Port FM

Port FM
Broadcast area South Canterbury, New Zealand
Format Adult hits
Class Terrestrial/Internet
Webcast Webcast
Website Official website

Port FM is a local radio station based in Timaru, New Zealand broadcasting throughout South Canterbury and the MacKenzie Country. It also operates as a network with sister-stations in Ashburton and Oamaru known as 'Port FM Local'.

Port FM's music genre is contemporary rock and pop, normally from the 1990s onwards, however with some 1970s and 1980s music thrown into the mix. The main (Timaru based) station is used as a network feed for Port FM Local in Ashburton and Oamaru during breakfast, nights and weekends. Subscribers to Vodafone New Zealand can hear Port FM on channel 424.

History

Port FM has been privately owned by businessman and radio entrepreneur Brent Birchfield since 1995. The network now operates in Ashburton, Timaru and Oamaru, and has previously operated on the West Coast in Greymouth.

Port FM is now one of a few independent radio stations not controlled by New Zealand Media and Entertainment or MediaWorks New Zealand. It does however have close ties with the MediaWorks group, from which it sources its news bulletins from Radio Live and also provides advertising sales and services to other MediaWorksstations in the region (The Edge, The Rock and The Sound) and are operated locally by Port FM under a franchise arrangement with MediaWorks.[1]

Programmes

Weekly Top 40 host Rick Dees.

The network's current breakfast programme is The Region's Big Breakfast With OJ and Sam - weekdays between 6am and 9am. The network daytime show airs between 10am and 2pm, and the network drive show airs between 3pm and 7pm with current host James Valentine. The night programme between 7pm and 12am includes Keepin' It Kiwi from 7pm and rock music from 9pm. Overnight between 12am and 6am the station is automated. A local Mid-Canterbury day programme with Bex Carr also airs weekdays between 10am and 2pm in Ashburton and Mid Canterbury Only.[2]

Saturday programming includes Retro Pop Reunion with Joe Cortez syndicated from the United States between 12pm and 6pm and an automated Automated Party Mix from 6pm to 2am. A sports breakfast has previously played on Saturday mornings, and a Sunday show airs with James Valentine between 7am and 2pm. The network is automated at other times.[3]

Port FM is one of the few New Zealand radio stations continuing to air the Rick Dees Weekly Top 40. The internationally-syndicated US radio program is created and hosted by American radio personality Rick Dees and was previously broadcast in most radio markets in New Zealand through More FM and independent radio networks. Port FM broadcasts a top 40 chart version of the countdown on Sunday afternoons from 2pm, which is designed for Hot AC stations and distributed by Radio Express.[4]

Stations

The flagship Port FM network is based in Timaru and can be heard throughout South Canterbury and the MacKenzie Country. Since 2006, two other stations owned by Port FM in Ashburton and Oamaru have been renamed Port FM Local. They were originally known as Fox FM (Ashburton) and Whitestone 100FM (Oamaru), broadcasting locally during the day and at nights relaying the Port FM feed programme from Timaru.

Ashburton

Fox FM was Port FM's local radio station in Ashburton. The station hit the airwaves in 1995, broadcasting on 94.9FM and 98.9 FM. It claims to broadcast from "the hills to the sea", from "Bridge to Bridge and Beyond" and from Rakaia to Rangitata and beyond.[5]

In mid-2006 it was rebranded as 'Mid Canterbury's Port FM Local'. Some local broadcasts from Ashburton remain. In mid-2010, the station regained its local breakfast show, which was first hosted by Dave Nicholas then by Bex Carr. The local breakfast show was dropped at the end of 2013 but host Bex Carr continues on the station with a local Mid Canterbury 10 - 2 pm show.[6]

Oamaru

Whitestone 100 FM was Port FM's local radio station in Oamaru broadcasting on 100FM and 96FM. It began broadcasting in 1994. In 2002 the station ended with 100FM relaunched as Waitaki's Solid Gold 100 FM, broadcasting a local breakfast and the Solid Gold network during the day, while 96FM broadcast The Edge network.

100FM has since been relaunched as 'Waitaki's Port FM Local' carrying local and Port FM Timaru programming. In Mid 2010 the local 10am-2pm show was axed to make way for a local North Otago breakfast show to return for the first time in almost 10 years. The local show in Oamaru and the Waitaki valley was hosted by Anton Roswell, who replaced Marc Cookson however the show was axed again in 2012 with no local shows remaining.

Frequencies

Port FM operates its own stations on FM frequencies, and operates other networked stations locally under a franchise arrangement with MediaWorks.

Market Station Location Frequency
1. Ashburton Port FM Local Ashburton 94.9 FM
2. Ashburton Port FM Local Ashburton 98.9 FM
3. Ashburton Port FM Local Ashburton 106.1 FM
4. Ashburton The Edge Ashburton 93.3 FM
5. Ashburton The Sound Ashburton 95.7 FM
6. Ashburton The Rock Ashburton 97.3 FM
7. South Canterbury Port FM South Canterbury 97.9 FM
8. South Canterbury Port FM Timaru 93.1 FM
9. South Canterbury Port FM Waimate 93.1 FM
10. South Canterbury Port FM Fairlie 95.0 FM
11. South Canterbury Port FM Twizel 93.4 FM
12. South Canterbury The Rock Timaru 91.5 FM
13. South Canterbury The Edge Timaru 95.5 FM
14. South Canterbury The Sound Timaru 97.1 FM
15. South Canterbury The Edge Twizel 99.8 FM
16. South Canterbury The Sound Twizel 100.6 FM
17. South Canterbury The Rock Twizel 104.6 FM
18. West Coast The Sound Westport 95.7 FM
19. West Coast The Sound Greymouth 94.7 FM
20. West Coast The Sound Hokitika 91.9 FM
21. North Otago Port FM Omarama 91.2 FM
22. North Otago Port FM Otematata 92.7 FM
23. North Otago Port FM Local Oamaru 100.0 FM
24. North Otago The Edge Oamaru 96.0 FM
25. North Otago The Sound Oamaru 99.2 FM
26. North Otago The Rock Oamaru 104.8 FM

References

  1. ↑ "Ashburton East Business". 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "Reporter Guest DJ at Port FM Ashburton". 1 June 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "Port FM". 1 June 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  4. ↑ Durkee, Rob. American Top 40: The Countdown of the Century. ISBN 0-02-864895-1. New York City: Schirmer Books, 1999. Accessed 10 December 2007.
  5. ↑ "Ashburton East Business". 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  6. ↑ "Reporter Guest DJ at Port FM Ashburton". 1 June 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2014.

External links