cite any sources . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . january 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message coordinates 37 51 40 s 144 59 05 e 37.8612 s 144.9848 e 37.8612 ; 144.9848 fox fm city mount dandenong broadcast area melbourne victoria branding fox fm slogan melbourne s 1 for hits & old skool frequency 101.9 mhz fm first air date 1 august 1980 1980 08 01 format top 40 chr language s english erp 56 kw class commercial callsign meaning 3 victoria fox fm affiliations hit network owner southern cross austereo sca digital pty ltd sister stations triple m website www.fox.com.au fox fm call sign 3fox is a radio station that serves melbourne victoria broadcasting on the fm band at a frequency of 101.9 mhz . licensed to mount dandenong victoria the station is currently owned by southern cross austereo and part of the hit network . the station s transmitter is located on the atv 10 transmission tower on top of mount dandenong . fox fm has held the coveted number one fm position for many years in the acnielsen ratings and is currently the most listened to radio station in australia with over 1.1 million listeners weekly since 2007 . it is home to australia s most successful radio shows fifi dave & fev hamish & andy and ash london live . contents 1 history 2 transmission 3 programming 4 branding 5 references 6 external links history edit fox fm started life at 5 00 00 pm on 1 august 1980 . the station was put together by radio consultant rhett h. walker who also acted as first general manager . this followed a successful stint for walker as a consultant for radio 3kz in 1979 . one of fox fm s original advertising lines was catch the fox at one 0 one point nine . the first song to be played on air george benson s breezin was played at the wrong speed by the station s first presenter john aimes . aimes suggested this was due to harassment by studio manager gary collins who was allegedly fussing around him in the studio right before the station went on air . the first station studio equipment was a 16 channel poul kirk mixing desk four cuemaster cart decks jbl studio pro speakers and then brand new technics turntables . the studio was pleasant to work in with a floor to ceiling window giving a view of filming of such channel ten programs as neighbours prisoner and the short lived holiday island . the first two years of the station s life were not easy . melbourne listeners did not initially flock to the new fm stations sticking to their regular listening habits with stations such as 3aw 3mp and 3xy . it was positioned originally as a classy easy listening style format . the format fm is fox music came later under the management of former 3xy station manager graham smith . in 1982 the station s owners which included sir donald trescowthic major shareholder of the age newspaper group lost confidence in the original format and hired mr. smith to implement changes . all the former announcers except for geoff harrison were let go . also the station s instigator and first general manager the late rhett h. walker later associate dean at la trobe university moved on to greener pastures . from then on the station was positioned with a pop rock format appealing to the widest possible audience . this caused a steady rise in ratings through the mid 1980s eventually landing the station in top position in melbourne by 1986 . the changes included new presenters such as gavin wood former tv show countdown and 3xy announcer and barry bissell . take 40 australia was a weekly countdown of the current aria top 40 singles chart . during this time the station also aired american top 40 with casey kasem . fox was one of two original fm radio license holders in melbourne . it aimed to be the first commercial fm station to commence broadcasting in australia although it was eventually beaten by 3eon which is now fox s sister station 3mmm . fox started life playing popular easy listening music whilst its other fm rival had adopted a more rock album orientated format . throughout the history of the station its logo and marketing have always included a picture of a fox although this was discontinued in 2005 when the entire today network introduced new standardised logos much to the disappointment of many . in 1986 fox fm was bought by the owners of safm to create the austereo radio network which now as the hit network boasts five additional stations around australia . it was at this time that announcer mark carter was moved from the breakfast shift to the afternoon shift quickly becoming the most popular announcer in melbourne over a record 11 surveys conducted and contributing to the rise in popularity of the station . citation needed in 1996 the today network owned by austereo merged with the triple m network to form a single radio company . the merge was unpopular with fox staff due to the rivalry between the two stations . during september 2008 fox fm re located from studios at 180 st kilda road with sister station triple m to brand new studios at 257 clarendon street south melbourne . the matt and jo show gave away many items from the old studios during their last show at the st kilda road studios . fox fm building 1989 2008 st kilda road st kilda current fox fm building sign 2008 present clarendon street south melbourne transmission edit fox fm transmits from the atv 10 transmission tower on top of mount dandenong from a shared facility alongside radio stations nova 100 triple m gold 104.3 kiis 101.1 syn 90.7 and triple r. its base power is 10 kw and this is provided by a harris ht10 fm transmitter . the station is simulcast on digital radio in melbourne . programming edit fox fm gradually grew from a top 40 pop format into a top 40 dance format over its history . notable past announcers and programs have included pillowtalk with dr sally cockburn dr feelgood danger low brow with david armstrong and brett mcleod net nite with andy grace barry bissell s take 40 australia and abc tv s jodie j. hill . from 1995 to 1998 fox fm broadcast the martin molloy drive program with tony martin and mick molloy . this program was networked to over 50 stations around australia and is considered by whom one of australia s most successful fm radio shows . for six years the breakfast shift was held by tracy bartram and matt tilley using the title tracy and matt in the morning . after a gradual increase in ratings the pair secured the number one position for the melbourne breakfast shift in the acnielsen survey during 2001 beating traditional melbourne number one station 3aw . along with the rest of the station tracey and tilley s ratings fell with the introduction of rival station nova 100 into the market . in 2003 fox fm launched the the matt & jo show featuring matt tilley and jo stanley with troy ellis as anchor . the show has consistently won the fm breakfast time slot beating closest rivals hughesy & kate at nova 100 for over 7 years . when from 2006 fox fm was home to australia s most successful networked radio show ever citation needed hamish & andy starring hamish blake and andy lee . they finished their daily drive program on friday 26 november 2010 and went on to broadcast a drive program on mondays and a late morning program on fox fm every day from tuesday to friday . blake and lee then went on to host hamish & andy s happy hour which aired at 3pm on weekdays . blake and lee have returned to host the drive show in january 2015 . it was announced on 4 october 2013 that the matt & jo show would finish at the end of the year after hosting breakfast for the last 10 years . in november 2013 fifi box and dave thornton were announced as the new fox fm breakfast team . the new breakfast show fifi & dave launched in january 2014 . in april 2016 brendan fevola joined the show and it was renamed to fifi dave & fev . branding edit fox fm has been a long lasting broadcast identity and a name that has transcended the many format changes in the past 35 years . from the years of 3fox to fm is fox music to the short lived hit 1019 the fox . the hit 1019 sub brand was introduced in january 2015 ; however it was duly discarded in favour of using solely fox fm in august 2015 . references edit external links edit fox fm v t e southern cross austereo television southern cross nine southern new south wales australian capital territory regional victoria regional queensland spencer gulf broken hill southern cross ten northern new south wales spencer gulf broken hill southern cross television seven affiliate remote eastern and central australia darwin spencer gulf broken hill tasmania multichannels aspire tv yesshop joint ventures central digital television darwin digital television tasmanian digital television radio queensland stations hit network hit 105 brisbane 97.9 hot fm atherton 103.5 hot fm cairns 94.7 hot fm emerald 100.3 hot fm mackay 102.5 hot fm mount isa 107.9 hot fm rockhampton 95.1 hot fm roma 103.1 hot fm townsville 93.1 sea fm bundaberg 90.9 sea fm gold coast 89.1 hot fm kingaroy 101.9 sea fm maryborough 100.7 hot fm toowoomba 91.9 sea fm sunshine coast triple m local works 104.5 triple m brisbane 92.5 gold fm gold coast 103.5 mix fm maryborough 864 4gr toowoomba 102.3 4to townsville 99.5 sea fm cairns 98.7 sea fm mackay 101.5 sea fm rockhampton 92.7 mix fm sunshine coast new south wales stations hit network 2day fm sydney 106.9 nxfm newcastle 101.3 sea fm gosford central coast 104.9 star fm albury 105.5 star fm coffs harbour 93.5 star fm dubbo 99.7 star fm griffith 105.1 102.3 star fm kempsey port macquarie 105.1 star fm orange 93.1 star fm wagga wagga triple m local works 104.9 triple m sydney 102.9 kofm newcastle 105.7 the river albury 106.3 2cs coffs harbour 107.7 2go gosford central coast 2rg 963 griffith 106.7 100.7 2mc kempsey port macquarie 105.9 2gz orange 1152 2wg wagga wagga victorian stations hit network fox fm melbourne 91.9 star fm bendigo 99.5 star fm mildura 96.9 star fm shepparton 94.3 97.9 star fm warragul gippsland triple m local works 105.1 triple m melbourne 93.5 3bo bendigo 97.9 sun fm mildura 95.3 3sr fm shepparton south australian stations southern cross austereo hit 107 adelaide 104.7 triple m adelaide 963 5se mount gambier 96.1 star fm mount gambier western australian stations hit network hit 92.9 perth 106.5 hot fm albany 100.5 hot fm bridgetown 95.7 hot fm bunbury 97.9 hot fm kalgoorlie 94.9 hot fm katanning 105.1 hot fm merredin 100.5 hot fm narrogin 96.5 hot fm northam triple m local works mix 94.5 perth radiowest 783 albany radiowest 900 bridgetown radiowest 963 bunbury radiowest 981 kalgoorlie radiowest 1071 katanning radiowest 1098 merredin radiowest 918 narrogin radiowest 864 northam other stations tasmanian stations hit 100.9 hobart heart 107.3 hobart joint venture stations hit 104.7 canberra mix 106.3 canberra digital only stations buddha radio national loveland national stardust national triple m classic rock digital sydney melbourne and brisbane triple m modern rock digital adelaide and perth previous digital stations triple m perth perth only radar music national barry national the main stage national choose the hits national high voltage radio national radio