Saturday Night Country

Saturday Night Country is a weekly Australian radio program hosted by Beccy Cole, produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and broadcast from 10pm each Saturday night.

History

The show is presented by Australian country music performer Beccy Cole.

Felicity Urquhart hosted the show from March 2010 until December 2020, she took over the program from original host John Nutting who had hosted Saturday Night Country from the ABC North Queensland studios in Townsville since its debut in 1993.[1] During a temporary period of absence between 2013 and 2015, Catherine Britt filled in for Urquhart.[2][3]

Nutting has explained the program was launched during a period when the ABC was experiencing criticism for being too city-centric. Nutting suggested a two-hour national country music program to be broadcast from 4QN, the regional ABC station in Townsville, as a way to counteract accusations of the ABC focusing too much on capital cities. Nutting described the program's late Saturday night timeslot as a "bit of a dead spot" but the show quickly attracted a large following and was extended to a four-hour program.[4]

Saturday Night Country is broadcast on regional ABC Local Radio stations and digital station ABC Country. The program is also streamed on the show's website.[5]

Until January 2017, Saturday Night Country was also broadcast on the ABC's metropolitan stations in the capital cities, but in late 2016 the ABC decided to replace the program in those markets with a Saturday night edition of Nightlife.[6][7]

After 500 shows and more than 2,000 hours of programming, Felicity Urquhart has announced she is signing off as host of Saturday Night Country her last show was on December 26 2020.

In January 2021, ABC announced that Beccy Cole will host the show from February 13 2021.

References
  1. John Nutting says goodbye to Saturday Night Country, ABC Local Radio website, 22 February 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  2. Catherine Britt's radio pedigree, radioinfo, 21 January 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  3. Felicity Urquhart returns to Saturday Night Country, radioinfo, 2 May 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  4. John Nutting Retires, Capital News, April 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  5. "Saturday Night Country". ABC.net.au. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  6. Media Release: ABC Local Radio announces line-up and presenter changes for 2017, ABC Radio Media Room, 16 November 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  7. "Important update for Saturday Night Country listeners". ABC.net.au. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
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