Mai FM is New Zealand's largest

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...

radio network, promoting

Māori language Māori (; endonym: 'the Māori language', commonly shortened to ) is an Eastern Polynesian languages, Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost membe ...

and

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and broadcasting

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

. It is located in

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 ...

, and is available in twelve markets around the country. The network targets 15- to 34-year-olds, and reaches an estimated 460,600 different listeners each week.

History

Mai FM began broadcasting to Auckland in July 1992. The first breakfast host was Robert Rakete, now a host on The Breeze. It was run by one of the largest Māori iwi in New Zealand,

Ngāti Whātua Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapū (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa ...

, and Mai Media. Between 1996 and 2005 Mai FM also operated a second station, Ruia Mai, on 1179 AM in Auckland with all programming in the Māori language. From 1996 to 2001 Mai FM could be heard in Christchurch on 90.5 FM, due to an agreement between

and the Kāi Tahu iwi. The Christchurch station was originally 90.5 Tahu FM, with local on air talent, and formatted with the Mai FM Auckland music. In late 2001 the joint agreement ended and the Mai FM branding of the station in

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 ...

ceased, reverting to its original name of Tahu FM. In 1996 Ngāti Whatua also came to an agreement with the

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori people, Māori iwi and hapū (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the ''Arawa (canoe), Arawa'' migration canoe (''waka''). The tribes are based in the Rotorua and Bay of Plent ...

iwi to broadcast Mai FM in Rotorua on 96.7 FM, over the years the frequency changed to 99.1 and is now broadcasting on 105.5. On 29 February 2008 it was announced that

MediaWorks New Zealand MediaWorks New Zealand is a New Zealand-based company specialising in radio, outdoor advertising and interactive media. It is owned by Australian out-of-home advertising company QMS. It operates eight national radio brands, eleven websites and ...

had bought the station and would take it over on 31 March 2008. Since the MediaWorks' takeover there has been significant programming and branding changes as well as the creation of the Mai FM network.

Current hosts

*Tegan Yorwarth, Fame Teu, and Nickson Clark on Mai Morning Crew *Storme Hitaua on Mai Days *Desch Toalepai and Randy Sjafrie on Mai Home Run *Nae Cunningham on Mai Nights

Programming

Mai FM is a networked station with all shows and music broadcasting from its Auckland studios. The Mai Hot 1000
/ref> is one of the station's annual countdown features. The chart order, including which artists and songs feature, is voted by listeners on the station's official website. The countdown runs on weekdays over a three-week period started in 2013 as The Mai Hot 500 according to their official Instagram page. It was renamed The Mai Hot 900 in 2014 and expanded by 300 songs in 2020. Then in 2022 it had 200 songs removed due to the launch of The Mai Hip Hop 100 and The Mai RnB 100 Countdowns.

Winners

*2025 -

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...

- "

Not Like Us "Not Like Us" is a diss track by the American rapper Kendrick Lamar amidst Drake–Kendrick Lamar feud, his highly publicized feud with the Canadian rapper Drake (musician), Drake. Released on May 4, 2024, through Interscope Records, it broke ...

" *2023 -

2pac Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

- "

California Love "California Love" is a song by American rapper 2Pac featuring fellow American rapper Dr. Dre. The song was released December 3, 1995, as 2Pac's comeback single after his release from prison in 1995 and was his first single as the newest artist ...

" *2022 - J. Cole - " No Role Modelz" *2021 -

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

- "

No Scrubs "No Scrubs" is a song recorded by American girl group TLC as the lead single from their third studio album, '' FanMail'', released on February 2, 1999, by LaFace Records and Arista Records. The song was written by producer Kevin "She'kspere" B ...

" *2020 -

- "

Changes Changes may refer to: Books * '' Changes: A Love Story'', 1991 novel by Ama Ata Aidoo * ''Changes'' (The Dresden Files) (2010), the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a 1983 novel by Danielle Steel * ''Chan ...

" *2019 - The Notorious B.I.G - " Juicy" *2018 -

- "

" *2017 - Bone Thugs N Harmony - "

Tha Crossroads "Tha Crossroads" is a song written and performed by American hip hop music, hip hop group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, released as a single in April 1996. The song is dedicated to the group's mentor, the late gangsta rap icon Eazy-E, and other family ...

" *2016 -

- "

" *2015 -

- "

" *2014 -

- "

" *2013 -

- "

Stations

Frequencies

These are the frequencies for Mai FM: *

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

- 107.3 FM *

- 88.6 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 ...

- 105.8 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 ...

- 96.6 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 ...

- 105.5 FM * Gisborne - 89.3 FM *

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

- 105.5 FM *

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 ...

- 96.0 FM * Manawatu - 97.0 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 ...

- 100.5 FM *

- 106.8 FM

References

External links

Mai FM official website
{{Radio in New Zealand Māori culture in Auckland Radio stations in Auckland New Zealand radio networks Urban contemporary radio stations Māori mass media Radio stations established in 1992