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31. 01. 12. - 16:00

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31. 01. 12. - 16:00

Media insider: Sounds great

On this day in history exactly 12 years ago the ORF switched off its flagship English language radio station Blue Danube Radio.

At the time I worked for Blue Danube Radio in the newsroom, and for most of my time there it was a station that lived under the constant threat of closure.

The ORF wanted the frequency, it didn't want the programs, even though it had a massive following, not only among the English-speaking community, but also among Austrians who simply preferred English news.

They did their best to limit its popularity – forcing the presenters to play cover versions rather than the originals in order to lower the listenership. Initiatives such as the then revolutionary idea to have traffic monitored by helicopter were quietly shelved because they might have taken listeners from the flagship O3 programme. It also became the first to test the new digital technology – the frequent on-air crashes they then learned from so that it would not be repeated on the other stations.

The ORF is a very political place to work as my colleagues in the ORF newsroom highlighted with their recent protest action.

It is true that at the time there wasn't exactly a lot of variety on the radio broadcasting landscape in Austria – the Austrian broadcasting Corporation, the ORF, had a monopoly on broadcasting and there were only four national stations – of which BDR was one.

Every year when the ORF indicated it planned to close the station, there was a massive protest from listeners. The friends of Blue Danube Radio was formed.  They organised petitions and protests and every year the decision was shelved.

Unable to close it, the ORF eventually ended its reign on the quiet - first of all they announced that there was a demand for a youth station and gave away half of the slots belonging to Blue Danube Radio. Then there was the "discovery" that upmarket English-language radio did not mix with Austrian (German language) youth radio. You could almost hear the sound of radios being switched off as the switch flicked each day between one and the other.

There was then the discussion about which one would take over the other half's frequencies – with the 'surprise' decision that Blue Danube would give up its slots to FM4 but that the English-language presenters – some of them at least – would stay.

But on January 31, 2000, Blue Danube Radio – Sounds Great – vanished overnight. And it was clear from the first song that the followers would probably not go with it. The very first song on FM4 was from a girl group singing about their sexual parts – in English. Afterwards the presenter asked them what the words meant in German – they giggled. Bad language broadcast in English on Austrian radio is no surprise to English speakers – bad language in German of course is unacceptable and can only be giggled about.

That was the end of Ellis Hill, Mike De Souza, Phil Tintner, Casey Casem and his Top 40, Soft Sound Café and Continental Breakfast and their army of followers vanished, replaced by a new and very different listenership.

FM4 is a good station – but its alternative music offering has nothing in common with the staple of Blue Danube Radio – or its target listenership – and it's a sad fact that for 12 years the international community has not been represented with an upmarket broadcast voice.

The Austrian Times Group, the English-language online media group with a monthly following of more than 2 million unique visitors – now wants to change that.

We want to start a campaign to bring back an English-language radio station for the international community with the emphasis on Austria – exactly the same philosophy that has made our newspaper group such a success.

We want to hear your views? Leave your comments on our Facebook page. Write to us and tell us what you think at newsdesk@cen.at

If you want to see a new English-language radio station here in Vienna that serves your needs then get involved now.

A new English-language Austrian radio station? – Sounds Great.

Michael Leidig.
Publisher, ATG - and former Blue Danube Radio news presenter.

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