Coast is a
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
radio network
There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass media, mass-media entertainment, and the two-way radio (Duplex (teleco ...
playing a mix of "feel good" hits predominantly from the 1970s and 1980s. The network includes stations in 22 major cities and provincial centres broadcasting from studios in
central Auckland, owned and operated by
New Zealand Media and Entertainment
New Zealand Media and Entertainment (abbreviated NZME) is a New Zealand newspaper, radio and digital media business. It was launched in 2014 as the merger of APN New Zealand (a division of Here, There & Everywhere (company), APN News & Media), ...
.
The Coast network reaches an estimated 315,100 listeners each week. Its format is smooth, with short hourly news bulletins, succinct voice breaks, minimal ad breaks and limited
clutter. Its target listener is 40 to 64 years old; has reached their highest-earning potential, owns their own home and spends disposable income on luxury items and travel. The audience is almost equally male and female, with a 52% female skew.
Coast format was launched 26 April 2004.
History
Early years
Coast originally started in
Hawke's Bay in 2002, as a local station. The history of this station dates back to 1995 as ''The Wireless Station'' broadcasting on 1530 AM and playing music from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. ''The Wireless Station'' was started/operated by The Wireless Station Ltd for three years from November 1995 and was then leased or sold to Hawke's Bay Media Group in 1998 and re-branded as ''Goodtime Gold'', playing music from the 1960s and 1970s. In 1999 it was renamed simply ''Gold 1530''.
''Gold 1530'' was leased (or sold) to The Radio Network in 2000 and was re-branded as ''Jammin' Oldies 1530 AM'' or ''JO 1530'' in June 2000. In 2002 the station became the very first station under the Coast
brand name and in 2004 Coast began producing their programme from Auckland networked back to Hawke's Bay on 1530 AM (then on 1584 AM from 2011), and later to the rest of New Zealand.
Relaunch
The final re-branding of the station was to the current name Coast 1530.
In 2004 the station became voice tracked from
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
in preparation for its launch in the Auckland market on 26 April 2004. The network expanded beyond Auckland and Hawke's Bay to other markets later in the year. Initially, the playlist consisted of music from the 50s, 60s and 70s, with a very small portion from the late 40s.
The network rose to third place in the Auckland radio survey ratings in 2006, just two years after it began. Then programme director Mike Regal credited the station's success to serving the
baby boomer
Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the demographic cohort preceded by the Silent Generation and followed by Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964 during the mid-20th century baby boom that ...
gap in the market that had previously been ignored by marketers, advertisers and media companies. He said the station was a fine balancing act between being neither a station for the young or a station for seniors. "We don't want to be too cool and hip with it and risk alienating people, but on the other side we didn't want to sound too old either," he told the ''
New Zealand Herald
''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand.
It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand ...
''.
Recent years
In the current radio survey results Coast has 100,000 listeners in Auckland each week and a 5.1% market share, making it the sixth highest-rating radio stations in the highly competitive
Auckland radio market.
By 2014 most of the older playlist (pre-1960) had been dropped, and at times more recent artists could be heard, including
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...
, as the station moved to a more
Classic Hits-type format.
Coast is now a complete FM network after migrating to FM in late 2018 and early 2019 in a number of markets where coverage had previously on been only available on AM - including Hawke's Bay, Whangarei, and Taranaki.
In 2011 the original 1530 AM frequency leased by The Radio Network and used to start the first Coast Station in Hawke's Bay was returned to its original owners.
Programmes
Coast Breakfast
Coast's Feel Good Breakfast hosted by Toni Street, Jason Reeves and Sam Wallace was launched in May 2020. In January 2021 the show was introduced in Tauranga, Coromandel and Thames, replacing a local breakfast show hosted by
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...
identity Brian Kelly, the former host of the Coast network breakfast show. The change was made with the move of Kelly to host of GOLD ''SPORT''
's breakfast show.
The station's foundation breakfast host was well-known veteran announcer Mike Oliver, who left in early 2011 before passing away from illness in 2014. Oliver had previously worked as a host on Radio Liberty and a voice over artist on
Prime TV.
For a period,
Hāwera
Hāwera is the second-largest centre in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight. The origins of the town lie in a government military base that was establishe ...
had its own local breakfast show called ''The 1557 Breakfast''. This show was originally aired on
Newstalk ZB in the Hāwera region when Newstalk ZB used the 1557 AM frequency. After Newstalk ZB in Hāwera changed to frequency 1278 AM, the show was dropped and replaced with the Auckland-based programme, but it was later picked up by Coast. The 1557 AM frequency in Hāwera has since been reassigned to
Hokonui.
Other programmes
Lorna Riley has hosted the weekday time slot on Coast since 2015. The former Easy Mix breakfast host also served as a traffic presenter for
Newstalk ZB During more than 25 years in the media industry, she has appeared on
Shortland Street
''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand Prime time, prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital. The show was first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992 and is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, be ...
and Interrogation and a host of advertisements and
advertorial
An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content. The term "advertorial" is a blend word, blend (see portmanteau) of the words "advertisement" and "editorial". Merriam-Webster dates the origin of the word to 1946.
In printed pub ...
s like Family Health Diary. Founding daytime host Jacqui Taite left the station at the end of 2011. Gael Ludlow filled the role in 2012 and Murray Lindsay hosted in 2013. During 2014, the station ran with a day show hosted by Nik Brown.
Coast's Feel Good Drive Home, the afternoon show on Coast, is currently hosted by Jon Dunstan who took over from Jason "JT" Tikao and Mel Homer during 2020. JT and Mel took over in January 2018 when Jason Reeves moved to Coast Breakfast. Reeves replaced Murray Lindsay, formerly the long-running day time host of
Classic Hits. Drive has also been hosted by Rick Morin until 2012.
During 2013 Southland radio identity John "Boggy" McDowell hosted the drive show after a 33-year stint as host of Southland's
Classic Hits 4ZA since 1979. The move had been prompted by a desire for more leisurely mornings and the chance to broadcast to a national audience. He told
The Southland Times certain things had "fallen into place that made it a perfect time to move to a new time slot". However, despite dropping his Southland nickname "Boggy", McDowell was moved to
Gore's
Hokonui radio station in 2014, swapping places with Nik Brown.
Jason "JT" Tikao now hosts Coast's Night Show between 7pm - 12 midnight. Before 2013 the night programme was automated.
Coast weekend programming includes ''Old School Saturdays'' features all the Feel Good superstars from the '70s and '80s. This feature runs Saturdays from 12am - 6pm. ''Club Coast'' on Saturday evenings from 6pm until 2am Sunday morning. ''Club Coast'' is a blend of party hits. ''Double Shot Sundays'' feature two songs in a row from the same artist. This feature runs every Sunday from 6am until 12 midnight.
Grant Kereama (former ZM Morning Crew host) hosts Coast Feel Good Weekends, from 12pm - 6pm.
Stations
Coast's station group
has expanded rapidly since its Auckland launch in 2004. It was initially introduced in coastal markets before being introduced provincial inland markets like
Rotorua
Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...
in 2008.
Frequencies
*
Bay of Islands
The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for ...
- 89.6FM
*
Northland - 96.4 FM/900 AM
*
Auckland
Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
- 98.2 FM
*
Waikato
The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...
- 105.0 FM
*
Coromandel - 97.9 FM
*
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...
- 107.1 FM
*
Tauranga
Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...
- 97.4 FM
*
Rotorua
Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...
- 96.7 FM
*
Gisborne - 106.1 FM
*
Hawke's Bay - 99.9 FM
*
Taranaki
Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont.
The main centre is the ...
- 106FM/1323AM
*
Whanganui
Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...
- 98.4 FM
*
Manawatū - 105.8 FM
*
Kāpiti Coast/
Horowhenua - 95.9 FM
*
Wairarapa
The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service t ...
- 91.9 FM
*
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
- 95.7 FM
*
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
- 100.8 FM
*
Marlborough - 94.5 FM
*
Christchurch
Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
- 90.1 FM/105.7 FM/1593 AM
*
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...
- 104.6 FM/954 AM
*
Wānaka
Wānaka () is a popular ski and summer resort town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. At the southern end of Lake Wānaka, it is at the start of the Clutha River and is the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park.
Wānaka ...
- 94.6 FM
*
Southland - 92.4 FM
Other services
News
Coast has news, sports, traffic and weather bulletins from the NZ Herald newsroom at the start of every hour, followed by music, comments from the announcers on the music being played and issues of the day.
During breakfast Coast has half-hourly news and sports updates, presented by Brin Rudkin (6am-12pm inclusive). During afternoons Raylene Ramsay presents hourly news and sports updates from the ZB Affiliates (1pm-6pm inclusive).
During weekend days, there are hourly news and sports updates and weather forecasts.
Promotions
Coast regularly runs competitions and is famous for ''Toni Street's Big Spender,'' where one listener can enter to win a $10,000 shopping spree. Previous locations have included Hawaii, Las Vegas, and New York State. Coast also runs ''Feel Good 500 Countdown,'' a week-long countdown of the top 500 Feel Good songs, as voted by listeners.
iHeartRadio
Coast's network stream is also available on the
iHeartRadio
iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast, radio streaming and Music Streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. Founded in August 2008, iHeartRadio serves as the national umbrella brand for iHeart ...
website and app.
References
External links
Coast Official WebsiteCorporate Website
{{New Zealand Media and Entertainment
New Zealand radio networks
Radio stations in New Zealand
Classic hits radio stations
New Zealand Media and Entertainment
Radio stations established in 2004