Bay City Radio

Bay City Radio
Napier ;
Broadcast area	Hawke's Bay
Frequency	Hawke's Bay - 89.5MHz
Programming
Language(s)	English language
Format	Adult contemporary
Ownership
Owner	Radio New Zealand until 1996 ; The Radio Network after 1996
History
First air date	1957;67 years ago
Former call signs	2ZC
Technical information
Transmitter coordinates	38°48′20″S175°27′51″E / 38.8054583°S 175.4641228°E

Last updated January 21, 2024

Bay City Radio was a radio station in Napier, New Zealand.

The station was started by Radio New Zealand (which at the time was known as the National Broadcasting Service) on 1 October 1957 using the call-sign 2ZC and broadcasting on 1280 kHz AM. On air the station was branded as its callsign 2ZC with the slogan Twin-City Radio as the station served both Napier and Hastings.

In 1977 Radio New Zealand started a second station called Apple Radio. When Apple Radio commenced as a stand-alone station from the previously shared Hastings studio, 2ZC was re-branded as Bay City Radio.

In 1978 after AM band in New Zealand was changed from 10 kHz spacing to 9 kHz spacing as a result the station moved to 1278AM In December 1981 a fire started in one of the studios causing considerable damage. The whole top floor of the Dalgety building (Broadcasting House) was then completely refurbished and modernised with state-of-the-art equipment.

In 1993 Bay City Radio joined the Classic Hits network and became known as Classic Hits Bay City Radio. In 1994, the station moved to 89.5FM and became Classic Hits 89FM Bay City Radio. Later the AM frequency would be used to broadcast Newstalk ZB into the Hawke's Bay region.

In July 1996 the New Zealand Government sold off the commercial arm of Radio New Zealand, which included, among other things, the Classic Hits branded stations. The new owner was The Radio Network, a subsidiary of APN News & Media and Clear Channel Communications, which operated as a division of the Australian Radio Network.^[1]

In 1998 Classic Hits 89FM was reduced to just 4 hours of local programming between 6 and 10 am 7 days a week. Outside this time nationwide shows based from Auckland took over, and the announcers simply called the station Classic Hits. The breakfast show was shortened to a 3-hour show in 2012 on all Classic Hits stations.

In 2010 programming was extended to the Wairoa area broadcasting 99.7FM. Previously the 99.7FM frequency had been used to broadcast Hawkes Bay's ZM station and historically for Classic Rock 96FM.

On April 28, 2014 all stations part of the Classic Hits network were rebranded as The Hits. While most regions dropped their local breakfast show in favour of a networked breakfast presented by Polly Gillespie and Grant Kareama, The Hits in Hawkes Bay was one of four regions to retain the local breakfast show.

Local breakfast Monday to Friday is currently hosted by Adam Green and Sarah Van Der Kley. Outside these times the station runs The Hits networked programs which originate from either Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch.

Related Research Articles

More FM is a New Zealand radio network that plays hot adult contemporary music. It is operated by MediaWorks New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZM (radio station)</span> New Zealand contemporary hit radio network

ZM is a New Zealand contemporary hit radio network owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment. It broadcasts 19 markets throughout mainland New Zealand via terrestrial FM, and worldwide via the Internet. The network targets the 15–39 demographic specialises in a chart-music playlist of pop, rock, hip hop and dance music. It reaches approximately 486,800 listeners weekly, making it the fifth largest commercial radio station in New Zealand.

The Hits is a Hot adult contemporary music radio network, broadcasting to 26 markets across New Zealand. It was set up by Government broadcaster Radio New Zealand in 1993 by consolidating existing stations into a single brand and has been privately owned since 1996. The Hits has had the broadest broadcast reach of any radio network in the country since 1996, and is now available on 40 full-power FM frequencies and 18 iHeartRadio streams.

Radio Marlborough was a New Zealand radio station based in Blenheim.

King Country Radio was a radio station in Taumarunui broadcasting on 1512AM. The station was first started in 1966 broadcasting 1520AM with the call sign 1ZU. The station moved to 1512AM in 1978 after the AM frequency spacing in New Zealand was adjusted from 10 kHz to 9 kHz. Local content on the station was limited to mornings only outside this time the station broadcast 1ZH from Hamilton or National Radio. During the late 1980s and 1990s the station shared air time with Radio Waitomo and on air the station was announced as King Country Radio and Radio Waitomo all programming originated from King Country studios.

Radio Caroline was a radio station in Timaru, New Zealand.

Wairarapa FM was a radio station in Wairarapa, New Zealand broadcasting from studios in Masterton.

Lakeland FM was a New Zealand radio station based in Taupō.

Classic Rock 96FM was a radio station in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand that broadcast several different formats and eventually became part of the ZM network, operated by New Zealand Media and Entertainment from 1977 to 1988.

2ZB was a radio station based in Wellington, New Zealand. This station was run by Radio New Zealand and eventually spawned a second FM station called B90FM. Today 2ZB and B90FM are part of a nationwide networks Newstalk ZB and The Hits respectively.

4ZB was an adult contemporary radio station in Dunedin, New Zealand.

1ZM was a radio station in Auckland, New Zealand operated by Radio New Zealand and was originally part of the ZM group of stations and later became the very first Classic Hits station. Today this station is owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment and is host station of The Hits network.

River City FM was a radio station in Whanganui, New Zealand.

Radio Taranaki was a radio station in New Plymouth and Hāwera.

95 BOP FM was a radio station in Tauranga, New Zealand.

ZGFM was a radio station in Gisborne, New Zealand.

2ZA was a radio station in Palmerston North, New Zealand.

3ZB was a radio station based in Christchurch, New Zealand. This station was run by Radio New Zealand and eventually spawned a second FM station called B98FM. Today 3ZB and B98FM are part of a nationwide networks Newstalk ZB and The Hits

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZM Wellington</span> Radio station

ZM Wellington is a hit music radio station in Wellington, New Zealand. It is a station of the ZM network, and is owned and operated by New Zealand Media and Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ZM Christchurch</span> Radio station

ZM Christchurch is a hit music radio station in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is a station of the ZM network, and is owned and operated by New Zealand Media and Entertainment.

References

↑ "Radio Network says expansion possible". The Christchurch Press. 21 September 1996. p. 29.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[expansion-1] "Radio Network says expansion possible". The Christchurch Press. 21 September 1996. p. 29.

[1]