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| The Breeze | |
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| Broadcast area | New Zealand |
|---|---|
| Branding | The Breeze |
| Frequency | various |
| First air date | around 1993 |
| Format | Music (Easy listening) |
| Class | Terrestrial/Internet |
| Owner | MediaWorks NZ |
| Webcast | Auckland Christchurch Waikato Wellington |
| Website | www.thebreeze.co.nz |
The Breeze is a group of New Zealand easy-listening radio stations owned by RadioWorks, a MediaWorks NZ company. The Breeze plays easy-listening music from the 1970s to the present day, aimed at a 35-54 year old female audience.1 There are 16 stations currently broadcasting throughout New Zealand, with each station presenting a mixture of local and network shows. A Breeze station is planned for Taupo, Northland, Gisborne and South Canterbury in the near future.
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History
The Breeze originally started around 1993 in Auckland and Waikato but not as the Easy Listening stations we know today. The Breeze first started as Lite FM but later changed their name to The Breeze. The Breeze in Auckland broadcast on 91.0FM and was the successor to Magic 91FM. The Breeze in Waikato broadcast on 89.8FM replacing Kiwi 898FM (not to be confused with the Kiwi FM Network in operation today). Both The Breeze in Auckland and Waikato played a Contemporary mix of music and was nothing like The Breeze stations in operation today despite having the same logo. The slogan used for The Breeze in Auckland and Waikato was Not too heavy, Not too soft. Both The Breeze in Auckland and Waikato ceased to operate in 1996 when The Radio Network acquired their frequencies and started ZM in these regions. For Auckland this was a return of ZM as the station had been absent from the Auckland market since 1987.
The Breeze in Wellington is the successor to Radio Windy. Radio Windy, or Windy FM as it was by this stage, changed to a Classic Rock format in 1991. Then in 1993 it was rebranded as The Breeze, at the same time the Auckland and Waikato stations were launched, however Wellington kept its Easy Listening format. The Breeze continued to operate in Wellington after the Auckland and Waikato stations shut down. The Breeze made a return to Waikato in 2003 when local station Y 99.3 was rebranded as The Breeze retaining Y 99.3 local announcer but changing music format from Adult Contemporary to the Easy Listening format used on The Breeze in Wellington. In 2004 The Breeze was rolled out to other regions around New Zealand by rebranding existing stations as The Breeze and in some cases even changing the format of the local station to Easy Listening. In April 2007 many of The Breeze stations had local shows or shows that were fed from a nearby region replaced with a network show based from the Auckland studio, creating a network allowed The Breeze to then launch in other markets such as Hawkes Bay, Bay of Plenty and Southland.
The Breeze Stations
Network
| City/Town | Frequencies | |
|---|---|---|
| Auckland | 93.4 FM | |
| Waikato | 99.3 FM | |
| Tauranga | 96.1 FM | |
| Mercury Bay | 96.6 FM | |
| Rotorua | 91.9 FM | |
| Hawke's Bay | 97.5 FM | |
| Taranaki | 92.3 FM | |
| Manawatu | 98.6 FM | |
| Kapiti Coast | 99.6 FM | |
| Wellington | 94.1 & 98.1 FM, 891 AM | |
| Nelson | 97.8 FM | |
| Marlborough | 96.1 FM | |
| Christchurch | 94.5 FM | |
| Dunedin | 98.2 FM | |
| Central Otago | 96.7FM | |
| Queenstown | 92.0 FM (Queenstown) 96.8FM (Wanaka) |
|
| Southland | 91.6 FM | |
Originally all The Breeze stations were local with the exception of Dunedin where content was fed from the Christchurch studio. In April 2007 some local shows were replaced with network content based from the Auckland studio.
The following shows are networked from the Auckland studio:
- Workday (10am - 2pm) - Kerry Smith
- Drive (2-7pm) - Mark Leishman
- Nights (7pm - Midnight) - Nicky Sunderland With Lovesongs
All The Breeze stations have a local breakfast show, however in regions where the majority of the station is networked breakfast is actually voice tracked this is with the exception of Manawatu where breakfast remains live. Wellington and Christchurch remain local 24 hours a day 7 days a week with no content fed from the network, Waikato remains local but takes the networked Workday show and Queenstown remains local but takes the networked Night Show.
Auckland
Launched on 12 June 2006 on the former Solid Gold FM frequency with Solid Gold moving to 93.8FM. The Auckland station was to replace the struggling Kiwi FM, Canwest's 100% NZ Music Station. However, the New Zealand Government has stepped in to give Kiwi FM another chance. With Kiwi FM given another frequency The Breeze launch was unaffected. The Auckland studio is where network shows are produced from announcers produce a local show for Auckland, with voice breaks tailored to the Auckland audience, and separate voice breaks for those regions joined to The Breeze network.
Presenters include:
- Breakfast(6-10am) - Robert Rakete and Robert Scott
- Workday (10am-2pm) - Kerry Smith
- Drive (2-7pm) - Mark Leishman
- Nights (7pm - Midnight) - Nicky Sunderland with Lovesongs
Waikato
This station was originally Waikato's Y99.3 playing an Adult Contemporary Music Format. The station was changed to an Easy Listening format and relaunched as The Breeze in April 2003, this was the very first station to be rebranded as The Breeze. All shows in Waikato are local except the daytime show which comes from the network. The Breakfast show starts an hour earlier than other The Breeze stations at 5am, the first hour is known as The Farming Hour catering to the Waikato Farmers listening at this time of the morning. The Breeze is not the only station in the Waikato to start the breakfast show at 5am, Classic Hits 98.6 ZHFM in the Waikato also start their breakfast show at 5 am.
Local presenters include:
- Breakfast (5-10am) - Dave Grove
- Drive (2-7pm) - Ronny Philips
- Nights - Love Songs with Ann-Marie Miller
- Nostalgia Sunday Night (7pm-midnight) - Derek Flint
Previous announcers:
- KM Adams - Hosted Daytime show until April 2007
Mercury Bay
The Breeze broadcasts in Mercury Bay on 96.6FM and is also available in Pauanui/Tairua on 91.1FM and Kaiaua on 90.0FM.
Local presenters include:
- Breakfast (6-10am) - Tarsh and Gilly
- Workday (10am-2pm) - Tarsh
Tauranga
The Breeze launched in Tauranga around September 2007 on 96.1FM, a frequency previously used by Radio Pacific, (now 873AM), then by Radio Live, (now 1107AM).
Local presenters include:
- Breakfast (6-10am) - Chris James(sometimes on Tauranga's 93.4 MoreFM)
Rotorua
The Breeze launched in Rotorua in 2008 broadcasting temporarily on 96.7FM. Previously 96.7FM had been used to broadcast Mai FM into Rotorua, RadioWorks purchased Mai FM in March 2008 and replaced Mai FM with The Breeze. However, when The Radio Network purchased the 96.7FM frequency in July, it switched frequency to 91.9FM, formerly used by Radio Live.
Local presenters include:
- Breakfast (6-10am) - Mike Baird
Hawke's Bay
Commenced broadcasting 6 August 2007, on 97.5 FM, the frequency previously used by Radio Pacific (now 549 AM), then by Radio Live (now 1368 AM).
Local presenters include:
- Breakfast (6-10am) - Phil Lemon
Taranaki
The Breeze originally launched in Taranaki in February 2008 broadcasting on 100.4 FM, a frequency not previously used by any other station, however after less than six months on the air this frequency was taken over by student station The Most FM. The Breeze was relaunched on 92.3FM, a frequency that ironically was previously occupied by The Most FM.
Local presenters include:
- Breakfast (6-10am) - Dave Haskell
Manawatu
This station was originally Manawatu's Magic 98.6 FM. It was relaunched as The Breeze in 2004 when RadioWorks rebranded all their Easy Listening stations as The Breeze. In May 2007, locally generated programs outside of breakfast were replaced with a network program from Auckland.
Local presenters include:
- Breakfast (6-10am) - Burnzee For Breakfast
Kapiti Coast
The Breeze began transmission across the Kapiti Coast and Horowhenua regions in late 2004. This occurred when RadioWorks replaced all of their local stations with the More FM brand. Subsequently, local station 90.2 2XX FM was rebranded as More FM, however as there was already a local More FM station in existence on 99.6, that frequency became The Breeze. 99.6 The Breeze is a relay of the Wellington programme with locally generated commercial breaks.
Wellington
Wellington is the home of the very first The Breeze radio station under the Easy Listening format. The station started out in 1993 as a local standalone station playing Easy Listening music. The format of The Breeze in Wellington was then rolled out to other stations in 2003 and 2004, however The Breeze in Wellington has never been networked to any other station and no shows on The Breeze in Wellington come from the Auckland based network.
Presenters include:
- Breakfast(6-10am) - Steve & Stephanie
- Workday (10am-2pm) - Stu Smith
- Drive (2-7pm) - Grant Beban
- Nights (7pm-midnight) Love Songs with Phil Vaughan
Nelson
The Breeze launched in Nelson in March 2008 broadcasting on 97.8FM. Previously this frequency was used to broadcast Radio Pacific and more recently BSport, however these stations actually broadcast on 97.6FM, and now broadcast on 990AM.
Presenters include:
- Breakfast (6-10am) - John Bullock
Marlborough
In January 2008 RadioWorks purchased Malborough Media, which operated two local stations Sounds FM and Easy FM. Later in 2008 Easy FM was rebranded as The Breeze broadcasting on 96.1FM. At this time local shows were replaced with network shows with the exception of the breakfast show.
Presenters include:
- Breakfast (6-10am) - Cliff James
Christchurch
This station was originally Canterbury's Lite 94.5 FM. It was relaunched as The Breeze in 2004 when RadioWorks rebranded all their Easy Listening stations. All shows remain live and local.
Presenters include:
- Breakfast(6am-10am) - Peter Mac & Hilary Muir
- Workday (10am-2pm) - Sue White
- Drive (2-7pm) - Grant Magrath
- Nights - Love songs with Michelle Williamson
Dunedin
The Breeze began in Dunedin at 7 p.m. on 3 December 2004 a week after the frequency's former 98 More FM switched to 97.4 FM. Initially the program was a simucast of The Breeze Christchurch, with the only local content the commercials. In May 2005 9 a.m. till 7 p.m. weekdays and 6.00 a.m. - 1.00 p.m. weekends were presented locally with the evening and breakfast shows still being fed from Christchurch. In April 2007 Tracy Chambers (the daytime announcer) was moved to the breakfast show to present a local breakfast show and all other shows were replaced with the Auckland based network shows. The local breakfast show plays more music and less talk, which is unusual for a radio breakfast show.
Local presenters include:
- Breakfast (6-10am) - Anita Cumming
Previous announcers:
- Tracy Chambers - Daytime May 2005 to April 2007 and Breakfast April 2007 to November 2007
- Grant McClain - Drivetime May 2005 to April 2007
Queenstown
Radioworks purchased Queenstown radio station Q92FM in March 2006 and later rebranded the station as Q92 The Breeze. Originally Q92FM played Adult Contemporary Music but was changed to the Easy Listening format used by The Breeze when the station was rebranded. Q92 The Breeze can also be heard in Wanaka on 96.8FM and in Central Otago on 96.7FM. All shows remain local with the exception of the Night Show which comes from the network.
Local presenters include:
- Breakfast (6-9am) - Margo and Emma
- Workday (9am-2pm) - Chas Drader
- Drive (2-7pm) - Craig Dillon
Southland
The Breeze launched in Southland at 11pm on Sunday 28 October 2007 on 91.6FM, a frequency previously used by Radio Pacific. Radio Pacific was rebranded as BSport the following morning and in Southland moved to 1224AM. The Breeze Southland features a voice tracked breakfast show and outside breakfast all shows are based from the network.
Local presenters include:
- Breakfast (6am - 10am): Bruce Stewart
References
- ^ "National Stations > The Breeze". MediaWorks NZ. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
External links
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 17 November 2008, at 04:06.
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