On Thursday night, ARN celebrated the launch of Brisbane 97.3FM and 4KQ’s new industry-leading radio broadcast studios with an exclusive housewarming party. Close to 120 guests were in attendance, including Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk who officially opened the new studios.
The move to a new ARN Brisbane home comes just a couple of weeks after SCA also moved into new state-of-the art studios for its Hit and Triple M stations.
ARN is now based in the vibrant Kings Row precinct in the inner Brisbane suburb of Milton. Guests at the launch included staff, VIPs, clients, media partners and other industry friends who enjoyed celebratory drinks along with sweeping Brisbane CBD and river views.
A live music performance by Brisbane musician Steven Childs entertained guests at the launch on the night.
The party followed months of hard work from the ARN team who, in late May, relocated over 70 staff from the network’s previous Stones Corner studios to one of Brisbane’s premier commercial precincts, just 1.5 kilometres from the CBD.
The team spent a total of nine months planning and facilitating the move, with ARN leading the way as the first Australian commercial radio broadcaster to build audio production facilities with a perfect balance of Production and Broadcast technology – utilising Dante digital audio integrated with Broadcast Livewire for premium radio content creation.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk showed her support for ARN by officially opening the new studios with a special ribbon cutting ceremony, alongside on-air talent including 97.3FM breakfast hosts Bianca Dye, Mike Van Acker and Bob Gallagher, 4KQ breakfast hosts Laurel Edwards, Gary Clare and Mark Hine, 4KQ breakfast newsreader Jo Hayes, 97.3FM breakfast newsreader Monique Dews, 97.3FM afternoons presenter Daniel Thomas, plus HT&E CEO Ciaran Davis, ARN National Content Director Duncan Campbell, ARN Chief Commercial Officer Pete Whitehead, ARN Chief Operating Officer Michael Harvey, ARN National People & Culture Director Marissa Daras, and 97.3FM and 4KQ Content Director, Barry Drinkwater.
HT&E CEO and Managing Director Ciaran Davis said: “ARN is dedicated to delivering its Brisbane audiences industry-leading audio experiences through our broadcast radio and on-demand content. We are proud to celebrate this milestone for 97.3FM and 4KQ in particular, and it’s been an honour to have the support of the Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to help launch our new Brisbane studios.
“ARN is focussed on being the leader in audio in Australia, and a critical driver for us with the move of the Brisbane office was to develop contemporary, technologically-advanced broadcast studios that deliver a premium listening and entertainment experience for our audiences.
“We are the first commercial radio network in the country to integrate the cutting-edge new AOIP technology across all on-air and production radio systems – which allows flexibility, ease and productivity for our producers – who can now focus more of their time on developing the best quality, engaging content for our listeners. These new capabilities will also ensure our audiences enjoy even more visual content across our digital and social networks.
“It was important to us to build studios that demonstrate the strength of 97.3FM and 4KQ’s connection with our Brisbane audiences and offers a range of entertainment options on site for our clients, guests and listeners. Everything from the Queensland-inspired design elements, to the panoramic views we now have to showcase the best of Brisbane to our guests, to the fact our staff are now literally looking out upon our listeners from the central new CBD location – reflects how embedded 97.3FM and 4KQ are in Brisbane’s culture.”
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Top Photo: Ciaran Davis with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk