City Melbourne, Australia Branding 89.9 LightFM | Broadcast area Melbourne First air date 19 December 2001 | |
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Slogan Melbourne's Positive Alternative Frequency 89.9 MHz FM
DAB+ (2010– ) | ||
89.9 LightFM is a Christian community radio station in Melbourne, Australia. It broadcasts on 89.9 FM (3TSC) from studios at 333 Mitcham Road, in Mitcham and a transmitter on Mount Dandenong with a Monthly Listeners of 1,000,000.
Contents
History
The station's beginnings can be traced to 1977 when Melbourne Christian Radio was founded It conducted test broadcasts in 1980, 1981, and 1982, as 3MGR before purchasing air time on commercial station 3DB.
The organisation that runs 89.9 LightFM was formerly called Triple Seven Communications. They conducted a three-month temporary broadcast in late 2001 and was informed in December of that year that they were successful for one of the four community licences available from the Australian Broadcasting Authority, now the Australian Communications and Media Authority. 89.9 LightFM began full-time permanent broadcasting on Sunday 1 December 2002.
In January of 2017 it was announced that LightFM reaches 1,040,000 people every month.
LightNews
89.9 LightFM has its own dedicated news service that provides hourly updates throughout the day, and every half an hour during the breakfast (6am-9am) program. Previously, 89.9 LightFM had broadcast the Macquarie National News program every hour.
Nine News simulcast
An exclusive simulcast of the Nine News at 18:00 with Peter Hitchener and Livinia Nixon airs at 18:00 every night of the week, except if the Nine Network is covering the cricket or the NRL Grand Final. The newsreader for that night chats with LightFM every afternoon, previewing the bulletin at 18:00 hours.
Careline
The LightFM Careline is a supportive service for people that need prayer, an explanation of Christianity, or simply an understanding ear. Where requested callers can be referred to a local church. The Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund has assisted with the operating costs of the Careline in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Digital radio
LightFM is no longer simulcast on Digital Radio in Melbourne.
LightDigital is a digital station broadcasting 100% Christian music, and was launched on 1 December 2011
LightChristmas broadcasts every year from early December through to early January online. In 2014, for the first time, LightChristmas appeared as a 'pop up' digital radio station.
89.9 LightFM on-air team
The presenters of 89.9 LightFM these include Lucy Holmes, Kel McWilliam, Dan Veling, MJ Want, Leroy Brown, Cam Want, Clayton Bjelan, Melissa Tracina, Emma Wynne and Allan Martin, as well as the Nine News Melbourne team.
Shows
89.9 LightFM has many full-time and some part-time announcers employed at the radio station.
On-air schedule
Weekdays:
Saturday:
Sunday:
Spoken Word Programmes:
LightDigital on-air schedule
Weekdays:
Saturday:
Sunday:
Christian
89.9 LightFM plays a wide array of music of both Christian and secular. Christian music on the station is generally a mixture of pop, modern rock, and gospel. These include songs from such artists as Capital Kings, Francesca Battistelli, Manic Drive, The Afters, and Citizen Way. 89.9 LightFM plays up to 40% Christian music not including Christian songs from mainstream artists such as U2.
Mainstream
89.9 LightFM generally play a mix of adult contemporary music. This makes up the other 60% of music they play. This quite often results in the station playing songs from the Billboard 100 Adult Contemporary. These include songs by Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, and One Direction. They also include music from the Top 40 Australia and United States singles charts. However, they still play a variety of pop and Soft rock songs from the 1990s and early 2000s.