ABC Local Radio lovers accustomed to the dulcet tones of 774 ABC Melbourne or 702 ABC Sydney will be greeted with an updated Aunty, as the broadcaster rebrands in the new year.
The "new visual and aural identity" for the capital city stations will see 774 ABC Melbourne get a new call sign and become known as ABC Radio Melbourne.
702 ABC Sydney rebrands as ABC Radio Sydney, while 891 ABC Adelaide becomes ABC Radio Adelaide. The new look will be accompanied by the introduction of new ABC Radio websites, which will be optimised for online, on-demand access.
But the news hasn't been welcomed by everyone.
Community radio station 101.5 Radio Adelaide has launched legal action against the ABC in the wake of the announcement, with chairman Iain Evans calling the move "breathtakingly arrogant".
In a statement, Mr Evans, a former South Australian Liberal MP, said the rebranding would confuse local listeners and could cost him an audience built over four decades on air.
"It is simply unbelievable that the ABC with all its media resources were aware that the name Radio Adelaide was already being used by a radio station and decided to hijack our name anyway," Mr Evans wrote.
"It is breathtakingly arrogant of the ABC – a taxpayer-funded monolith based in Sydney – to decide to take on a primarily volunteer-run community radio station in Adelaide."
Mr Evans said he was preparing for a "David and Goliath" battle after sending legal letters to the broadcaster, who he added could "get stuffed".
But ABC local content manager Graeme Bennett told ABC News the two stations were distinctly different and that he understood how important community radio was to Adelaide.
"Their name will still be Radio Adelaide. The fact is we're ABC Radio and I think a great many people who use our services would think of us as ABC Radio."
"We completely understand how important community radio is to the Australian public and there is no way that any of this is about doing any kind of harm to Radio Adelaide and the fantastic people who work there."
An ABC spokeswoman told Fairfax Media the outdated analogue call signs reflected just one of the ways millions of people tune in, using digital radio, the ABC Radio app or streaming.
#ABCradio891 keep your hands off our Radio Adelaide @radioadelaide— Graeme Goodings (@GraemeGoodings) December 1, 2016
"We wanted a nationally consistent identity and we wanted something that reflected the fact that now people turn on the radio in a variety of ways."
The announcement follows a tumultuous fortnight for the broadcaster, which has seen the axing of both Radio National music programming and ABC television's Catalyst science program.
Hundreds of musicians, including Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins and Tim Rogers, have joined a campaign calling on ABC managing director Michelle Guthrie to reverse the "appalling" decision to scrap music programs from Radio National.
Last week, more than 60 Radio National staff in Sydney also moved a no confidence motion against ABC management, citing "systemic failure" in senior radio management.
On Wednesday, one of Radio National's top presenters, The Science Show's Robyn Williams, also described the broadcaster's TV chiefs as "morally and spiritually bankrupt" for halving the amount of science journalists in Australia by axing Catalyst.
In a statement, ABC's director of radio Michael Mason said the call sign rebranding signified an important step in ABC Radio's strategy of making their content as accessible as possible.
"This update will ensure a consistent and positive experience for audiences. It will strengthen ABC Radio's position at the heart of our capital cities, delivering topical, intelligent and relevant content about the issues that matter to Australians."
With Sarah Thomas
