Hot Tomato
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Radio broadcasting |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Gold Coast , Australia |
Area served | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia |
| Owner | Australian Radio Network |
| Parent | Australian Radio Network |
| Website | hottomato |
Hot Tomato (call sign: 4HTB) operates on the 102.9 FM frequency and is located in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
The morning segment runs live from 5 am until 9 am, hosted by Paul "Galey" Gale alongside Emily Jade O'Keeffe. From 9 am to 3 pm, Olivia Scott and David “Christo” Christopher lead the daytime show. The Gold Coast’s sole live and locally produced drive-time program airs between 3 pm and 7 pm, presented by Moyra Major and Big Trevor Butler. Following that, The Big Kahuna broadcasts live from 7 pm to 10 pm.
What sets Hot Tomato apart is its commitment to entirely local content creation and transmission, with no syndicated or networked programming, ensuring it remains fully Gold Coast-centric.
Hot Tomato was a trailblazer in Queensland for adopting a limited advertising inventory strategy, initially guaranteeing "only ever two ads in a row." Although this strict policy has softened over time, the station continues to offer shorter commercial breaks compared to other broadcasters.
The inaugural track played on Hot Tomato was "Sympathy for the Devil" by The Rolling Stones. In November 2018, ownership transferred to Grant Broadcasters.
Later, in November 2021, Australian Radio Network (ARN) acquired Hot Tomato along with additional stations from Grant Broadcasters. This acquisition provides Hot Tomato with access to ARN's iHeartRadio platform across regional areas. The transaction was completed on January 4, 2022. While Hot Tomato is set to align with ARN's KIIS Network, it will maintain its existing brand identity.