Disrupt Radio in final talks to resume live broadcasting

Disrupt Radio founder Benjamin Roberts says the station is in final talks with investors over a plan to return to live programming after a four-month hiatus.

Disrupt Radio chair Michelle Guthrie.

Disrupt Radio founder Benjamin Roberts says the station is in final talks with investors over a plan to return to live programming after a four-month hiatus.

It is understood a deal could be thrashed out as early as this week, but a return to the live airwaves is not expected until the new year.

Disrupt Radio — which promotes itself as the “sound of the Australian entrepreneurial spirit” — has been recycling old content for several weeks after an earlier capital raising failed to eventuate.

Mr Roberts told The Australian “a good update” would be provided as early as this week, but declined to expand on the status of ongoing talks with investors.

It is understood the station could return to live programming as soon as January 2025 pending a funding breakthrough with investors.

While station management is hopeful of returning to the airwaves soon, the corporate regulator has commenced action to strike off a related company set up by Mr Roberts when early concepts for the radio station were first being worked on.

Disrupt Radio founder and chief executive officer Benjamin Roberts.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is looking to deregister Disrupt Radio Pty Ltd — a dormant entity established by Mr Roberts in early 2019 and no longer involved in operating the radio station, but which still lists Mr Roberts as its sole director.

It is understood the proposed deregistration, initiated on November 19, relates to an unpaid annual fee to the regulator.

The annual ASIC fee for private companies is set at $321.

Mr Roberts said Disrupt Radio Pty Ltd had no involvement in the current radio station operations, which were now run by a public unlisted company Disrupt Media Limited.

“That old entity is not part of the Disrupt Media Limited group or operations,” Mr Roberts told The Australian.

“It’s a dormant entity that was used purely for IP back in the early days, so it doesn’t make sense to keep paying fees for something we don’t use.”

Disrupt’s high-profile talent includes former TV presenter and entrepreneur Jules Lund. Picture: Britta Campion

Disrupt Radio, chaired by former ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie, has been on a “holding pattern” for several months as it looks to secure fresh funds to facilitate a return to producing fresh content.

The start-up station, with headquarters in Melbourne’s Southbank, launched in June last year but struck financial turbulence in early 2024, and staff have now gone unpaid for the past four months.

Disrupt’s high-profile talent includes former ABC radio host Libbi Gorr, former TV presenter and entrepreneur Jules Lund and former AFLW player Moana Hope.

The station’s listenership figures were briefly included in official radio ratings surveys, produced by research firm GfK, before it was taken off air from its DAB+ signal in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in August.

The station attracted just 4000 listeners in Sydney, 1000 in Melbourne and fewer than 1000 in Brisbane, according to the last GfK results published for the station in August.

However Mr Roberts previously told The Australian the station drew tens of thousands of listeners across its streaming, on-demand and podcast platforms. To access Disrupt, listeners must now go online via their computer, tablet or other device.

The most recent post on Disrupt’s Facebook page, on August 26, was a link to an interview Lund conducted with former Uber general manager and head of advertising Michael Akkerman.

Originally published as Disrupt Radio in final talks to resume live broadcasting