About Triple B FM

Triple B FM

Triple B FM (branded BBBfm; callsign 5BBB) is a community radio station in the Barossa Valley, South Australia, broadcasting on 89.1 MHz FM to the Barossa Valley, the Light district and Gawler in South Australia. Operated by the Barossa Broadcasting Board Inc., it first went to air on 25 January 1997. Its transmitter on Kaiser Stuhl (Mount Kitchener) broadcasts at 1,640 watts EIRP, with the signal audible as far south as Adelaide. After 23 years in the former Tanunda railway station, the station moved in 2019 to new studios in Nuriootpa. Its postal address is PO Box 654, Tanunda SA 5352. The station's website is https://bbbfm.com/.

Overview

Triple B FM is the Barossa's community voice: the volunteer-powered 89.1 FM for the valley, the Light district and Gawler — the wine country's own station. Where Adelaide's commercials reach up the valley, Triple B FM is the valley's own: the local news, the local events, the local voices — the community radio that "concentrates and reflects the values and the priorities of local communities," in the words of state MP Tony Piccolo's 2019 Hansard tribute. With the concentration of media, "local voices are often not heard anymore" — Triple B FM ensures the Barossa's are.

History

The decades — 1997 to today, nearly 30 years — span the valley's growth: the wine boom, the tourism, the Gawler corridor's expansion. Through it all, Triple B's mission held: the local voices, the local stories, the local culture. The station that launched on Australia Day weekend 1997 still serves the valley: the constancy, the community, the Barossa.
The Barossa Broadcasting Board — the incorporated association, the community licensee — is the governance: the board, the volunteers, the valley's station. The callsign — 5BBB, the triple-B — is the brand: the 5 for South Australia, the BBB for the Barossa. The branding — 'BBBfm,' 'Triple B FM 89.1' — is the identity: the valley's letters, the valley's frequency.
The frequency journey — 91.9, then 101.5, then 89.1 — was the interference dance: ABRS on the first, 5UV (Radio Adelaide) on the second, the moves to clear the neighbours. The 25 January 1997 first air date — Australia Day weekend — was the valley's Australia Day gift: the community station, born on the national day. The Tanunda railway station years — 23 years, some 1996 to 2019 — were the heritage era: the old station building, the valley's history, housing the valley's voice.

Triple B FM first went to air on 25 January 1997 — launching on 91.9 MHz, then moving to 101.5, then to 89.1: both moves to prevent interference with nearby broadcasters (ABRS and 5UV respectively). For 23 years, the station's studios were in the former Tanunda railway station — the valley's heritage building housing the valley's station. In 2019, the station moved to new studios in the senior citizens' building in Nuriootpa — the opening attended by the Governor and Mrs Le, with MP Tony Piccolo congratulating the station. Piccolo praised president Margaret Williams, the board and "her band of volunteers" for "keeping the community of the Barossa and areas engaged."

The Barossa — Australia's famous wine valley — is the station's parish: the vignerons, the German-heritage towns (Tanunda, Nuriootpa, Angaston), the tourists, the farmers. The Light district and Gawler — the broadcast area's north and south — extend it: the wheat, the commuters, the growing corridor. The Kaiser Stuhl transmitter — Mount Kitchener, 1,640 watts — covers it all: the valley floor, the ranges, the signal reaching Adelaide.
The sponsorship — the station's website topics: 'Programs, and Sponsorship' — funds the mission: the local businesses, the valley's enterprises, supporting the valley's station. The community announcements — the events, the fundraisers, the notices — are the service: the valley's bulletin board, on the valley's airwaves. The volunteers' shows — the 'projects and shows' Piccolo praised — are the content: the Barossa's voices, the Barossa's music, the Barossa's stories.

Programming

Triple B FM broadcasts community programming for the Barossa Valley: the local shows, the volunteer presenters, the valley's news and events — the community radio mix. The station's projects and shows — run by the volunteers Piccolo praised — engage the Barossa and surrounding areas: the wine country, the German heritage, the farming communities, the growing Gawler corridor.

The audience — the Barossa's people — is the valley's mix: the wine families, the Lutheran heritage, the new arrivals, the Adelaide day-trippers who become listeners. The signal reaching Adelaide — 'audible as far south as Adelaide' — extends it: the city, hearing the valley. The community radio promise — the local voices, the local stories, the local culture — is the differentiator: the valley's own, against the city's commercials.

Coverage & Audience

Triple B FM broadcasts on 89.1 MHz FM (5BBB) from Kaiser Stuhl (Mount Kitchener) at 1,640 watts EIRP to the Barossa Valley, the Light district and Gawler — with the signal audible as far south as Adelaide. Its audience is the valley's community: the vignerons, the farmers, the German-heritage families, the commuters — the Barossa's own, hearing the Barossa's own.

The 2019 move — from the Tanunda railway station to the senior citizens' building in Nuriootpa — was the modernisation: the dated railway-station equipment, replaced; the new studios, opened by the Governor. Piccolo's Hansard tribute — the volunteers, the board, president Margaret Williams — was the parliamentary record: the community radio, praised in the parliament. 'It does something very important: it concentrates and reflects the values and the priorities of local communities.'
The volunteer band — 'Margaret Williams, and her band of volunteers, their board and other people who undertake a number of projects and shows' — is the station's workforce: the presenters, the technicians, the fundraisers, the valley's people giving their time. The Governor's opening — the 2019 Nuriootpa studios, the vice-regal ribbon — was the honour: the community station, recognised at the highest state level. The 23 railway-station years — the dated equipment, the heritage building — are the history: the valley's station, grown up.

Ownership

Triple B FM is operated by the Barossa Broadcasting Board Incorporated — the community licensee, trading as Triple B FM 89.1. Its postal address is PO Box 654, Tanunda SA 5352. The station's studios — after 23 years at the former Tanunda railway station — are in Nuriootpa.

The ACMA record — Station ID 1599079, licence 1170693-1, broadcasting from Mt Kitchener to the Barossa Valley — is the official footprint: the community licence, the 89.1 frequency, the Barossa Broadcasting Board. The PO Box 654, Tanunda — the postal address — is the station's letterbox: the valley's mail, the community's correspondence. The bbbfm.com website — the programs, the sponsorship — is the digital front door: the valley, online.
The valley's media — the Barossa Herald, the commercials from Adelaide, the ABC — leaves the radio gap Triple B fills: the valley's own airwaves, the local voices the papers can't carry. The wine country's calendar — the vintage, the festivals, the events — is the station's content: the Barossa's year, broadcast. The German heritage — the Lutheran churches, the oompah, the traditions — is the cultural bedrock: the valley's identity, on the valley's station.
The streaming — the 89.1 signal, online — takes the valley worldwide: the expats, the tourists, the wine lovers, hearing home. The nearly 30 years — 1997 to today — are the longevity: the community station that endured, the valley's constancy.

Digital Presence

The station's website is https://bbbfm.com/, with streaming online — the 89.1 FM signal, worldwide. From the 1997 Australia Day-weekend launch to the frequency moves to the Tanunda railway station years to the 2019 Nuriootpa studios: Triple B FM 89.1 — the Barossa's community voice, the valley's own station — concentrating and reflecting the values of the local community.