ABC Classic

ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. It is operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). History ABC Classic was established in 1976 as "ABC-FM", and later for a short time was known as "ABC Fine Music" (a play on the letters FM). It became known as ABC Classic FM in 1994, before adopting its current name in January 2019. It was the ABC's first experiment in FM broadcasting – which had become a necessity in Australia as broadcasters ran out of AM frequencies on which to transmit. This was before most commercial stations had started using FM, and the ABC was first to use satellite transmissions. The creation of ABC Classic FM was inspired partly by the example of BBC Radio 3, and its focus was on fine music and the arts. ABC Classic FM's studios were established at the ABC studios in Collinswood, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. The ABC's decision to establish ABC Classic FM in Adelaide was significant because most of the ABC's radio and television national program original infrastructure was and is located in Sydney. However, staffing has been progressively cut over the years, from the starting base of 60 down to just five by 2015, a particularly savage round of cuts which included the loss of popular presenter Julia Lester when her job moved to the Sydney studios. 2019 rebrand On 24 November 2018, the ABC announced that ABC Classic FM would undergo a major rebrand in 2019, and change its name to ABC Classic.