Triple J

Triple J

Broadcast area	Australia: FM, DAB, DVB-T Ch-28 & Online Worldwide: Internet radio
Frequency	Various
Programming
Language(s)	English
Format	Alternative music current affairs youth culture
Ownership
Owner	Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Sister stations	Double J Unearthed Hottest
History
First air date	19 January 1975; 49 years ago (1975-01-19)
Links
Webcast	Web stream HTTP stream (64kbps AAC+) HLS stream (64kbps AAC+)
Website	www.abc.net.au/triplej/

Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station that began broadcasting in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music,^[1][2] and plays more Australian content than commercial networks.^[3][4]

In his tenure as Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam wanted to create a youth-focused radio station to extend the appeal of the ABC. Originally broadcasting solely to Greater Sydney as 2JJ and later Double J from 19 January 1975, the station quickly set itself apart from commercial networks by playing mainly Australian content as well as songs censored or banned elsewhere. From 1981, the station began broadcasting nationally as 2JJJ or Triple J as FM-only, and continued to expanded regionally throughout the 1990s. From 2014, spin-off digital radio station Double J was launched to appeal to more contemporary audiences. In 2015, Triple J dominated national ratings in the 25–39 demographic, but it has since been losing its audience due to the rise of streaming media.

Triple J has had a significant impact on the national music landscape, being a major supporter of Australian music festivals and tours of domestic and international artists. Every year, they broadcast the Hottest 100, a public music poll known as the "world's greatest music democracy", as well as the J Awards, a listener-voted music awards series.^[5] They annually champion Ausmusic Month and founded the nationwide Ausmusic T-Shirt Day initiative in 2013. Further, the network's music discovery platform, Triple J Unearthed, provides pathways for independent artists to be broadcast on the network.^[6] However, the station has been criticised for promoting a homogenous Australian music scene.