In the mid-2000s, the radio landscape of all Australian mainland capital cities included a station in each of the national, community and commercial broadcasting sectors that either purported to service youth, or was widely recognised as doing so. Given competition for audiences and resources, power asymmetries and a lack of clear delineation between the sectors, tensions between operators have been a feature of this multi-sector youth radio landscape. This article examines a case in which competition for young listeners between the Nova FM commercial service and Perth youth community broadcaster Groove FM was pursued through the regulatory system. In addition to the demise of Groove, the conflict generated a broader challenge to public investment in youth radio that has contributed to the continuing absence of a youth community station from the Perth radio landscape, but has yet to be felt in other markets.
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