FM (callsign 5ADD) across metropolitan Adelaide, with a 96.7 MHz repeater, plus digital radio and streaming via iHeartRadio. Its audience is Adelaide's younger mainstream: the CHR listeners, the hit-music fans — the demographic ARN's 2026 strategy aimed to "refresh and rebalance," taking the station younger with a younger music proposition.

The ARN strategy — 'true national scale across two of the most recognisable media brands' — is the 2026 play: KIIS and GOLD, the five-city networks, the national campaigns. The Adelaide pair — KIIS 102.3 (FM, CHR) and GOLD 1323 (AM, oldies) — is the market's split: the younger and the classic, the hits and the heritage. The 96.7 repeater — the 5ADD signal's helper — extends the reach: the metro, the fringes, the 102.3 everywhere.
The callsign 5ADD — the 5 for South Australia, the ADD — is the licence in letters: the FM frequency, the 102.3, the Adelaide. The ARN ownership — the Australian Radio Network, the media group — is the corporate: the KIIS Network, the Gold Network, the iHeartRadio platform. The joint ventures — Canberra's Mix 106.3/Hit 104.7 with SCA, Brisbane's KIIS 97.3 with Nova — are the partnerships: the shared markets, the shared stations.

Ownership

KIIS 102.3 is owned and operated by ARN (ARN Media), one of Australia's major commercial radio groups. It sits in the KIIS Network — the Top 40 (CHR) network — alongside KIIS 106.5 Sydney, KIIS 101.1 Melbourne, KIIS 97.3 Brisbane (a joint venture with Nova Entertainment) and KIIS DAB+ Perth. ARN's Adelaide stable also includes GOLD 1323 (formerly Cruise 1323) on 1323 AM and Gold Adelaide on DAB+.

The KIIS name — the Los Angeles KIIS-FM homage, the 102.7 MHz namesake — is the brand's origin: the American pop station, the Australian network, the lips logo. The five-city network — Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth (DAB+) — is the 2026 footprint: the national KIIS, the local breakfasts, the 'city-first' strategy. The Kyle & Jackie O exception — Sydney-local, Perth via DAB+ — is the rule's proof: the national brand, the local mornings.
The national drive content — the KIIS shows, the shared programming — is the network's glue: the five cities, the one brand, the local mornings. The 2026 upfront — Lauren Joyce's 'landmark moment' language, the advertiser pitch — was the strategy sold: the 'cohesive national campaigns,' the 'power of connection,' the KIIS and GOLD future.

Digital Presence

The station streams via iHeartRadio and digital radio — the 102.3 signal, the 96.7 repeater, the app. From 5AD FM to Mix 102.3 (2001–2026) to KIIS 102.3: on 19 January 2026, Adelaide's heritage 102.3 joined the national KIIS Network — Top 40, live and local breakfast, the KIIS lips on the dial.