About Triple M Newcastle

Triple M Newcastle

Triple M Newcastle is a commercial FM radio station serving Newcastle and the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. Broadcasting on 102.9 MHz under the ACMA call sign 2KKO, the station is owned by Southern Cross Austereo as part of the national Triple M network. Its history stretches back to 1 August 1931, when it began as the AM station 2KO — making it one of the oldest continuously operating radio stations in Australia.

Overview

The station transmits on 102.9 MHz FM with an effective radiated power of 20,000 watts, serving a broadcast area defined as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Central Coast. Programming is in English, with a format described as mainstream rock and adult contemporary — the Triple M network's music-and-personality offering. The station's studios are located at 18 Honeysuckle Drive, Newcastle, in the harbourside precinct, shared with sister station Hit 106.9.

As a Triple M station, its output blends locally produced Newcastle programming — notably the long-running Tanya & Steve breakfast show — with networked shows from Southern Cross Austereo's metropolitan Triple M stations, plus the network's NRL rugby league coverage, including every Newcastle Knights game.

History

The station was founded by Allen Fairhall — later Sir Allen Fairhall — who would go on to serve as the federal Member for Paterson and as Minister for Defence in the Holt and Gorton governments. That a future defence minister launched his public life by building a 25-watt radio station in a Kotara backyard is one of the more remarkable origin stories in Australian media. The station operated on 1410 kHz with a transmission power of just 25 watts, launching from the backyard of a resident's home, with the licensee's dining room serving as the only studio. Programmes initially ran from 7:00 to 10:00 pm, later expanding into daytime, and the station sold ten minutes of advertising time per week for around fifteen pounds of revenue.

The AM decades saw the station move through the frequencies 1415 kHz (1931–1935), 1410 kHz (1935–1978) and 1413 kHz (1978–1992). In May 1988, 2KO moved to new facilities at 252 Pacific Highway, Charlestown — the "bunker on the hill" that would house the station for nearly three decades. By 1989 the station was owned by Wesgo.

On 12 October 1992, 2KO converted to the FM band, changing its call sign to 2KKO and branding itself as KOFM 102.9 — part of the wave of AM-to-FM conversions that reshaped Australian commercial radio in the early 1990s. Four years later, on 22 January 1996, the station's parent company Radio Newcastle Pty Ltd was purchased by Austereo. Austereo later sold 50 per cent to RG Capital, whose stake transferred in 2004 to Macquarie Regional RadioWorks upon its purchase of RG Capital's stations. In April 2011, Southern Cross Media bought out Austereo for $714 million, giving it full ownership of KOFM.

In late June 2017, the station moved from Charlestown to state-of-the-art harbourside facilities at 18 Honeysuckle Drive. On 9 November 2018, KOFM was renamed Triple M Newcastle, joining the national Triple M network alongside its sister station's rebrand to Hit 106.9 — aligning Newcastle's stations with SCA's national brands while retaining local shows and content.

The Charlestown building's later history became a Newcastle media story in its own right: purchased from SCA by a developer in 2017, it was acquired by the iconic Newcastle music shop Muso's Corner and transformed into a two-level music haven, with former KOFM and NXFM staff invited back to see the transformation in 2025.

Programming and Content

As a Triple M station, the Newcastle service combines local programming with networked content. The flagship local show is the Tanya & Steve breakfast programme, airing 6:00 to 9:00 am weekdays — one of the longest-running and most successful breakfast shows in regional Australian radio. In the 2019 Newcastle survey, Tanya & Steve were the top-rating breakfast show with an 18.5 per cent share.

Daytime programming includes Jeremy Ryan in mornings, with networked Triple M shows in other dayparts. Sport is a major pillar: the station carries the Triple M NRL call from Thursday to Sunday through the season, including every Newcastle Knights game with a dedicated commentary team — essential programming in a rugby league heartland where the Knights are a civic institution.

Evenings feature "Nights with Dave Gleeson" and "Triple M Aussie with Matty O," the network's Australian music show. The station's news is produced locally under news director David Dollin.

The station has a history of creative local stunts: in February 2017, KOFM rebranded for a single day as "1029 Bruce FM," playing nothing but Bruce Springsteen ahead of his Hope Estate concert in the Hunter Valley, with the entire on-air lineup adopting Bruce-themed names for the day — Bruce Wilks and Bruce Graham on breakfast, Bruce Ryan, the legendary Bruce Simpson, and Bruce Blanch on drive. The station gave away the last tickets to the show, and reverted to KOFM at 6:00 pm. It was the station's first rebrand of any kind in 86 years of broadcasting.

Evenings feature "Nights with Dave Gleeson" and "Triple M Aussie with Matty O," the network's Australian music show — a dedicated showcase for homegrown rock and contemporary Australian artists that reflects the Triple M brand's long association with Australian music. The station's news is produced locally under news director David Dollin, with news presenter Dan Flegg among the on-air team.

Coverage and Audience

Triple M Newcastle broadcasts on 102.9 MHz with 20 kW to the Hunter Valley, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Central Coast — one of the largest regional radio footprints in Australia. The station is the consistent ratings leader in the Newcastle market: in the second 2019 Newcastle survey, it recorded a 17.5 per cent share among people 10+, ahead of Hit 106.9 on 12.7 per cent, with a cumulative audience of 151,000 listeners in the 2021 survey.

The mainstream rock and adult contemporary format targets the 25–54 demographic, with particular strength among 40–54-year-old listeners. The station's dominance reflects both the Triple M brand's national strength and the deep local roots of its breakfast show and its Knights coverage — a combination that has kept it at the top of the Newcastle ratings for years.

Ownership

Triple M Newcastle is owned by Southern Cross Austereo and licensed to Radio Newcastle Pty Ltd. It operates from the Honeysuckle Drive studios alongside Hit 106.9 (2XXX), giving SCA the two leading commercial FM stations in the Newcastle market. The ownership chain — from Allen Fairhall's Newcastle Broadcasting Company through Wesgo, Austereo, RG Capital and Macquarie Regional RadioWorks to Southern Cross Austereo — traces the consolidation of Australian commercial radio across nine decades.

Digital Presence

As a Triple M station, the Newcastle service streams live through Southern Cross Austereo's LiSTNR platform, which also hosts its podcasts and on-demand content, including catch-up editions of the Tanya & Steve breakfast show. The station maintains active social media channels promoting its local personalities, Knights coverage and community activity.

As Triple M Newcastle — and before that KOFM and 2KO — the station has been part of Newcastle's daily life since 1931: from a 25-watt backyard operation in Kotara founded by a future defence minister, through the Charlestown decades, to the harbourside studios and the Triple M network — still the ratings leader of the Hunter on 102.9 FM.