Viva FM
Encyclopedia
Easy Mix, is a New Zealand
radio network
. The network broadcasts easy listening
music and news
.
The network station is based in Auckland
and currently networked into Tauranga
, Hawke's Bay and Wellington.
The head office and studios of Easy Mix are located on the corner of Cook & Nelson Streets in Auckland City
, along with the other seven stations of The Radio Network
.
During regular programming, Easy Mix follows a format of a "50-minute continuous music mix" each hour, with a news & sport update at the top of each hour from the Newstalk ZB
Newsroom.
there are three frequencies:
Easy Mix does not operate in the South Island
.
The station was previously on-air in Rotorua
on 95.1FM, but this was shut down on 31 May 2010. It also broadcast on 90.3FM in Hawke's Bay
until it closed on 31 May 2011, to be replaced by Newstalk ZB
.
The History of Easy Mix dates as far back as the 1960s when a company called Radio International started Radio i in Auckland. The station started originally leasing air time on 1ZM
as at this point the NZBC had a monopoly on the New Zealand airwaves preventing private broadcasters from operating. Radio i was granted a broadcasting licence in 1970, the same year Radio Hauraki
was granted the very first private commercial licence in New Zealand, Radio i originally broadcast on 1590AM in the Auckland region and moved to 1330AM in 1978 and later that year to 1332AM. When the station switched to FM in 1990 the name was changed to Radio i92FM broadcasting on 91.8FM. After 3 months on the air on 91.8FM the station moved to its current frequency on 98.2FM and became Radio i98FM and later Easy Listening i98FM. Easy Listening had several changes of ownership and in 1996 Easy Listening i in Auckland was sold to The Radio Network
.
Easy Listening began broadcasting in Hamilton
in 1993 when local station Easy Listening 97FM was rebranded as Easy Listening i97FM with the station remaining local until 1995 when programming was replaced with Auckland based programming. In 1996 the station was sold to The Radio Network
and at the time in Hamilton the station reverted back to local programming but the format of the station mirrored that of Easy Listening i98FM in Auckland. In 1999 Easy Listening was dropped from the Waikato market and replaced with Newstalk ZB
on this frequency.
Easy Listening was started in Hawkes Bay in 1996 when The New Alligator 99-100FM
was rebranded as Easy Listening i90FM broadcasting on 90.3FM and 99.9FM, this station was operated as part of a franchise agreement. The station was originally local but shortly after being rebranded local programming was replaced with Auckland based programming. The stations was taken over by the Hawkes Bay Media Group during the middle of 1996 and the 99.9FM frequency was used to start local station Xtreme 100. At the end of 1997 the station reverted back to local programming ceased using the Easy Listening i name and became Easy Listening 90FM and in 1999 was renamed again to 90.3 Cool FM. In 2000 Independent Radio (formally Hawkes Bay Media Group) was sold to The Radio Network
and the station reverted to Easy Listening i90.3FM but now networked from Auckland. On 31 May 2011, the Hawke's Bay station was closed down, and the frequency switched to Newstalk ZB
.
Easy Listening launched in Rotorua in late 1996 as Easy Listening i94.3FM and operated as part of a franchise agreement with local Rotorua station Triple X 99FM. The station featured a local breakfast show but outside breakfast programming was networked from Auckland. The station closed down in 1998 but The Radio Network brought Easy Listening i back to Rotorua in 2004 as Easy Listening i95.1FM with all programming now networked from Auckland. On March 31st 2010 The Radio Network sold the 95.1FM frequency and as a result Easy Mix went off the air in Rotorua.
Easy Listening began broadcasting in Tauranga in 2000 as Easy Listening i99FM with all programming networked from Auckland.
Easy Listening also broadcast into Christchuch on 94.5FM (during the mid-nineties) as a completely local station, this station was operated by C93FM Limited
and was rebranded as Lite FM
in 1998 after C93FM Limited was sold to Radio Otago
, today this station has once again been rebranded as The Breeze
.
Easy Listening made a return to Christchurch in 2003 now broadcasting on 1593AM and now as the network based product instead of their own local product, the station also was networked into Dunedin in 2003 on 954AM. Both stations did not perform well and as a result were replaced with Coast
in 2004.
The Easy Listening network was rebranded as Viva FM in 2005, and subsequently rebranded in August 2007 as Easy Mix. In 2008 Easy Mix began broadcasting in Wellington
networked from Auckland on 93.5FM.
Out of these times the station is fully automated.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
radio network
Radio network
There are two types of radio networks currently in use around the world: the one-to-many broadcast type commonly used for public information and mass media entertainment; and the two-way type used more commonly for public safety and public services such as police, fire, taxicabs, and delivery...
. The network broadcasts easy listening
Easy listening
Easy listening is a broad style of popular music and radio format that emerged in the 1950s, evolving out of big band music, and related to MOR music as played on many AM radio stations. It encompasses the exotica, beautiful music, light music, lounge music, ambient music, and space age pop genres...
music and news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
.
The network station is based in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
and currently networked into Tauranga
Tauranga
Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
, Hawke's Bay and Wellington.
The head office and studios of Easy Mix are located on the corner of Cook & Nelson Streets in Auckland City
Auckland City
Auckland City was the city and local authority covering the Auckland isthmus and most of the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, in the North Island of New Zealand. On 1 November 2010 it was amalgamated into the wider Auckland Region under the authority of the new Auckland Council...
, along with the other seven stations of The Radio Network
The Radio Network
The Radio Network is the wholly owned New Zealand division of radio company Australian Radio Network, a partnership of Clear Channel and APN News & Media. It is the owner and operator of the Newstalk ZB News service and nationwide Newstalk ZB, Classic Hits, ZM, Coast, Hauraki, Easy Mix, Flava and...
.
During regular programming, Easy Mix follows a format of a "50-minute continuous music mix" each hour, with a news & sport update at the top of each hour from the Newstalk ZB
Newstalk ZB
Newstalk ZB is a nationwide New Zealand talk radio network operated by The Radio Network of New Zealand . It is available in almost every radio market in the country, and has news reporters based in many of them...
Newsroom.
Current Frequencies
In the North IslandNorth Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
there are three frequencies:
- AucklandAucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
- 98.2 FM - TaurangaTaurangaTauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
- 99.0 FM - WellingtonWellingtonWellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
- 93.7 FM
Easy Mix does not operate in the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
.
The station was previously on-air in Rotorua
Rotorua
Rotorua is a city on the southern shores of the lake of the same name, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. The city is the seat of the Rotorua District, a territorial authority encompassing the city and several other nearby towns...
on 95.1FM, but this was shut down on 31 May 2010. It also broadcast on 90.3FM in Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay is a region of New Zealand. Hawke's Bay is recognised on the world stage for its award-winning wines. The regional council sits in both the cities of Napier and Hastings.-Geography:...
until it closed on 31 May 2011, to be replaced by Newstalk ZB
Newstalk ZB
Newstalk ZB is a nationwide New Zealand talk radio network operated by The Radio Network of New Zealand . It is available in almost every radio market in the country, and has news reporters based in many of them...
.
Radio i, Easy Listening i and Viva
ZM (New Zealand)
ZM is a New Zealand contemporary hit radio network owned by The Radio Network. It broadcasts 19 markets throughout mainland New Zealand via terrestrial FM, and worldwide via the Internet. The network targets the 15–39 demographic specialises in a chart-music playlist of pop, rock, hip hop and dance...
as at this point the NZBC had a monopoly on the New Zealand airwaves preventing private broadcasters from operating. Radio i was granted a broadcasting licence in 1970, the same year Radio Hauraki
Radio Hauraki
Radio Hauraki is a New Zealand radio network, specialising in album-oriented rock and classic rock. It was the first private commercial radio station of the modern broadcasting era in New Zealand and operated illegally from 1966-1970 to break the monopoly held by the government...
was granted the very first private commercial licence in New Zealand, Radio i originally broadcast on 1590AM in the Auckland region and moved to 1330AM in 1978 and later that year to 1332AM. When the station switched to FM in 1990 the name was changed to Radio i92FM broadcasting on 91.8FM. After 3 months on the air on 91.8FM the station moved to its current frequency on 98.2FM and became Radio i98FM and later Easy Listening i98FM. Easy Listening had several changes of ownership and in 1996 Easy Listening i in Auckland was sold to The Radio Network
The Radio Network
The Radio Network is the wholly owned New Zealand division of radio company Australian Radio Network, a partnership of Clear Channel and APN News & Media. It is the owner and operator of the Newstalk ZB News service and nationwide Newstalk ZB, Classic Hits, ZM, Coast, Hauraki, Easy Mix, Flava and...
.
Easy Listening began broadcasting in Hamilton
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
in 1993 when local station Easy Listening 97FM was rebranded as Easy Listening i97FM with the station remaining local until 1995 when programming was replaced with Auckland based programming. In 1996 the station was sold to The Radio Network
The Radio Network
The Radio Network is the wholly owned New Zealand division of radio company Australian Radio Network, a partnership of Clear Channel and APN News & Media. It is the owner and operator of the Newstalk ZB News service and nationwide Newstalk ZB, Classic Hits, ZM, Coast, Hauraki, Easy Mix, Flava and...
and at the time in Hamilton the station reverted back to local programming but the format of the station mirrored that of Easy Listening i98FM in Auckland. In 1999 Easy Listening was dropped from the Waikato market and replaced with Newstalk ZB
Newstalk ZB
Newstalk ZB is a nationwide New Zealand talk radio network operated by The Radio Network of New Zealand . It is available in almost every radio market in the country, and has news reporters based in many of them...
on this frequency.
Easy Listening was started in Hawkes Bay in 1996 when The New Alligator 99-100FM
The Alligator 90-100 FM
The Alligator 90FM , was a radio station broadcasting from Hawke's Bay, New Zealand from 1994 to 1998. The station initially went on air on 90.3 FM via temporary studios on Station Street Napier, before relocating to a new building on the corner of Carlyle and Craven Street's Napier...
was rebranded as Easy Listening i90FM broadcasting on 90.3FM and 99.9FM, this station was operated as part of a franchise agreement. The station was originally local but shortly after being rebranded local programming was replaced with Auckland based programming. The stations was taken over by the Hawkes Bay Media Group during the middle of 1996 and the 99.9FM frequency was used to start local station Xtreme 100. At the end of 1997 the station reverted back to local programming ceased using the Easy Listening i name and became Easy Listening 90FM and in 1999 was renamed again to 90.3 Cool FM. In 2000 Independent Radio (formally Hawkes Bay Media Group) was sold to The Radio Network
The Radio Network
The Radio Network is the wholly owned New Zealand division of radio company Australian Radio Network, a partnership of Clear Channel and APN News & Media. It is the owner and operator of the Newstalk ZB News service and nationwide Newstalk ZB, Classic Hits, ZM, Coast, Hauraki, Easy Mix, Flava and...
and the station reverted to Easy Listening i90.3FM but now networked from Auckland. On 31 May 2011, the Hawke's Bay station was closed down, and the frequency switched to Newstalk ZB
Newstalk ZB
Newstalk ZB is a nationwide New Zealand talk radio network operated by The Radio Network of New Zealand . It is available in almost every radio market in the country, and has news reporters based in many of them...
.
Easy Listening launched in Rotorua in late 1996 as Easy Listening i94.3FM and operated as part of a franchise agreement with local Rotorua station Triple X 99FM. The station featured a local breakfast show but outside breakfast programming was networked from Auckland. The station closed down in 1998 but The Radio Network brought Easy Listening i back to Rotorua in 2004 as Easy Listening i95.1FM with all programming now networked from Auckland. On March 31st 2010 The Radio Network sold the 95.1FM frequency and as a result Easy Mix went off the air in Rotorua.
Easy Listening began broadcasting in Tauranga in 2000 as Easy Listening i99FM with all programming networked from Auckland.
Easy Listening also broadcast into Christchuch on 94.5FM (during the mid-nineties) as a completely local station, this station was operated by C93FM Limited
C93FM
C93FM was a New Zealand radio station based in Christchurch.C93FM broadcast on 92.9 FM and, after it merged with Radio Avon, also broadcast on 1260 AM. C93FM has had several music formats during its time on the air...
and was rebranded as Lite FM
Lite FM
In 1999 Radio Otago was sold to The RadioWorks and the Invercargill and Dunedin stations were replaced with network station Solid Gold. Lite FM continued to broadcast in Christchuch and became part of Radioworks collection of local stations known as LocalWorks....
in 1998 after C93FM Limited was sold to Radio Otago
Radio Otago
Radio Otago was a radio company that operated a group of local radio stations in radio markets around New Zealand from the 1970s to the late 1990s...
, today this station has once again been rebranded as The Breeze
The Breeze (New Zealand)
The Breeze is a group of New Zealand easy-listening radio stations owned by RadioWorks, a MediaWorks New Zealand company. The Breeze plays easy-listening music from the 1970s to the present day, aimed at a 35–54 year old female audience...
.
Easy Listening made a return to Christchurch in 2003 now broadcasting on 1593AM and now as the network based product instead of their own local product, the station also was networked into Dunedin in 2003 on 954AM. Both stations did not perform well and as a result were replaced with Coast
Coast (New Zealand radio)
Coast is a New Zealand radio network owned by The Radio Network that plays middle of the road music with an emphasis on music from the fifties and sixties...
in 2004.
The Easy Listening network was rebranded as Viva FM in 2005, and subsequently rebranded in August 2007 as Easy Mix. In 2008 Easy Mix began broadcasting in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
networked from Auckland on 93.5FM.
Schedule
- 6am-10am Monday-Saturday : Lorna Plant
- 10am-2pm Monday-Friday : Gael Ludlow
- 2pm-7pm Monday-Friday & 6am-10am Sunday: Greg Prebble
- 7pm-12am Monday-Friday : Mark Bramley
- 10am-2pm Saturday-Sunday : Gael Ludlow
- 2pm-6pm Saturday-Sunday : John Tesh Radio ShowJohn TeshJohn Frank Tesh is an American pianist and composer of pop music, as well as a radio host and television presenter. His 10-year-old 'Intelligence for Your Life Radio Show' reaches 14.2 Million listeners/week, and is syndicated by Teshmedia on 400 stations in US, Canada, and the UK...
Out of these times the station is fully automated.