ZM (radio station)

Current line-up

Breakfast

Workday

Afternoon Drive

Nights

ZM History

Early years

• ZM in its current format was first started in 1973 by the government owned New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation. The three original ZM stations were based in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and had been on air for the past few decades, most recently as 1YD, 2YD and 3ZM in their respective markets.
• The three original stations were known by their ZM call signs: 1ZM in Auckland on 1250AM, 2ZM in Wellington on 1130AM and 3ZM in Christchurch on 1400AM.
• In 1978, the AM frequency step in New Zealand was changed from a 10 kHz step to a 9 kHz step. As a result, all three stations changed frequencies: 1ZM moved to 1251 kHz, 2ZM Wellington moved to 1161 kHz, and 3ZM Christchurch moved to 1323 kHz.

1980s: AM to FM transition

• In 1981, Radio New Zealand stations were finally granted the right to broadcast 24 hours per day, previously only the domain of private operators. Overnight networked programming was introduced with the ZM All-Nighter show, produced from the 1ZM studios in Auckland and networked to 2ZM Wellington and 3ZM Christchurch. 2ZK in Hawkes Bay and 4ZG in Gore also took the ZM All-Nighter.
• In 1982, 1ZM Auckland lost its bid for an FM licence. With the Broadcasting Tribunal allowing two new private radio stations into the Auckland market, 1ZM was required to reformat and adopt a 'Limited Sponsorship' model. This was an attempt to assist the new operators in establishing a revenue base, but it resulted in significant drops in both financial and audience market share for 1ZM.
• By 1987, a decision was made to change the format of 1ZM Auckland from a Contemporary Hit Radio format to a Classic Hits format. The Auckland station was rebranded as Classic Hits Twelve 51, marking the birth of the Classic Hits brand which would later be rolled out across New Zealand.
• In 1985, 2ZM Wellington switched to FM broadcasting on 90.9FM, and in 1986 Christchurch also made the move to FM broadcasting on 91.3FM. Following these changes, both stations rebranded to become Hit Radio ZMFM.
• In 1987, a ZMFM station was established in Palmerston North on 90.6FM with a local breakfast show, but all programming outside breakfast was networked from Wellington. This station became a local station in 1989 branded as 2QQ.
• In 1989, ZMFM Christchurch became known as 91 Stereo ZM and later 91ZM, while Auckland's Classic Hits Twelve 51 was finally given a licence to broadcast on FM as ''Classic Hits 97FM.''

1990s: Privatisation and Expansion

• Both 91ZM Christchurch and ZMFM Wellington used the slogan "Rock of the Nineties" during the early 1990s. In late 1994, ZMFM Wellington was rebranded to 91ZM using the same logo as 91ZM Christchurch. Both stations changed their slogan to "Just Great Music of the 80s and 90s".
• In 1997, ZM changed their logo on all stations to include a green globe behind the station name and adopted the slogan Today's Hit Music, reflecting the modern music played on the station. This slogan was used until 2014.
• A significant change came in July 1996 when the New Zealand Government sold off the commercial arm of Radio New Zealand, including the ZM stations. The new owner was The Radio Network, a subsidiary of APN News & Media and Clear Channel Communications.
• ZM rapidly expanded during this period. A new ZM station was established in Northland in 1995 as 93ZM. The first fully networked ZM station was established in Dunedin in 1996 as 96ZM, networked from 91ZM studios in Christchurch using an automated computer system allowing announcers to produce localised voice breaks for different markets.
• In 1997, programming was extended to Invercargill on 95.6FM as 96ZM, and ZM returned to Palmerston North on 90.6FM. After The Radio Network purchased assets of Prospect Media, new local ZM stations were started in Auckland on 91.0FM and Hamilton on 89.8FM.
• Further expansion continued with programming extended to Rotorua in 1998 as 98ZM, a new station in Taranaki as 98.8ZM, and into Hawkes Bay in 1999 on the former Radio Hauraki 95.9FM frequency.
• Nationwide networked programming was introduced in 1997, first with the ZM Essential 30 Countdown on Saturday afternoons, followed by the ZM Club Mix on Saturday nights and a nationwide night show on weeknights in 1998.

2000s: Unified network

• By 2000, ZM was broadcasting in multiple regions with programming networked from three main centers: Invercargill and Dunedin from Christchurch, Palmerston North from Wellington, and a northern network with Hawkes Bay, Rotorua, Taranaki, Waikato and Northland all receiving networked programming from Auckland.
• In 2000, ZM changed to a single network format based from Auckland. All ZM stations in smaller regions became part of this network, with only Christchurch and Wellington initially remaining local except during evenings and overnight. Voice breaks that were previously prerecorded for each region were replaced with live voice breaks tailored to a nationwide audience.
• The original nationwide network lineup consisted of Marcus Lush on breakfast with The Marcus Lush breakfast show, Nicki Sunderland and Lana Coc-Kroft presenting the daytime show, Mike McClung and Tim Homer presenting drive, and Geoff Stagg on nights.
• In 2001, Christchurch and Wellington were fully integrated into the network. The Christchurch studio was closed with some announcers relocated to Auckland, while Wellington ZM's local breakfast announcers Polly Gillespie, Nick Tansley and Grant Kareama became the hosts of a new nationwide breakfast show still presented from Wellington.
• In 2003, more changes were made to the announcer lineup with shock jock Iain Stables hired to present the ZM drive show. The Christchurch studio briefly reopened in 2005 for local daytime programming but was closed again by 2009. The Wellington studio remained until 2014 as it housed the nationwide ZM Morning Crew.
• Throughout the decade, ZM continued to expand with new stations including ZM Gisborne, ZM Wanganui, ZM South Canterbury, ZM Blenheim, and ZM Wairarapa.

2010s to present: Digital expansion and lineup changes

• Jay and Flynny finished their show in December 2014, replaced by Jase & PJ.
• The Night Show with Guy and Georgia was replaced by The ZM Snapchart with Cam Mansel in December 2016.
• Jase & PJ departed the drive show in 2017, replaced by Bree & Clint in July 2018
• Comedian Hayley Sproull temporarily replaced Megan Papas during her maternity leave in 2020, later becoming a permanent host in 2022 when Papas moved to The Hits.
• In 2021, ZM rebranded its night show to "ZM's Late Show," still presented by Cam Mansel.
• In late 2024, newcomer Brooke Koppens took over as host of "ZM's Late Show," bringing fresh energy to the network's evening programming.

• In December 2010, ZM launched an online stream as ZMonline, becoming the 20th ZM station to join the network with its own imaging and commercial options.
• The station introduced an iPhone app in 2011, followed by an Android app, which was later replaced by iHeartRadio after its New Zealand launch in August 2013.
• ZM continued its expansion with new stations in Taupo, Queenstown, West Coast, and Coromandel.

Broadcasting

North Island

• ZM Whangarei - Northland
• ZM Auckland - Auckland
• ZM Waikato - Hamilton
• Waihi -
• Waihi Beach -
• Coromandel -,
• Thames -
• Paeroa -
• Tauranga -
• Rotorua -
• Taupō -
• Gisborne -,
• Hawke's Bay -
• Taranaki -
• Whanganui -
• Manawatu -
• Kāpiti Coast and Horowhenua -
• Wairarapa -
• ZM Wellington - Wellington and Hutt Valley -

South Island

• Nelson -
• Marlborough -
• Westport -
• Greymouth -
• ZM Christchurch - Christchurch -, Sumner -
• Timaru -
• Dunedin -
• Queenstown -
• Wānaka -
• Invercargill -

ZM Online Stream

ZM News Service

ZM in the New Zealand Radio Awards

2002

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

• Best Breakfast Show - Music Network: ZM's Fletch, Vaughan & Megan – Carl "Fletch" Fletcher, Vaughan Smith, Megan Papas, Caitlin Marett, James Johnston, Anna Henvest
• Best Client Promotion/Activation: ZM's Float with Tip Top Trumpet
• Best Show Producer - Music Show: ZM's Bree & Clint – Ben McDowell, Ellie Harwood
• Best Station Imaging: Alistair Cockburn, Brynee Wilson
• Best Station Trailer: ZM's Bonus Banger – Alistair Cockburn, Claire Chellew, Dan Bernstone
• Associated Craft Award: Harry Pali

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

Slogans

• Hit Radio ZMFM

• More Music ZMFM

• The Music Leader ZMFM

• 91 Stereo ZM

• Rock of the Nineties ZMFM

• Rock of the Nineties 91ZM

• Just Great Music of the '80s and '90s

• Today's Hit Music

• Fletch, Vaughan and Megan & Hot Tunes or NZ's Hit Music

• ZM Is My Station!

• Hit Music Lives Here

• Play ZM

Ratings

Controversy

Broadcasting standards breaches