Gold Central Victoria

Gold is a commercial radio station based in Bendigo and Central Victoria. It is currently part of Australian Radio Network. Formerly branded as Easymix, the station broadcasts across parts of Central Victoria including Bendigo, Ballarat, Maryborough, Castlemaine and Daylesford on 1071 AM. Gold also broadcasts on 98.3 FM which covers a 25-30 kilometre radius of the Bendigo region. Gold's 1071 frequency began in 1938 as 3CV though Gold was never technically 3CV, a title relinquished when 3CV was given a section 39 supplementary FM licence and became Star FM, now known as Hit 91.9. The discarded 1071 frequency was purchased by a solo operator and became Easy Listening 1071 then sold and rebranded as Easymix 1071 several years later.

On 1 August 2014, Gold rebranded from EasyMix,^[1] which was rebranded from Easy Listening after the owner of 3BO (now Triple M) and 3CV (now Hit 91.9) sold off its 1071 AM service, deciding to keep the section 39 supplementary FM licence.

On November 2021, Gold, along with other stations owned by Grant Broadcasters, were acquired by the Australian Radio Network. This deal allows Grant's stations, including Gold, to access ARN's iHeartRadio platform in regional areas. The deal was finalized on January 4, 2022.^[3] It is expected Gold will integrate with ARN's Pure Gold Network, but will retain its current name according to the press release from ARN. It is thought the deal included a clause not allowing ARN to reduce staffing levels for 2 years.

References[]