ABC Local Radio
| Company type | Public broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Industry | Radio broadcasting |
| Founder | Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
| Headquarters | Australia , Australia |
Area served | Australia |
| Products | Radio broadcasting (local and regional programming) |
| Owner | Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
| Website | www |
ABC Local Radio constitutes a collection of publicly funded radio stations across Australia, managed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Broadcasting nationwide through terrestrial transmitters and satellite systems, ABC Local Radio delivers a diverse range of programming, including news, current affairs, talkback segments, entertainment, sports coverage, music, and local interest stories. These stations act as the principal ABC radio outlets within their respective areas.
The schedule varies depending on the time of day and week: weekday mornings predominantly feature local programming; ABC stations in state or territory capitals provide regional content; while overnight hours, public holidays, summer periods, and weekends typically involve nationwide simulcasts.
History
Originally, the network was internally designated as ABC Radio 1 for metropolitan markets and ABC Radio 3 for regional locations. ABC Radio 1 concentrated on local programming, whereas Radio 3 included more networked shows alongside national content sourced from Radio 2.
During the 1980s, Radio National was established from Radio 2’s framework; subsequently, Radio 3 discontinued carrying Radio 2 material. The designations evolved with Radio 1 becoming ABC Metropolitan Radio and Radio 3 rebranded as ABC Regional Radio. Regional stations produced local Breakfast and Drive programs but relied on shared network content during other time slots. Some distinctive local formats emerged, such as Darwin Metro’s 8DDD on FM105.7 and Gold Coast’s ABC Coast FM (4SCR) broadcasting at 91.7 MHz. Until the mid-1990s, stations identified themselves by their frequency and callsign. The decade saw a transition toward names like ABC Radio (region) or (region) FM.
By 2000, these networks consolidated under the ABC Local Radio banner. On-air use of callsigns was discontinued in favor of branding such as (frequency) ABC (region) or simply ABC (region) for stations with multiple frequencies. Nevertheless, many longtime listeners continue to refer to stations by their original callsigns.
In January 2017, ABC Local Radio introduced a refreshed brand identity featuring a new logo and eliminated frequency numbers from station names to align with a multiplatform approach.
April 2019 brought further branding revisions across its 44 regional bureaux: ten regional stations removed callsigns from their titles; two underwent substantial renaming to better represent their local audiences.
Stations
ABC Local Radio operates a total of sixty stations spanning 53 distinct regions, which include 52 regional outlets alongside eight metropolitan ones. The metropolitan stations are:
- ABC Radio Sydney (2BL)
- ABC Radio Melbourne (3LO)
- ABC Radio Brisbane (4QR)
- ABC Radio Adelaide (5AN)
- ABC Radio Perth (6WF)
- ABC Radio Hobart (7ZR)
- ABC Radio Canberra (2CN)
- ABC Radio Darwin (8DDD)
The network’s regional stations comprise:
- ABC Broken Hill (2NB)
- ABC Central Coast (2BL)
- ABC Central West (2CR)
- ABC Coffs Coast (2MMR)
- ABC Illawarra (2ILA)
- ABC Mid North Coast (2KP)
- ABC New England North West (2NU)
- ABC Newcastle (2NC)
- ABC North Coast (2NNR)
- ABC Riverina (2RVR)
- ABC South East NSW (2BA)
- ABC Upper Hunter (2UH)
- ABC Western Plains (2WPR)
- ABC Ballarat (3CRR)
- ABC Central Victoria (3ABCRR)
- ABC Gippsland (3GLR)
- ABC Goulburn Murray (3MRR)
- ABC Mildura Swan Hill (3MIL)
- ABC Shepparton (3GVR)
- ABC South West Victoria (3WL)
- ABC Wimmera (3WV)
- ABC Northern Tasmania (7NT)
- ABC Capricornia (4RK)
- ABC Gold Coast (4ABCRR)
- ABC Far North (4QCC)
- ABC North Queensland (4QN)
- ABC North West Queensland (4ISA)
- ABC Southern Queensland (4QS)
- ABC Sunshine Coast (4SCR)
- ABC Tropical North (4QAA)
- ABC Western Queensland (4QL)
- ABC Wide Bay (4QB)
- ABC North and West SA (5CK)
- ABC Riverland (5MV)
- ABC South East SA (5MG)
- ABC Eyre Peninsula (5LN)
- ABC Goldfields-Esperance (6ED, 6GF)
- ABC Great Southern (6WA)
- ABC Kimberley (6BE)
- ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt (6GN)
- ABC Pilbara (6KP)
- ABC South Coast (6AL)
- ABC South West WA (6BS)
- ABC Alice Springs (8AL)
- ABC Katherine (8ABCRR)
In addition to these terrestrial services, digital offerings include:
Programming
Most metropolitan and regional stations generate the majority of their own content. Prior to 2015, regional stations generally simulcasted metropolitan programming outside of their local broadcast hours, often sourcing content from their respective state capital stations; for instance, 999 ABC Broken Hill relayed 891 ABC Adelaide due to its location within the Central Time zone. In 2015, the ABC created a dedicated Regional Division to distinguish regional stations from those in metropolitan areas. This restructuring included moving 1233 ABC Newcastle into the regional network and introducing streaming services for 14 regional stations.
In October 2015, changes to programming were revealed for implementation in 2016: Morning shows were consolidated into longer Breakfast segments, followed by the launch of a new one-hour program titled Local Life. Additionally, four local radio news bulletins were discontinued and replaced with brief headline updates instead of two comprehensive afternoon bulletins.
Each station operates its own local news website.
Certain programs premiere on ABC Radio National before being broadcast on Local Radio; an example is Speaking Out, presented by Larissa Behrendt, which airs on Radio National Fridays at 8pm and then on Local Radio Sundays at 9pm.