Hot Tomato (call sign: 4HTB) is a radio station (102.9 FM) on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
| Broadcast area | Gold Coast RA1 ([1]) |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 102.9 MHz FM |
| Branding | 102.9 Hot Tomato |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Format | Adult Contemporary |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | 1 August 2003[1] |
Call sign meaning | 4 – Queensland Hot Tomato Broadcasting |
| Technical information | |
| ERP | 25,000 watts |
| HAAT | 447 m[2] |
Transmitter coordinates | 27°58′11″S 153°12′48″E / 27.96972°S 153.21333°E |
| Links | |
| Website | [2] |
The current breakfast show consists of Paul "Galey" Gale and Emily Jade O'Keeffe live from 5am till 9am. Olivia Scott and David “Christo” Christopher are live across the workday 9am - 3pm. The only live and local drive home on the Gold Coast is hosted by Moyra Major and Big Trevor Butler from 3pm till 7pm. The Big Kahuna is live from 7pm till 10pm.
A key point of difference between Hot Tomato and the other Gold Coast radio stations is that all shows originate and are broadcast from the local region, there is no networking, the station is 100% Gold Coast made.
Hot Tomato also prides itself on an active local newsroom delivering on-the-hour news updates.
Hot Tomato was the first radio station in Queensland to use the limited inventory concept, getting around the Nova trademark by calling it "only ever two ads in a row." This is no longer a viable commercial position and the station now plays more commercials in a row but maintains shorter ad blocks than its competitors.
The first song played on Hot Tomato was The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil". In November 2018 Hot Tomato was purchased by Grant Broadcasters.[3]
In November 2021, Hot Tomato, along with other stations owned by Grant Broadcasters, were acquired by the Australian Radio Network. This deal will allow Grant's stations, including Hot Tomato, to access ARN's iHeartRadio platform in regional areas. The deal was finalized on January 4, 2022.[4] It is expected Hot Tomato will integrate with ARN's KIIS Network, but will retain its current name according to the press release from ARN.
References
edit- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ HAAT estimated from http://www.itu.int/SRTM3/ using EHAAT.
- ^ Confirmed: Grant Broadcasters has acquired 102.9 Hot Tomato Radio Today 17 November 2018
- ^ ARN and Grant Broadcasters unite to create Australia's leading radio and digital audio business AdNews Australia 4 January 2022