New radio audiences that tuned in for Covid have stayed for the entertainment.

MEDIA RELEASE –1pm 3rd December 2020

New radio audiences that tuned in for Covid have stayed for the entertainment.

New Zealand Media and Entertainment’s entire line-up of radio hosts have collectively thanked their listeners and advertisers for supporting their shows during the extraordinary year of 2020.

NZME networks Newstalk ZB and ZM have celebrated their highest audiences ever during the year. There’s more for NZME to celebrate in the latest GfK Commercial Radio audience survey released today, including Flava growing i’s audience by nearly 53,000.

Already the number 1 station^* in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, Newstalk ZB is now also the number one station in Dunedin.

Breakfast host Mike Hosking credits the news and talk network’s success to the trust New Zealanders place in content delivered on a platform they’re familiar with.

“Earlier this year I talked about why radio is king of the hill. The same applies today – it engages, it infuriates, it provides insight and laughter, it challenges, and it inquires – all of which has never been more important than during this most unusual of years,” said Hosking.

NZME’s leading music network ZM has maintained its top rating position with younger audiences. It is once again the prominent radio network with 25 to 44 and 25 to 54^{^} - year olds right across New Zealand.

ZM’s Fletch, Vaughan and Megan, has the largest share of 25 to 54 year old^~ breakfast listeners.

“On behalf of Vaughan, Megan and our production team I can’t thank our listeners enough. They are the life blood of our show. Without them not only tuning in – but calling, texting, emailing and being such a big part of our morning, we wouldn’t have a show,” said ZM Breakfast co-host Carl “Fletch” Fletcher.

NZME made significant changes across much of its radio platform earlier this year refocussing efforts on its strategy to be New Zealand’s leading audio company.

Changes included the launch of the Jono & Ben Breakfast on The Hits, the new breakfast show on Coast with Jase, Toni & Sam and the introduction of the new “Gold” network in July.

Another initiative was a music format change to the Flava network, introducing a new ‘Old School’ Hip Hop and RnB sound. The change is a big hit with audiences. In the latest survey Flava has delivered the biggest audience growth of any radio network across New Zealand – adding 52,900 listeners⁺.

Sol3 Mio’s Moses Mackay, Pene Pati and Amitai Pati have been hosting Flava’s breakfast since August and have added over 28,000 listeners to their show.^**.

“We’ve been blown away by the number of people who’ve been tuning in. We are incredibly proud of the feedback. We have been hearing from so many people, we’ve been amazed that so many people are up that early in the morning – we can’t thank our listeners enough,” said Sol3 Mio’s Pene Pati.

NZME’s leading audio company strategy is based on creating the best local content and relentlessly focussing on audiences.

NZME’s Chief Radio and Commercial Officer Wendy Palmer says she’s delighted with how NZME’s on-air teams are delivering for their listeners.

“In this GfK survey NZME’s 25-54 year old audience share has grown in 9^^ of the 13 radio markets that are individually released^~.  The Hits and Coast – our two networks with brand new breakfast shows this year have been an integral part of that growth.

“Gold and its ‘All the greatest hits’ format, brand new 6 months ago, is already delivering on its potential with listeners growing across the workday⁺⁺.  

“To say we are delighted with Flava’s nearly 53,000 new listeners is an understatement, while Radio Hauraki has now grown its listener base in each of the past 6 surveys and now has its highest listenership in a decade**. On behalf of all of radio teams I’d like to thank our listeners and our advertisers,” said Palmer.

NZME CEO Michael Boggs said the challenges of 2020 have also presented opportunities for NZME’s news and entertainment platforms to create new loyal audiences.

“This year New Zealanders have turned our newspapers, radio networks and digital platforms in record numbers – our opportunity has been to keep those Kiwis coming back for the news and information that they trust and the entertainment that they love.

“The growing popularity of our digital audio platform iHeartRadio provides yet another opportunity for the NZME to continue to innovate for our audiences and our commercial partners,” said NZME CEO Michael Boggs.

SOURCE: GfK Commercial Radio S4 2020, Total NZ, M-S 12mn-12mn, Cume (000’s), All 10+ ^*Share (%) ^{^}Cume (000’s) All 25-44, All 25-54 ^~Share (%) All 25-54 ⁺Auckland Cume (000’s) ^**M-F 6-9am Auckland ⁺⁺M-F 9am-12pm Cume (000’s) Gold includes a combination of Gold and Mix for Aug 25 – Nov 2 2019 and Jan 19 (Feb 2*) - Mar 28 2020 for Northland*, Tauranga* & Nelson’ **historical information available on request ^^Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Manawatu, Nelson, Northland, Southland, Tauranga, Waikato

ENDS

For further information please contact: Cliff Joiner, GM Communications, New Zealand Media and Entertainment, +64212709995, cliff.joiner@nzme.co.nz